Inherent Elitism in Culture Industry Is there inherent elitism in Adorno’s critique of ‘culture industry’?
Or is it that all that is ‘Popular’ is necessarily democratic and egalitarian?
Critics of Adorno’s critique of jazz have often alluded to his inherent elitism leading to his dismissal of jazz. I argue here that critics of Adorno’s essays on jazz are mistaken since they fail to read his critique properly through the lens of his entire social and aesthetic theory. I will argue here that Adorno’s emphasis on the formal dimensions of art works is the only way to begin to understand his critique.