The Frankfurt School

“The academic disciplines which have been traditionally charged with the history and analysis of literature have been caught unaware by the impact of mass literature, the best seller, the popular magazine, the comics and the like, and they have maintained an attitude of haughty indifference to the lower depths of imagination in print. A field and a challenge have thus been left open and the sociologist will have to do something about them.” Sociology of Literature, 1948, Leo Lowenthal

Leo Lowenthal was an independent Jewish Marxist born, 1900, in Frankfurt, Germany. He grew up during the time of the Weimar Republic, and he became one of Frankfurt school's  leading expert on the sociology of literature and mass culture at the Frankfurt Institute that was established in 1926 and also became their managing editor that launched its journal, the Zeitschrift fur Sozialforschung, in 1932.  He fled Germany with his colleagues to the U.S. when Hitler gained control in 1933. From that point on he wrote publications that later awarded him with honorary doctorates from the University of Siegen, the Free University of Berlin, and the University of Hamburg. He also received the Goethe Medal and Adorno Prize of Frankfurt and Berlin. He was the final survivor of the Frankfurt School and was recognized internationally as a remarkable symbol of its collective achievement. He is known for his belief that mass culture is psychoanalysis in reverse.

In his above quote, he suggests that mainstream media is changing the way people are reading lousier forms of literature just because of popularity. He emphasizes how excellent literature has been overshadowed by the gaudy colorful magazines, superhero comic books, and best selling novels which all lack the substance that more valuable literature has. He even states that the academic level of reading has been lowered to an easier lesser form of literature which hurts society because it dumbs down our level of intellect and interpretation. The challenge he mentions is how he can make society back like more sophisticated literature again with the obstacle of mass media.

I completely agree with Lowenthal's views because in our modern world, mass media is what drives our society into how people will be molded and how they will develop their character. The media influences everything from fashion to food, basically every aspect of life we can think of. His quote was written over 60 years ago, and it means more today than it did back then. People are so easily influenced now that with everything they see on television, in magazines, the Internet, and what they hear on the radio, it is so easy for a young naive mind to follow what their favorite rapper or athlete tells them to do. People of all ages, not only kids are susceptible to this and are likely to follow someone they look like or idolize. The influence today in mass media is getting worse as time goes on, especially for our younger generations who are very impressionable.