Adorno and Eisenstein

During today’s class, I was especially engaged by the question of whether or not it is possible for one to exist within Adorno’s “culture industry,” without necessarily becoming completely engulfed by it. In particular, I found the discussion of film to be exceptionally relevant given that the medium itself is capable of being utilized to produce both works of great artistic merit, as well as, products that have no value other than shear entertainment. Furthermore, it struck me as significant that the ability of film to create such an accurate illusion of reality could in turn be used to achieve artistic and commercial aims. Specifically, the work of Sergei Eisenstein occurred to me as an example of a director who attempted to utilize these two conflicting aspects of film in order to create a revolution within the culture industry. While Eisenstein recognized the power of the illusion that film creates and thus, its ability to be used as propaganda (his own ideologies are clearly on display in much of his work), he felt that through a “dialectic approach to film form,” it was possible to use montage in a way that presented an idea to the viewer without rendering him or her entirely passive. By juxtaposing conflicting imagery in the “Odessa Steps” sequence of his film, The Battleship Potemkin, Eisenstein creates a strong statement in favor of the revolt; however, he also forces the audience into a state of heightened awareness that makes them incapable of simply accepting what they are being shown. As the technology of film improved and consequently, its ability to depict reality, Eisenstein warned other filmmakers to use the power of illusion responsibly. In his “Statement on Sound,” Eisenstein encourages the use of the new innovation in a manner that is similar to his use of montage, with the aim of creating an accurate representation of the world without going so far as to dupe one’s audience.