Mass Culture Orthodoxy

The established, institutionalized set of beliefs about mass culture itself—the often-unexamined assumptions that mass culture is inevitable, that it serves the people, that it reflects popular taste, that it's democratizing, that criticism of mass culture is elitist, and that engagement with mass culture is simply normal. Mass culture orthodoxy includes commitments: that cultural production should be market-driven, that popularity indicates quality, that mass audiences get what they want, that cultural critique is snobbery, that alternatives to mass culture are nostalgic or impractical. Like all orthodoxies, it naturalizes particular arrangements—making mass culture seem like simply "how culture works" rather than a specific historical formation shaped by capitalism, technology, and power. Mass culture orthodoxy determines what cultural forms are visible, what alternatives are unthinkable, and who counts as "in touch" versus "out of touch."

Example: "He dismissed independent media as irrelevant because 'nobody watches that'—as if popularity were the measure of value. Mass culture orthodoxy had made market success feel like cultural significance."

Mass Culture Orthodoxy by Dumu The Void March 17, 2026