Dot, 3/29

 I was very interested in many of the things I learned while discussing Adorno and Horkheimer in class on Thursday. I have also been curious about the ways in which mass culture controls our lives and I found Adorno and Horkheimer's views on the subject quite insightful. Out of everything that we talked about in class, I was taken aback by one statement in particular. 

"Only those who can keep paying the exorbitant fees charged by the advertising agencies... That is, those who are already part of the system... Can enter the pseudomarket as sellers" (68). I had never really thought about this in an academic setting before, but it is definitely something I think about on a regular basis. I am from a small town where most of the businesses are family run. In recent years, many of these small businesses have been struggling to compete with corporation owned companies that sell similar products. They do not have the economical resources that larger corporations do and therefore find it hard to stay open. Larger companies are able to not only advertise more, as Adorno and Horkheimer argue, but also they are able to sell a larger range of products, where family owned businesses normally stick with specialized items that may not draw as many customers. 

A few years ago a Target opened up in my town and for months all I ever heard people talk about was how much of an impact it was going to make on the local economy. I, however, was overjoyed that such a new and exciting place to shop was opening up nearby... Before Target on had to travel at least forty minutes to go to such a store. I did not understand how much this new corporation would really effect everything in the town. Since its opening, many smaller, family owned stores have been forced to close down, forcing those who did still buy goods at those stores to shop at Target.

When presented with the quote by Adorno and Horkheimer, I thought about and for the first time realized how much advertising big corporations really do send out and how much it must cost. Every Sunday the local newspaper in my town contains a glossy paged Target ad booklet, where local businesses may put a small ad in the newspaper. Companies like Target also advertise all over the internet and on television. They can afford to spend money on tons of advertising and therefore stay in the minds of consumers where small businesses do not have this luxury. 

The end of Adorno and Horkheimer's quote also presents a very interesting point. The world of consumer marketing and selling is a circle of sorts that is very hard to break into. This circle contains the larger companies and corporations that are able to pay its high fees, but excludes smaller businesses and limits them from being able to sell their products.  The economy of our culture at this time does not really help the smaller businesses either; as they are having a hard time paying for everything, advertising is probably their last concern.