Research Paper on:
Loss of Individuality and Culture Thesis of Adorno and Horkheimer

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
and Horkheimer, mankind has sold its soul and creative potential for the price of a recliner. The culture industry of the 1920s and 50s was fairly distinctive and as a  result serve as a prime example of Adorno/Horkheimers conclusions. In the 1920s consumerism was beginning to boom. Publishing had become modernized and as a result the printed word was more  widely available to families. Information and communication abilities were at an all time high. However, on the other side of the story was the fact that as consumerism grew, aesthetic  interest waned. One of the major culprits, they state, is that with the growth of technology during the time period of 1920-1950 came a desire to have what everyone  else had, to purchase and own like commodities. Because of this phenomenon homogenization occurred. What had been touted as a mere tool for simplifying tedious processes created this homogeny and  as a result differentiation ceased; everyone became the same. What is more, they claim, the people who are really in control of peoples lives are those who control and make  the decisions in industry. They create the need for the masses, used advertising media and the entertainment community to convince people of this need. The individual mind and creative ideas  which run counter to industry standards, they state, are sadly lost in the mix of sameness. In other words, culture has now become big business. Arguments against this claim  state that the wide diversity of newspapers and news shows serve as an example as to the lack of standardization and homogeny. In other words, the other side of the  story is shown, even if it is ugly. However, Adorno and Horkheimer contend that this is a mere illusion. What appears to be the presentation of diversity is really just