I have subscribed in part to the idea that each of these choices, the dedication of oneself to a belief, was for a reason. That there was something in the culture of that belief that spoke to the individual and that made the individual have hope that they could develop into a better person. Whilst I have always held on to the hope that belief systems were operated primarily on this basis of improving people’s lives and providing a purpose for doing good, my critical self always questions how something that is so personal can, in a way, be massed produced.
The article Culture Industry Reconsidered by Adorno and Rabinbach (1975) identifies the concept of the “culture industry” which has, for a long time, made me question the interaction between the media and structured religious groups. The “culture industry”, as termed by Adorno and Rabinbach (1975), is the idea that products are in fact “tailored for consumption by masses” (p. 12). Adorno and Rabinbach (1975) recognises the role that the culture industry has in the “development of the consciousness” however questions the quality and intentions behind the social phenomenon of which consumers are considered to be passively engaged (McDannell, 2012). This notion raises concern for me when considering the relationship between media and religion as it indicates that the spiritual importance of religion could easily be overlooked in preference of profit. For me I see this in the Easter and Christmas celebrations each year. There is very little mention of deep religious issues found in media coverage yet chocolate eggs or Santa hats have become a necessity and very much part of the popular culture.
In his chapter, Scrambling the sacred and profane, McDannell (2012) raises the idea that if we look at what religious members do, the culture they engage in everyday, we can see a lessening in the distance between the sacred and profane. In addition to the idea of Easter eggs this can also be seen in the media coverage of the Pope. Whilst the Pope is still considered sacred, the media positions us to become not so interested in his holy status but in the "red" shoes that he wears. However, is this distorting religion and carefully compiling the story to maximise consumption or is it indeed that we are becoming more interested with the material forms of religious rituals?
Both McDannell (2012) and Adorno and Rabinbach (1975) consider the notion that people want an element of deceit or enchantment that provides an escape from day to day drudgery and highlight that people are more and more turning to popular culture to do this. However, McDannell (2012) turns away from the idea that mass culture is passively consumed to the idea that it is a “contested terrain” that allows “small groups of people to create their own cultural lifestyle” (p. 143). This gives me hope that, whilst the media may twist stories of religion, or in fact choose to exclude them, individuals and societies are not blindly consuming them but they indeed give us the platform to question “the world as it is constructed” (Adorno & Rabinbach, 1975, p. 18).
References
Adorno T and AG Rabinbach. 1975. The Culture Industry Reconsidered. New German Critique. 6, Autumn, 12-19. http://orgnets.cn/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/21-adorno-culture-industry.pdf
McDannell C. 2012. Scrambling the Sacred and the Profane. In Lynch G. and J. Mitchell with A. Strhan. Eds. Religion, Media and Culture: A Reader. 135-146. London & New York: Routledge.
Image Source
Bible [Image]. (2013). Retrieved from http://pixabay.com/en/bible-christianity-holy-book-pages-85815/
Video Source
Geobeats. (2013, February 28). How will Pope's attire change now? [Video file]. Video posted to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6yUnweND5c
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