Instagram: The Land of Deception and Mechanically Reproduced Beauty

Horkheimer and Adorno brought up the idea of "the mechanical reproduction of beauty" an idea I found rather familiar in the midst of a confusing read. Elaborating on Benjamins idea of mechanical reproduction, both philosophers expressed that "the culture industry does not sublimate: it suppresses"(Horkheimer & Adorno, p. 62) the authenticity of not only art but the beauty of art throughout film, radio, and magazines.

Today, films, radio, and magazines focus on the "business" of the works rather than their "art". Cinemas, publication companies, and producers focus on consumer appeal in the form of extreme abstraction. Benjamin states that just as someone can consumed by a work of art when standing before it and studying it, the "distracted" mass (audience) often absorbs the "art" before them. Just as Benjamin explained that art slowly became more about "quantity" rather than "quality", Horkheimer and Adorno express that culture has become a commodity.

I found the most alarming component of this reading to be the period in which they were written. Both Horkheimer and Adorno composed these ideas around the year 1944. These concepts are so prevalent in our society today. Maybe not so much through film and radio than the world of social media. When reading this I immediately thought about Instagram which was originally created in 2010 as an photo editing and publishing app but has became a socially networking service throughout the short six years of its existence. Today it is a place where people go to get approval from society, companies go to sell their products, and celebrities post photos of their ostentatious lifestyles for the world to see. Instagram is digital world filled with artificial beauty, happiness, and personalities, leaving little to no room for the sharing of the true authenticity of the art of photography.

Many people believe that we are living in an era of social networking, a time that allows people to express themselves with ease and connect with people like never before. In reality, we are living in an era controlled by the social and culture industry. In other words, we are living in an era consumed by social, cultural, and economic mass deception.