Meaning of mass culture (what is it, concept and definition)

What is mass culture:

Mass culture is an expression that refers, on the one hand, to the universe of cultural consumer goods that are distributed in a massive and hegemonic way in the market; on the other, it refers to the social values ​​promoted by said hegemony, considered superficial and light.

Although this expression exists since the massification of society began towards the 19th century, it made its systematic appearance in sociology during the 1940s. From this decade on, it was associated with the concepts of mass society, consumer society and cultural industry .

It is inferred, therefore, that the expression mass culture has a pejorative character, at least in its origin. This derives from their modes of production and distribution.

The modes of production of mass culture are industrial. This implies that they are conceived by marketing specialists and not by cultural producers, and that they are mass-produced or mass-produced to fill a sales niche in the market.

The distribution of mass culture occurs strictly in the field of mass media, that is, television, radio, press and digital platforms, under advantageous conditions for the large corporate groups that dominate the spaces through paid advertising.

See also:

• Consumer society, hegemony, communication media.

Characteristics of mass culture

Among the characteristics of mass culture we can mention the following:

• It is born with the industrialization and the massive migration to the cities, therefore, It is inherent to the consumer society and the cultural industry. It is spread through the massive social communication media. It tends to the uniformity of cultural goods and social values, thus blurring the boundaries between elite and popular culture. Information is usually simplified, which functions as an ideological amalgam of society. It presents reality as spectacle and consumption.