Popular Culture: A Marxist Analysis

While the previous chapter discussed popular culture and its influence from the functionalism approach, this chapter examines it from the critical approach. The structure of this approach came from the ideas that Marx’s provided; both the social and economic structure of a society are a reflection of its culture and symbolic imagery (47). Cultural hegemony emerges as a result of power through persuasiveness; since society is nearly controlled by the mass media due to the fact that it creates like-mindedness through such persuasion (48). The mass media is then also responsible for how we tend to think as everything we have learned and been taught through media is embedded within our mindset. One positive outcome of the mass media constantly being within our frame of mind (although we may not be aware of it all the time) is that people (especially younger adults) are standing up against prominent issues such as sweatshop labor and presentation of negative stereotypes of women within the cultural industry. Within the realm of mass media, seven parent companies control nearly all aspects of it. The companies are Sony Corporation of America, Time Warner, Walt Disney Company, Viacom, CBS Corporation, General Electric, and News Corporation. While most success is usually attributed to the studio/company who is directly linked to the film when in reality it goes to the parent company who only increases its power; the power they have extends so far as the influence …show more content…
It also emphasizes the darker parts of it and those impacts on society as a whole
2) Forms of entertainment (mass media as a whole) is constantly on our mind (its bound to us) since it has shaped our reactions which are seemingly