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Frankfurt School’s Critical Theory and a Critique of Video Games as Popular Culture Products

Year 2022, Volume: 9 Issue: 1, 1 - 17, 31.01.2022
https://doi.org/10.17680/erciyesiletisim.1030093

Abstract

Frankfurt School’s critical theory provides a framework to study mass media. In Dialectic of Enlightenment, Adorno and Horkheimer, two of the most prominent theorists of the School, coined the term “culture industry” to discuss the state of the entertainment sector. However, the critical theorists of the Frankfurt School were either dead or they simply did not analyze the case of video games when the medium became an important agent both in social and economic terms. The main argument of this paper is that, as an inseparable part of the entertainment sector of today’s capitalist societies, video games are eligible for an analysis as products of the culture industry. It is argued in the study that the fantasy worlds of video games divert people’s attention away from the problems of capitalist societies. Further, the commodities are claimed to be getting increasingly standardized and are aimed at providing easy pleasures to consumers. Besides, a discussion of video games is carried out in accordance with the view that the video games of today seem to cater more to casual gamers than “serious” gamers, transpiring a dichotomy akin to that of high culture versus low culture.

References

  • 27Group. (2019, September 11). Retrieved April 20, 2021, from The Multi-Million Dollar ‘Video Game’ Industry: https://27.group/the-multi-million-dollar-video-gameindustry
  • Adorno, T. W. (1991). Culture Industry Reconsidered. In J. M. Bernstein (Ed.), The Culture Industry: Selected Essays on Mass Culture (pp. 98-106). New York: Routledge.
  • Adorno, T. W. (1991). How to Look at Television. In J. M. Bernstein (Ed.), The Culture Industry: Selected Essays on Mass Culture (pp. 158-177). New York: Routledge.
  • Adorno, T. W. (1991). On the Fetish Character in Music and the Regression of Listening. In J. M. Bernstein (Ed.), The Culture Industry: Selected Essays on Mass Culture (pp.29-60). New York: Routledge.
  • Adorno, T. W. (1991). The Scheme of Mass Culture. In J. M. Bernstein (Ed.), The Culture Industry: Selected Essays on Mass Culture (pp. 61-97). New York: Routledge.
  • Adorno, T. W. (2002). Aesthetic Theory. New York: Continuum.
  • Bottomore, T. (2003). The Frankfurt School and its Critics. New York: Routledge.
  • Bronner, S. E. (2011). Critical Theory: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Corliss, J. (2011). Introduction: The Social Science Study of Video Games. Games and Culture, 6(3), 3-165.
  • Crawford, G. (2012). Video Gamers. New York: Routledge.
  • entertainment software association. (n.d.). Retrieved August 14, 2021, from 2020 Essential Facts About the Video Game Industry: https://www.theesa.com/resource/2020-essential-facts
  • Feshbach, S., & Singer, R. D. (1971). Television and Aggression: An Experimental Field Study. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
  • GameFAQs. (2018, October 07). Retrieved May 09, 2021, from Poll of the Day: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/7226-why-do-you-play-video-games
  • GameFAQs. (2021, April 29). Retrieved May 13, 2021, from Poll of the Day: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/8441-do-you-think-todays-video-games-are-easieror-harder-than
  • Ganti, A. (2021). NotebookCheck. Retrieved January 04, 2022, from PS5 stocks to get worse in 2022 as Sony cuts production forecast: https://www.notebookcheck.net/PS5-stocks-to-get-worse-in-2022-as-Sony-cuts-productionforecast.578543.0.html
  • Horkheimer, M. (2004). Eclipse of Reason. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Horkheimer, M., & Adorno, T. W. (2002). Dialectic of Enlightenment: Philosophical Fragments. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
  • Kızılçelik, S. (2013). Frankfurt Okulu. Ankara: Anı Yayıncılık.
  • Maigret, E. (2014). Medya ve İletişim Sosyolojisi. İstanbul: İletişim Yayıncılık A. Ş.
  • Marcuse, H. (2009). Aggressiveness in Advanced Industrial Societies. In H. Marcuse, Negations: Essays in Critical Theory (pp. 187-202). London: MayFlyBooks.
  • Martens, T. (2020, January 9). Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 13, 2021, from ‘Life Is Strange 2,’ a Video Game Saga that Reflects the Trump Era: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2020-01-09/life-is-strange-2-video-game-trumpera
  • Pavlovic, D. (2020, July 23). HP. Retrieved December 27, 2021, from Video Game Genres: Everything You Need to Know: https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/video-game-genres
  • Popper, K. R. (1994). The Myth of the Framework: In Defence of Science and Rationality. New York: Routledge.
  • reddit. (2018, February 10). Retrieved May 14, 2021, from Because games on a mobile device are not games.: https://www.reddit.com/r/gatekeeping/comments/7wl75w/because_games_on_a_mobile_device_are_not_games
  • statista. (2020, June). Retrieved May 08, 2021, from Number of Active Video Gamers Worldwide from 2015 to 2023: https://www.statista.com/statistics/748044/number-video-gamers-world/
  • statista. (2021). Retrieved April 15, 2021, from Video Game Market Value Worldwide from 2012 to 2023: https://www.statista.com/statistics/292056/video-gamemarket-value-worldwide/
  • wccftech. (2021, April 28). Retrieved May 13, 2021, from PS5 Shortages “Not Likely” to End in 2021, But Sony Hopes to Sell More than PS4 in Year 2: https://wccftech.com/ps5-shortages-not-likely-to-end-2021-outsell-ps4-year-2/
  • Wilson, R. (2007). Theodor Adorno. New York: Routledge.
  • Wolf, M. J. (2008). The Video Game Explosion: A History from PONG to PlayStation® and Beyond. London: Greenwood Press.

