FEM 2110 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Killing Us Softly, Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Women's Studies
• Course: FEM 2110
• Professor: Kathryn Trevenen

Document Summary

Fatphobia: the production of popular culture. Popular culture has a huge impact on contemporary economies, spending on non- essential items is essential to economic growth. Popular culture often shapes how we see production, the economy and the production of that culture itself. Frequent debates highlighted by discussions of production. Economic success vs artistic success: reading argues that this is too simple a division and often reflects class elitism is based on the old idea of high vs low culture. The culture industry thesis (max horkheimer and theodor adorno -> dialectic of. Dialectic challenged the enlightenment myth of progress . Less freedom, more domination and instrumental rationality (humans are being instrumentalized) Pop culture = reproduction of capitalist cultural values. Function of amusement = prolongation of work. Choices and pleasures are not freedom (false feeling of freedom), we are being instrumentalized to be consumers and to upkeep the status quo. Prolongation of work = making money for the capitalist system.