All mock tests are FREE till 31 December — register to save your progress
Unit 4 · Literary Criticism and Theory English · December 2023

Which of the following assertions is/are NOT true in the context of the culture industry?

  1. A. The Frankfurt School used the term for the workings of mass media.
  2. B. The dominant class instils its values in the working class.
  3. C. 'Industry' signals the mass production of cultural goods.
  4. D. Authentic working-class culture is preserved and protected.
  5. E. Mass culture fosters activism and critical thinking among the young.

Pick an option to check yourself, or open the answer below.

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: D. (D) and (E) only

Explanation

Horkheimer and Adorno ('The Culture Industry', Dialectic of Enlightenment, 1944/47) argue that standardised cultural commodities absorb authentic popular culture and breed passivity and conformity, not critique.

More Literary Criticism and Theory questions