frouella, Horkheimer and Adorno

Yeesh, after being assailed by that chapter, I feel like I have to wipe the frothing authors' spittle off my face. Rant much there, guys? So, just to make sure I understood all that spleen and vitriol, let me try and paraphrase: Generally, I think they're saying that the culture industry is bad, the culture industry is bad, and...oh yeah, the culture industry is bad. Lather, rinse, repeat ad infinitum, or at least until the end of the article.

Primarily, my problem with their argument lies in the fact that they are elitist @$$holes, please pardon my language. They cringe at the fact that just anyone can experience art. They shudder to think that their pure and pristine Art is being pimped out like a cheap ho' to satisfy the lecherous desires of The Market (insert evil laughter here -- muwahaha!!!). As opposed to the good ol' days, when art was only subject to the desires of a rich patron. Oh, okay; I can totally see the merit in having some pasty-faced, inbred noble taking it upon himself to decide for everyone else what qualifies as art. **nods sagely** But don't just take my word for it; here are the words directly from Max and Theo: "Art was only ever able to exist as a separate sphere in its bourgeois form" (65). A few paragraphs later: "Today works of art...are pressed on a reluctant public at reduced prices by the culture industry; they are opened up for popular enjoyment like parks" (67). Horrors! And then there's my personal favorite: "The abolition of educational privilege by disposing of culture at bargain prices does not admit the masses to the preserves from which they were formerly excluded but, under the existing social conditions, contributes to the decay of education and the progress of barbaric incoherence" (67). In other words, this world of art was a real nice place before all you unwashed masses started wandering in here...

I am in no way saying that the capitalist market is the savior of art; anyone who knows me knows that I have more than my fair share of complaints about the capitalist system. Seriously, don't get me started. But if it's a choice between the Pasty Patrons and the Capitalist Pigs, my money's on the pork, if only because I have slightly more influence as a consumer (miniscule), as opposed to my influence on the nobility (none).

Random Po-Mo Moment:
So I picked up some Chinese takeout for dinner tonight, and after I finished my meal I opened my fortune cookie. It read: "The three basic ingredients of the capitalistic system: money, energy, and ideas." No joke; capitalism in my cookie. I think I heard Jameson laughing somewhere...