The Real vs. The Imaginary

Horkheimer and Adorno’s essay “Culture Industry” re-affirm the ideas presented by Karl Marx. Adorno’s thesis extends Marx’s vision, of society being controlled by capitalist values and confining our various culture into a single culture industry which serving a mass market. As a result, man looses the ability to distinguish the real from the un-real. This idea of reality and representation of reality was explored by Plato, and references to this idea can been seen in Adorno’s writings. Adorno believes that the only way to tackle this vigorous process is through enlightenment, a painstaking process, because capitalist industry holds a strong grip on society, constantly brainwashing it and leading it astray.

The Allegory of the Cave

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave can be found in Book 7 of Republic. Plato in his work express is views about the ignorance of mankind and the refusal to accept reality. Through this world Plato creates, he articulates an argument and conveys his belief that truth and realities lie deep in each one of us, and can only be extracted through a painful and torturous journey into ones inner self. The passage questions the very nature of reality. He believes we only see a representation of reality and are oblivious to the fact that we essentially are being cheated by our own minds that lead us into believing without any rationality or logicical reasoning. However Plato believes that one may achieve enlightenment through a constant struggle and once achieved we move to a platform higher than all others.

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-ahmed