A brief comparison of Birmingham School's analysis of "popular culture" to Adorno and Horkheimer's notion of "culture industry"

Thomas Hart Benton “Hollywood” 1937

In simplistic terms the Frankfurt School as represented by Adorno and Horkheimer theorized that culture is a result of the mass production of culture objects that directly influence society and subordinate them to a capitalist system. The means of production (economic base) determine the cultural superstructures and all cultural production is subservient to economic function. Adorno and Horkheimer paint a stark picture of consumerism that has blighted out the light of emancipation through enlightenment from the ‘high’ arts.


Perhaps the most significant notion to come out of their theory of the culture industry is that they managed to identify a structure of control in capitalism that is inescapable. "Differentiation is not opposition, but rather assists in classification, organization, and identification of consumers. Something is provided for everyone so that no one can escape; differences are hammered home and propogated."


The Birmingham School of Culture studies (led predominantly by Stuart Hall) on the other hand offered a more positive outlook by looking at the consumer as a vital partner in the decoding of ideological messages which created a new battleground for control over representation. Essentially the Birminham School contradicted A&H’s notion of determinism by offering a more complex relationship between producers and consumers of culture that is drawn into linguistic structures, and as such offer a mechanism for change through the polysemy of codes that empower the decoder to operate from a position of negotiated resistance or opposition. From a linguistic structure we can see where cultural ideology, while operating from a position of dominance and hegemony, are forced into the realm of socially constructed discourse.

Language is directly linked to the creation of cultural values because it is the medium required for the expression of ideas and feelings. Language is considered a representational system because it is used to reference either real objects and events, or our imagination (complex ideas) and emotions. In order for people to be members of the same culture they must share the same representation system (language).

Emphasis is placed on constructionist theories of representation and Hall builds his case by first presenting Ferndinand Saussures’ theories of language and shared codes, Roland Barthes explorations of Semiotics and shared meaning, and finally Foucault’s discursive theories and investigations of shared power.
We see a progression of thought that moves from a system of representation that is based upon fixed denotative and connotative meanings, to one that recognizes the evolving relationship between meaning and cultural practices within a historical context.
In summary, the difference between the notion of ‘popular culture’ and the Birmingham School is one of changing definitions of culture from that of a being byproduct of commodities (Adorno & Horkheimer) to one of a complex and dynamic socially constructed system of codes and signifiers (Birmingham School, Hall et al.).
The “things” we consume do not define culture. Culture is the set of practices that express the significance or value we place on ideas and objects. The television show ‘Survivor’ does not, in and of itself, create culture. It is the group of people who have identified themselves with the show and placed significance on it by choosing to take time to spend an hour per week watching it that creates culture. The object (television show) itself is not the creator of culture. It is our choice to adopt objects as part of our lifestyle that makes an item such as a Starbucks Latte culturally significant. Groups of individuals who place similar significance on ideas, emotions, and objects are in fact sharing meaning. It is this shared meaning that is expressed through like actions that defines culture. It is our shared meanings that establish social norms, which in turn govern our actions and establish order within society.

When we understand what culture is and how we can identify it through the recognition of significance and practices, we are better able to make commentary on it and possibly introduce new cultural elements to it that will shift behaviors towards a new direction.