Frankfurt Okulu’nun Eleştirel Teorisi ve Popüler Kültür Ürünleri Olarak Bilgisayar Oyunlarının Bir Eleştirisi

Year 2022, Volume: 9 Issue: 1, 1 - 17, 31.01.2022
https://doi.org/10.17680/erciyesiletisim.1030093

Abstract

Frankfurt Okulu’nun eleştirel teorisi, kitle iletişim araçlarını incelemek için bir çerçeve sunmuştur. Okul’un önde gelen teorisyenlerinden Adorno ve Horkheimer Aydınlanmanın Diyalektiği’nde eğlence sektörünün durumunu tartışmak için “kültür endüstrisi” kavramını kullanmışlardır. Bununla birlikte, bilgisayar oyunları hem sosyal hem de ekonomik açıdan önemli medya ürünleri hâline geldiğinde Frankfurt Okulu’nun eleştirel teorisyenleri ya ölmüş ya da bu medya ürünlerini analiz etmeme yolunu tercih etmişlerdir. Bu makalenin temel argümanı, günümüz kapitalist toplumlarındaki eğlence sektörünün ayrılmaz bir parçası olan bilgisayar oyunlarının kültür endüstrisi ürünleri olarak ele alınmaya uygun olduğu yönündedir. Buradan hareketle, mevcut çalışmada bilgisayar oyunlarındaki fantezi dünyalarının insanların dikkatini, kapitalist toplumların sorunlarından uzaklaştırdığı öne sürülmektedir. Ayrıca, bu ürünlerin giderek daha standart hâle geldiği ve tüketicilere basit zevkler sağlamayı hedeflediği de çalışmanın iddiaları arasındadır. Günümüzün bilgisayar oyunlarının “ciddi” oyunculardan çok sıradan oyunculara hitap ediyor gibi görünmesinin, “yüksek kültüre karşı alçak kültür” benzeri bir dikotomiyi ortaya koyduğu düşünülmekte ve bilgisayar oyunlarının bu bağlamda bir tartışması yürütülmektedir.

