What Is Popular Culture?

2541 Words11 Pages
Q: What is popular about popular culture? Today we live in a society full of popular culture. Every day we come across various forms of popular culture and consider ourselves as cultural beings as we decide on what is good and what is bad. So what is popular culture? Popular culture is a difficult term to define. It is a broad concept with multiple meanings, each dependent upon the context of its use and on the theoretical approach used. In constructing the notion of popular culture, one should ask, does popular culture come from “the people” or “the elites” or from the interaction of both? Therefore popular culture is best described as a site of conflict and struggle, a point of interaction between classes and ideologies. This essay aims to construct the notion of ‘popular’ in popular culture through an analysis of the different perspectives of Theodor Adorno and Walter Benjamin on popular culture. Adorno and Benjamin are both members of the Frankfurt School of sociological thought, although Benjamin was only marginally involved. Frankfurt members: “Marxist in general intellectual orientation, but they differ from standard Marxists in de-emphasizing the economic base and its role in determining consciousness and showing how ideology and culture can have a causal, and a shaping role.” They are the main source of the Critical Theory, which criticized capitalism based on their experiences of being forced by the totalitarian fascist party to leave their homes, and the abusive misuse of popular culture as propaganda. An example is the film “The triumph of the Will” which promoted Nazi ideology. Critical theory was based on the idea that people should pursue greater autonomy and self-definition, through the knowledge that steps beyond the obstacles and mystification that prevent individuals to accurately perceive their situation and reality. Geuss offers two general
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