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INTRODUCTION Technologies had grown rapidly in 20th Century, it had grown rapidly and causes lot of great things happened within the society as part of entertainment and way of communication. On the other hand, though technology brought a great impact to the world primarily the television, press, radio, cinema and contemporarily the internet, it is somehow becoming an entrance of devil in the eyes of many. Frankfurt School's philosophers, Adorno and Marcuses said culture is in the constant and close interface with ideological practices. Mass media can act as an influential tool to signify and reproduce prevailing opinions and values as it intensely pervading the everyday life of the modern society. Moreover, as the media industry is increasingly becoming commercialized and marketoriented, it transforms art and culture into a system of consumption, treating people as mere consumers. In connection to that most early philosophers are concern that people’s ability for critical thought may wither away under the influence of prevailing opinions or values presented by mass media. However, Adorno and Marcuses opposed to the claim and have not only developed a detailed critique of mass media and media culture, but have also sought to find ways to rediscover critical thinking. They developed properties of media culture, their analysis of the functions of mass media, and even their diagnosis of the whole modern society. It is mainly based in their study of the culture industry and theory of one-dimensional society. It is also critical analysis of media culture with a concentration on the relationship between political practices and culture, power and information. ADORNO AND REALITY TELEVISION In the past, reality television was viewed as a cultural and domestic technology by Raymond Williams. Television is infused within cultures that transform the perception of social actors in reality and how they viewed the world. The progress of early technology gives information about the world events without the others having a say on it. Television then became a major component of the mass industry and its programs that serves the needs and interest of capitalism even though it was restricted to a minority in society in the early 1940s. Theodor W. Adorno was born in Frankfurt, Germany. In 1930s, he moved to America to abscond from Nazi

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party. Adorno, Horkheimer, Lowenthal, Fromm, Marcuse and Habermas produced the critical theory. These are critical writings that were produced by them tackling about the cultures like music that would become associated with the Frankfurt School. Adorno observed some examples which were prominently music and television. Some examples were also astrology columns and also popular culture but this one will focus on television. For example, the reality television talent shows for instances are; Pop Idol or American Idol and The X Factor which is highly popularized and profitable shows. These examples represent the critique of Adorno and his colleagues on both popular music and television substantiate how his cultural analysis is highly pertinent today. Adorno and Horkheimer theorized that many popular culture are parts of a single culture. They also theorized the phenomenon of mass culture actually has a political implication. Under monopoly, all mass culture is identical. Technology results in changing so that they are similar and consistent and mass production. Mass communication systems affect the consciousness of individuals that results to losing their leisure time and having the opportunities shut off. Adorno argues that mass culture should be developed from the masses themselves rather than form of organic. Mass culture is not a primary force rather is systematically imposed. Mass Culture industry has lost its image in the name of profit and incorporated it wholesale into the same total mass cultural system. The one that constitutes the high and low art is the power and influence of the mass culture industry. Its pervasive capitalist system’s central object and infiltrating major expressions of popular culture has cultural effect on cultural forms. Adorno explicitly illustrates that the cultural taste of a mass culture can be found all throughout its kinds and forms of music. The listener is exposed to a commodity making them manipulated purely for reasons of marketability. Consumers then are listening for music everyday just for marketability. The dominant promotion of this makes the listeners inattentive because it gives superficial and undemanding nature. Mass Culture Industry ensures substitutes of the products. The mass being successfully inculcated into the worldview of capitalism is the ideological power of the mass culture industry. Adorno focuses upon pervasive example of mass culture: television. Adorno made a comparison between television and classic works of literature or classic popular literature. An example of a standardized mass form of entertainment is television. Television industry has progressed; it has