References

  • 27Group. (2019, September 11). Retrieved April 20, 2021, from The Multi-Million Dollar ‘Video Game’ Industry: https://27.group/the-multi-million-dollar-video-gameindustry
  • Adorno, T. W. (1991). Culture Industry Reconsidered. In J. M. Bernstein (Ed.), The Culture Industry: Selected Essays on Mass Culture (pp. 98-106). New York: Routledge.
  • Adorno, T. W. (1991). How to Look at Television. In J. M. Bernstein (Ed.), The Culture Industry: Selected Essays on Mass Culture (pp. 158-177). New York: Routledge.
  • Adorno, T. W. (1991). On the Fetish Character in Music and the Regression of Listening. In J. M. Bernstein (Ed.), The Culture Industry: Selected Essays on Mass Culture (pp.29-60). New York: Routledge.
  • Adorno, T. W. (1991). The Scheme of Mass Culture. In J. M. Bernstein (Ed.), The Culture Industry: Selected Essays on Mass Culture (pp. 61-97). New York: Routledge.
  • Adorno, T. W. (2002). Aesthetic Theory. New York: Continuum.
  • Bottomore, T. (2003). The Frankfurt School and its Critics. New York: Routledge.
  • Bronner, S. E. (2011). Critical Theory: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Corliss, J. (2011). Introduction: The Social Science Study of Video Games. Games and Culture, 6(3), 3-165.
  • Crawford, G. (2012). Video Gamers. New York: Routledge.
  • entertainment software association. (n.d.). Retrieved August 14, 2021, from 2020 Essential Facts About the Video Game Industry: https://www.theesa.com/resource/2020-essential-facts
  • Feshbach, S., & Singer, R. D. (1971). Television and Aggression: An Experimental Field Study. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
  • GameFAQs. (2018, October 07). Retrieved May 09, 2021, from Poll of the Day: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/7226-why-do-you-play-video-games
  • GameFAQs. (2021, April 29). Retrieved May 13, 2021, from Poll of the Day: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/8441-do-you-think-todays-video-games-are-easieror-harder-than
  • Ganti, A. (2021). NotebookCheck. Retrieved January 04, 2022, from PS5 stocks to get worse in 2022 as Sony cuts production forecast: https://www.notebookcheck.net/PS5-stocks-to-get-worse-in-2022-as-Sony-cuts-productionforecast.578543.0.html
  • Horkheimer, M. (2004). Eclipse of Reason. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Horkheimer, M., & Adorno, T. W. (2002). Dialectic of Enlightenment: Philosophical Fragments. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
  • Kızılçelik, S. (2013). Frankfurt Okulu. Ankara: Anı Yayıncılık.
  • Maigret, E. (2014). Medya ve İletişim Sosyolojisi. İstanbul: İletişim Yayıncılık A. Ş.
  • Marcuse, H. (2009). Aggressiveness in Advanced Industrial Societies. In H. Marcuse, Negations: Essays in Critical Theory (pp. 187-202). London: MayFlyBooks.
  • Martens, T. (2020, January 9). Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 13, 2021, from ‘Life Is Strange 2,’ a Video Game Saga that Reflects the Trump Era: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2020-01-09/life-is-strange-2-video-game-trumpera
  • Pavlovic, D. (2020, July 23). HP. Retrieved December 27, 2021, from Video Game Genres: Everything You Need to Know: https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/video-game-genres
  • Popper, K. R. (1994). The Myth of the Framework: In Defence of Science and Rationality. New York: Routledge.
  • reddit. (2018, February 10). Retrieved May 14, 2021, from Because games on a mobile device are not games.: https://www.reddit.com/r/gatekeeping/comments/7wl75w/because_games_on_a_mobile_device_are_not_games
  • statista. (2020, June). Retrieved May 08, 2021, from Number of Active Video Gamers Worldwide from 2015 to 2023: https://www.statista.com/statistics/748044/number-video-gamers-world/
  • statista. (2021). Retrieved April 15, 2021, from Video Game Market Value Worldwide from 2012 to 2023: https://www.statista.com/statistics/292056/video-gamemarket-value-worldwide/
  • wccftech. (2021, April 28). Retrieved May 13, 2021, from PS5 Shortages “Not Likely” to End in 2021, But Sony Hopes to Sell More than PS4 in Year 2: https://wccftech.com/ps5-shortages-not-likely-to-end-2021-outsell-ps4-year-2/
  • Wilson, R. (2007). Theodor Adorno. New York: Routledge.
  • Wolf, M. J. (2008). The Video Game Explosion: A History from PONG to PlayStation® and Beyond. London: Greenwood Press.
There are 29 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Communication and Media Studies
Journal Section Articles in Foreign Languages
Authors

Aykut Sığın 0000-0002-1197-552X

Publication Date January 31, 2022
Submission Date November 29, 2021
Published in Issue Year 2022 Volume: 9 Issue: 1

Cite

APA Sığın, A. (2022). Frankfurt School’s Critical Theory and a Critique of Video Games as Popular Culture Products. Erciyes İletişim Dergisi, 9(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.17680/erciyesiletisim.1030093