The Frankfurt School in the Context of Contemporary Culture Industry: the NFT Industry as an Example
Abstract
This essay examines the Frankfurt School's "culture industry" theory within the contemporary NFT (Non-fungible Token) context.
Theodor W. Adorno criticizes the culture industry for reducing culture to exchange-value-driven commodities, opposing its "pleasure industry" (with false, animalistic pleasure) to non-exchangeable "authentic art." In contrast, Walter Benjamin argues mechanical art reproduction,
despite eroding art's "aura" (unique distance), may emancipate humanity by democratizing access. Using NFT as a case, the essay notes NFT's
role in commodifying intangibles (e.g., tweets, blood) and reinforcing the culture industry's "pseudo-individualization" via "uniqueness"
labels. It also discusses NFT's complication of Benjamin's aura theorystamping digital art's authenticityand questions NFT's long-term
survival due to prioritizing quantity over quality.
Theodor W. Adorno criticizes the culture industry for reducing culture to exchange-value-driven commodities, opposing its "pleasure industry" (with false, animalistic pleasure) to non-exchangeable "authentic art." In contrast, Walter Benjamin argues mechanical art reproduction,
despite eroding art's "aura" (unique distance), may emancipate humanity by democratizing access. Using NFT as a case, the essay notes NFT's
role in commodifying intangibles (e.g., tweets, blood) and reinforcing the culture industry's "pseudo-individualization" via "uniqueness"
labels. It also discusses NFT's complication of Benjamin's aura theorystamping digital art's authenticityand questions NFT's long-term
survival due to prioritizing quantity over quality.
Keywords
Frankfurt School; Culture Industry; NFT Industry; Mechanical Reproduction; Aura of Art
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PDFReferences
[1] Adorno, Theodor. Aesthetic Theory. Ed. Gretel Adorno and Rolf Tiedemann. Trans. Robert Hullot-Kentor. London, New York: Continuum, 2004.
[2] Weitzman, Erica. No fun: Aporias of pleasure in Adorno's aesthetic theory. London: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 2008.
[3] Horkheimer, Max, and Theodor W Adorno. Dialectic of Enlightenment. New York, Continuum Pub. Co, 1972.
[4] "Beeple Has Won. Here's What We've Lost. (Published 2021)". Nytimes.com, 2022. Online.Internet.Available:https://www.nytimes.
com/2021/03/12/arts/design/beeple-nonfungible-nft-review.html.
[5] Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. London, Penguin Books, 1936.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.70711/neet.v3i11.8090
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