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Theories of Mass Culture and Music


# 59910
Theories of Mass Culture and Music
An evaluation of the Theodor Adorno/Walter Benjamin debate surrounding popular music and mass culture and its bearing on the debates of other major musicologists and sociologists in the field.
2,819 words (approx. 11.3 pages) | 18 sources | MLA | 2005 United Kingdom


Paper Summary:

This paper outlines the opposing standpoints of Adorno and Benjamin on popular music, with specific reference to their view of the consumer. The value of these theories are then discussed with reference to the later theories of David Riesman and Henry Pleasants, Andrew Chester, Simon Frith, Richard Middleton and Max Paddison.

From the Paper:

"Yet, even if the consumer's perceptive capacity is limited, there is still scope for individual choice, and thus for varying levels of the self-reflective in popular music. If consumers use their music to construct their identity, there will always be a market for these varying levels. As Frith suggests, 'the question should be 'how can popular music construct people?'' A reflection of the person behind the consumer in popular music rejects Adorno's claim that the industry invalidates the individual. Longhurst and Shuker explore this further in their analysis of the industry's sub-cultures, which allow mass identity to segregate and the potential for the individual to find their own route."

Cite this paper

APA Citation:

Theories of Mass Culture and Music (2012, January 15). Retrieved February 13, 2012, from http://www.academon.co.uk/Essay-Theories-of-Mass-Culture-and-Music/59910

MLA Citation:

"Theories of Mass Culture and Music" 15 January 2012. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. <http://www.academon.co.uk/Essay-Theories-of-Mass-Culture-and-Music/59910>




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Published by:

Pinkgnome GB
Publisher Since:
Jul 04, 2005
I attended Durham University from 2001 to June 2005, and studied English Literature and Music. I specialised in Virginia Woolf, the short story, literature of the Romantic period, music aesthetics, music sociology, and Music Therapy. I graduated with first class honours.
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