Assignment task:
The Frankfurt School's critique of the culture industry is the foundation of Theodor Adorno's media power theory, also referred to as the critical theory of mass communication. According to Adorno's theory, the media, especially mass media, significantly shapes societal norms, values, and ideologies. According to Adorno, the media is a tool used by the ruling class to keep control of the population and maintain their power. According to him, the media industry creates standardized cultural products like movies, radio shows, magazines, and other forms of popular culture that control the masses into passivity and conformity while suppressing critical thought and resistance. According to Adorno's theory, viewers are merely recipients of media content. He contends that rather than actively contributing to the construction of meaning, the audience merely consumes the messages and ideologies propagated by the media. The "hypodermic needle" or "magic bullet" model, in which media messages are "injected" right into the "veins" of the audience, causes them to be accepted without hesitation.