tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4280685660918852895.post74977140755887704..comments2023-10-05T06:13:48.018-07:00Comments on Media Studies 102: Effects of Mass Media: Thoughts on Adorno's "On Popular Music"Alenda Changhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12808749949370769131noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4280685660918852895.post-22216208867161236292012-09-10T23:10:02.256-07:002012-09-10T23:10:02.256-07:00Yelynn: some insightful ideas about the weaknesses...Yelynn: some insightful ideas about the weaknesses in Adorno's arguments! Much depends on how we define "intellectual activity," of course. You're including emotion as a valid component of mental work, while Adorno seems to sidestep that or at least separate out superficial emotion (say, crying during a made-for-TV movie or hearting a sentimental ballad) from being truly moved by a work of art (in any medium).Alenda Changhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12808749949370769131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4280685660918852895.post-47265037700582743672012-09-10T22:35:11.262-07:002012-09-10T22:35:11.262-07:00In agreement with Stina, I also think that Adorno&... In agreement with Stina, I also think that Adorno's argument about popular music limiting the thoughts of human beings, making us more machine-like to follow the form of working life even during leisure times, is a little harsh. Adorno says that "The listener suspends all intellectual activity when dealing with music...", (211) but I don't believe we suspend ALL intellectual activity when we listen to music. People remember memories that songs remind them of, think of visual images of lyrics that songs allude to, imagine, and dream about what each song means to them. In the past, such as during Adorno's times, we did not have technology of internet or computers, yet now we do, and we constantly create and re-create the songs that we listen to in our own form. We have covers, music videos, parodies, and other altered content that were inspired from contents it originated from. Then, we don't just think of the original song or the music video, but we alter them by what and how we think of them, and create new meanings for us. Yes, I believe music is standardized, especially with the pop songs, but I thought it was too extreme to think that because we listen to pop songs, we are supporting mechanization and the entire capitalistic system of commodity, and sucking them in as if we are vacuum machines. Reading Adorno, I felt that he is an elitist of cultural things such as music, and although we learned that he was an expert in music, we live in a postmodern world where the distinction between these notions of what are considered "good" or "truth" or "bad" are blurred. Yes, I think that it is limiting our imagination and freedom that such big corporate monopolies own majority of music and exclude those that are not standardized. However, we also have numerous genres of music that popped up, with its own subgroups and subcultures. People encounter them and can decide to like them or dislike them, whereas in the past the genres were much more limited and choice of listening consisted of TV, Radios, and other entertainment venues outside of home such as Cinemas. Consequently, I agree with Adorno's view on standardization and capitalistic characteristics of popular music, yet thinking of people as mindless and thoughtless because we follow the majority with an attitude of "everyone else are doing it" is bit of an overstatement in that there has been great psychological advancement and shift in our society of how we interact with everything in our lives. I thought that Adorno was generalizing individuals' psychology as the mass, and divided them into very few categories according to music, when there is actually so much more to it then being the consumer, "emotional type" or "obedient type" (40-41).yelynnkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05857991567574967132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4280685660918852895.post-63378868828916315552012-09-07T14:48:42.594-07:002012-09-07T14:48:42.594-07:00Good examples, Stina, and toward the end of your p...Good examples, Stina, and toward the end of your post you start to suggest some potential ways to argue against Adorno's critique. How can we bolster your ideas with evidence? In other words, how could we get at "individual response" to a song?Alenda Changhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12808749949370769131noreply@blogger.com