The Assimilation and Homogenization of Culture, Essay Example

Assimilation into a culture is a natural occurrence for ethnic groups.  However, modern culture seems to overemphasize the point.  In the article, “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception,” the authors Adorno and Horkheimer report how the media has greatly homogenized culture and that originality in thought or actions is discouraged.  Rhodes describes in her article, “The Visibility of Race and Media History,” how minority races were either concealed or molded into popular stereotypes in the American media.  Both articles agree that the media has deceived us into thinking that we are “enlightened,” when we really have assimilated and lost our identity.

According to Adorno and Horkheimer, there is no culture.  Anything regarding arts, entertainment, and politics, is nothing more than a massive industry controlled by the media.  Rhodes would agree, and she describes how the media portrayed African Americans in a negative light.  African Americans were either portrayed as ignorant simpletons or sinister gangsters.  Rhodes’ new concern is that the media has robbed African Americans of their identities.  Now, the media has homogenized African American culture so much so that hip-hop culture has been softened and is commonly enjoyed in suburban, middle-class, white households.

Adorno and Horkheimer would support this theory and state that while everyone believes themselves to be enlightened, they are only deceived into thinking so because of the lies the media dictates.  There is no room for innovation or deviation from the standard.  We think ourselves to be free, but we are really just slaves to a capitalist and consumer-driven society.  This plight can be seen with African Americans.  While no one would dare to portray them as simpletons or gangsters, African Americans are still dictated by media stereotypes.  The goal of the media is to trick people into believing that we are “enlightened” and “know better,” as an effective way to ensure that everyone can be more easily controlled.