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divided output into a number of types, or genres. This genre has developed patterns that brings distinctive effects on the viewers. According to Adorno’s analysis, television shows contain number of layers of meaning. He stated that there are hidden messages on a television content which may have socio-psychological effect on the viewers. We need to look for the progress and global popularity of reality TV to identify a twentyfirst-century television genre that will suggest the Adorno's critique of mass culture. The history of reality TV started on at least the 1960s with people shows. Big Brother is one of the popular entertainments which was developed by Endemol Entertainment in the Netherlands. The show was known for its media experience, that is where the audience can actually watch important highlights of people living in a house that is being broadcasted at the national television. The reality television was actually criticized by many citizens that it offers social or psychological insight but there is none. It just shows nothing more than a mixture of banality and emotional pornography. But it continuously shows progressive and strenuously emphasizes the spectacle of the program. Thus, reality TV rapidly became a genre which was heavily marketed and inspired by everyone. Concern on individualistic, wealth acquisition and conformity with dominant social norms were the main characteristics of the shows that were born based on this reality show. Adorno identified the hidden mechanisms of television which was argued in mainstream, entertainmentoriented programming but as explained by The Apprentice that the ideological layers have happened to celebrate capitalism and the individualistic, entrepreneurial ethic that strengthens it. In the form of extravagant and popular event musical TV shows, we can see the changing of it and the innovations through the years. The reality shows then were mixed with the concept of music. For further more information on the critical ideas of Adorno on to what extent that these TV shows illustrate in contemporary popular culture, let us first take the example of American Idol. The American Idol: The Search for a Superstar which was first broadcast on the eleventh day of June year 2001 that became the most trending to watch nowadays. The show accepts thousands of solo performers who are willing to win recording contract and to become a popular music stardom. This show then exemplifies that a reality show, a part of popular culture, that is mixed with the concept of music, another part of pop culture, will have many good ratings and will spread widely through the help of media supporters. Karla Petersen stated that there is

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clearly declining of cultural tastes, regression, cliché, repetition and the dominance of light culture. Adorno makes the point that the pattern of shows create repetitive features, which establishes a sense of expectation on the part of the audience, for instance, plotlines must resolve by the end of the episode, the good guy always wins and so forth. This then became a success to the genre of reality TV such as Big Brother, X Factor and American Idol which made it known across the world. Both American Idol and The X Factor represent the expression of Adorno’s insidious mass culture industry. It is inherent in the product of the both reality TV shows the view of Adorno in which the contemporary music was dominated by the commodity form. Moreover, it has also been the focus of resistance that lies in the heart of reality TV which implied that not all consumers are victims of the contemporary mass culture industry.

CONCLUSION According to Adorno, the standardization and nationalization of cultural structure was produced by growth of the culture industry. However, as the time passed by, it had reduced, wasted and ruined the capability of someone to evaluate and perform in a crucial and independent way. Eliminating the revolutionary potency of people by rendering comfort from the stresses of life under capitalist economy is the considered as important purpose of culture industry by Horkheimer and Adorno. Nonetheless, it cannot give real happiness because genuine happiness rises from the challenge of deciphering interwoven activity, and the rational stimulation. The culture industry by contrast provides only a conventional and foreseeable escape from actuality, and one which stays within present social and artistic edges. Appearance of television shows make repetitious properties, many of which set up a sense of prospect on the part of the audience, for instance, plot lines must conclude by the end of the episode, the good guy always wins a happy ending. This has effected in an era where media and information is ‘repetitive and self- same’, with TV audiences feeling that they’ve seen it before, or at least experienced the same appearance before. This corresponds how media has become an outcome of a Capitalist society.

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Additionally, he conceives that television has misplaced its form of artistry focusing now being on number of audiences as contradicted to the quality of the show. Adorno argues that in nowadays culture everyone is affected by media and television, as an effect of the media’s ability to manipulate what we visualize and shape how we think. Morever, he also argues that such inferences can have a harmful effect on society as ‘people may not only lose true insight into reality, but ultimately their very capacity for life experience may be dulled by the constant wearing of blue and pink spectacles.

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