Critical Theories Of Mass Media Then And Now by Paul Taylor

With the exception of occasional moral panics about the coarsening of public discourse, and the impact of advertising and television violence upon children, mass media tend to be viewed as a largely neutral or benign part of contemporary life. Even when criticisms are voiced, the media chooses how and when to discuss its own inadequacies. More radical external critiques are often excluded and media theorists are frequently more optimistic than realistic about the negative aspects of mass culture. 

Contents

• Siegfried Kracauer's Mass Ornament 
• Theodor Adorno and The Culture Industry 
• Marshall McLuhan's Understanding of Media 
• Guy Debord's Society of The Spectacle 
• The Culture of Celebrity 
• Banality TV: The democratization of Celebrity 
• The Politics of Banality: The Ob-scene as the Mis-en-scene 
• Conclusion 
• Notes 
• Bibliography