Culture and Class

Paper Summary:

The paper explains Marx's belief that it is the dominant class which formulates the ideology of any particular society. The paper goes on to explain how the dominant groups effectively negotiate with the lower classes in order to keep them from rebelling and how this system of hegemonic control is firmly established through the various facets of the culture industry. The paper also relates that the mass media is one of the most pervasive elements of this hegemonic system aimed at keeping a grip on the general consensus of a society.

From the Paper:

""We make, and are made by culture," (Storey, 61); the culture of any society represents the prevailing attitudes and values of that world. However, these values do not always represent the interests of the working and lower classes of that society. The ideas of Culture represent the interests of the dominant upper classes which own the means of production. Yet, they are forever engrained within a society compiled mainly of proletariat working class members through the Culture Industry which represents the hegemony use to bridge the gap between the upper and lower classes in order to avoid complete revolution and destruction."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Benjamin, Walter. "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction." Media and Cultural Studies: Keyworks. Durham, Meenakshi Gigi & Kellner, Douglas (Eds.). Blackwell Publishers. Pp. 48-70. 2000.
• Horkheimer, Max & Adorno, Theodor. "The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception." Media and Cultural Studies: Keyworks. . Durham, Meenakshi Gigi & Kellner, Douglas (Eds.). Blackwell Publishers. Pp. 71-101. 2000.
• Marx, Karl & Engels, Friedrich. "The Ruling Class and the Ruling Ideas." Media and Cultural Studies: Keyworks. . Durham, Meenakshi Gigi & Kellner, Douglas (Eds.). Blackwell Publishers. Pp. 39-42. 2000.
• Storey, John. Inventing Popular Culture: From Folklore to Globalization. Wiley-Blackwell. 2003.

More papers on Culture and Class:

• Analytical Essay # 27853 : "American Culture and Values"
• Analytical Essay # 128079 : "American History, Culture and Implications for the Future"
• Research Paper # 109327 : "Marx: Capitalism and Class"

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