Chapter 9 – Mass society and media Week 6 - Mass Media and Society
Long et. Al., Chapter 9, p390-413
Contexts: mass society, mass media, and social change
- industrial revolution and the development of ‘mass’ media changed the world
- working-class took power away from an elite group -> democracy, modern capitalist
economy
- working and living conditions of the poor were bad (urbanisation) -> they were thought of as the
‘masses’
Theories o f mass society
Theories of mass society
- theorists share a belief that industrialization, capitalism, and democracy changed society to one
where any sense of individuality had been lost -> this ‘massification’ process was supported by new
forms of communication (cinema and broadcasting)
- two traditions of thought that tried to come to terms with these shifts:
The culture and society tradition (British, Leavis)
- to be ‘cultured’ meant that you had to have studied the classics (Latin and Greek art/literature
-> Leavis criticised this: English literature is what is means to be cultured!
- value in society is not in wealth, but in the culture it produced (literary works, music, fine art)
- such culture can offset political antagonism and bring classes together
- criticed popular ‘mass’ culture (superficial, and has American origins)
- Culture (1) = a label for identifying a set of attainments in fields such as fine art and literature, who are
labelled as ‘high culture’ and products of the great names. BUT also on authentic folk culture (produced by
ordinary people) -> this last thing is different from popular culture (generated by mass media)
- Leavis rejected Marxism because his ideas were in political action
- For him , a vision of cultured mattered: an elite of ‘cultured’ individuals had to maintain (through art
and its appreciation) the feeling that pre-industrial people felt.
- education could help those outside the elite
The American context (American)
- European thinking saw mass action in political change for the better (socialists, mass media could
challenge the status quo)
-> Americans were more liberal and individualistic
-> they wanted to infiltrate the world (communism (Cold War)/Nazism) with their life, culture, and
ideas with political propaganda (McCarthy)
The Frankfurt School
- not simply observing/explaining society, but wanting to change it
- concerns with culture: its colonised by capitalism and used as a tool of ideological manipulation
- Adorno and Horkheimer most famous insights: the culture industry.
SUMMARY | Media Studies (Long et. Al.)
Long et. Al., Chapter 9, p390-413
Contexts: mass society, mass media, and social change
- industrial revolution and the development of ‘mass’ media changed the world
- working-class took power away from an elite group -> democracy, modern capitalist
economy
- working and living conditions of the poor were bad (urbanisation) -> they were thought of as the
‘masses’
Theories o f mass society
Theories of mass society
- theorists share a belief that industrialization, capitalism, and democracy changed society to one
where any sense of individuality had been lost -> this ‘massification’ process was supported by new
forms of communication (cinema and broadcasting)
- two traditions of thought that tried to come to terms with these shifts:
The culture and society tradition (British, Leavis)
- to be ‘cultured’ meant that you had to have studied the classics (Latin and Greek art/literature
-> Leavis criticised this: English literature is what is means to be cultured!
- value in society is not in wealth, but in the culture it produced (literary works, music, fine art)
- such culture can offset political antagonism and bring classes together
- criticed popular ‘mass’ culture (superficial, and has American origins)
- Culture (1) = a label for identifying a set of attainments in fields such as fine art and literature, who are
labelled as ‘high culture’ and products of the great names. BUT also on authentic folk culture (produced by
ordinary people) -> this last thing is different from popular culture (generated by mass media)
- Leavis rejected Marxism because his ideas were in political action
- For him , a vision of cultured mattered: an elite of ‘cultured’ individuals had to maintain (through art
and its appreciation) the feeling that pre-industrial people felt.
- education could help those outside the elite
The American context (American)
- European thinking saw mass action in political change for the better (socialists, mass media could
challenge the status quo)
-> Americans were more liberal and individualistic
-> they wanted to infiltrate the world (communism (Cold War)/Nazism) with their life, culture, and
ideas with political propaganda (McCarthy)
The Frankfurt School
- not simply observing/explaining society, but wanting to change it
- concerns with culture: its colonised by capitalism and used as a tool of ideological manipulation
- Adorno and Horkheimer most famous insights: the culture industry.
SUMMARY | Media Studies (Long et. Al.)
