Adorno on Popular Culture (International Library of Sociology)

Robert W. Witkin unpacks Adorno's notoriously difficult critique of popular culture in an engaging and accessible style, looking first at the development of the overarching theories of authority, commodification and negative dialectics. He then goes on to consider Adorno's writing on specific aspects of popular culture such as radio, film and popular music.;Book Cover -- Title -- Contents -- Preface -- Cultural nemesis -- The theory of pseudo-culture -- The Dialectic of Enlightenment and The Ring of the Nibelungen -- The decay of 'aura' and the schema of mass culture -- Star power -- Situating music socially -- On popular music -- Adorno's radio days -- Film and television -- Woody Allen's culture industry -- Walking a critical line home -- References -- Index. Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 Preface......Page 8 Cultural nemesis......Page 10 The theory of pseudo-culture......Page 25 The Dialectic of Enlightenment and The Ring of the Nibelungen......Page 42 The decay of 'aura' and the schema of mass culture......Page 59 Star power......Page 77 Situating music socially......Page 92 On popular music......Page 107 Adorno's radio days......Page 125 Film and television......Page 144 Woody Allen's culture industry......Page 160 Walking a critical line home......Page 179 References......Page 197 Index......Page 200 Robert W. Witkin unpacks Adorno's notoriously difficult critique of popular culture in an accessible style, looking first at the overarching theories of authority, commodification and the negative, then focusing on specific aspects of popular culture Robert W. Witkin. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 188-190) And Index.