The Frankfurt School

             The bourgeoisie believed that if they could convince the working classes that they were happy working for the ruling classes then that would make it easier for them to control.
             What the Frankfurt school did was to elaborate and update these theories of Marx's while they believed that they Marx was correct about Capitalism they thought his theories needed to be updated and critiqued.
             Capitalism - (Economic system dominated by the accumulation of capital (profit).
             As in the 19th Century industrialization was growing, Marx saw the bourgeoisies as a being the dominant force in the nineteenth century, the Frankfurt school saw the culture industry playing a highly controlling role in modern society and served to control or subvert oppositional consciousness, thus moving any threat to the dominant capitalist class.
             The Culture Industry.
             So what is culture industry, how does it stop us opposing the ruling classes and having a free role in modern society.
             "Culture Industries. A term usually used to designate those organizations that produce popular culture, i.e. television, radio, books, popular music and films. It is also used more widely to include all cultural organizations. According to the Frankfurt School, the culture industries serve an ideological function, ensuring capitalist hegemony, providing a bland and undemanding popular culture.
             Penguin Dictionary of Sociology.
             The culture industry is integrated into capitalism, The goal of the culture industry is the production of goods that are as cheap as possible to make and there for are as profitable and consumable as they can be, we call this standardization as the products are mass produced they become cheaper and cheaper to make the more they make so the "Culture industry- wanted to standardize everything to maximize the profit.
             The culture industry relies on the "masses- being passive.
             The culture industry must sustain interest but ensure an attentive yet passive, relaxed and uncritical reception: this is induced through the production and pre-digested cultural entities.