Theodor Adorno and Dallas Smythe: Culture Industry/Consciousness Industry and the Political Economy of Media and Communication
Volume 25, Issue 2, Winter 2025, Pages 151-174
https://doi.org/10.22034/jsi.2025.2047233.1755
Samaneh Koohestani
Abstract The book «Revisiting the Frankfurt School: Essays on Culture, Media, and Theory», edited by David Berry and released in 2012, explores the Frankfurt School’s influence on the critique of contemporary culture and media. Berry, a noted expert in critical theory, references the concepts of thinkers like Adorno and Horkheimer to examine how media plays a role in perpetuating power dynamics and social control. By merging traditional theories with current topics, the book looks at the function of media in shaping identities and values, connecting the critical viewpoints of the Frankfurt School to today's challenges.
The current article is one of the pieces in this volume, written by Robert E. Babe, a media studies professor at Western University in Ontario. Babe, who has authored nine influential books, including «Cultural Studies and Political Economy», concentrates on analysing the connections between media, power, and societal structures in his research.