The most influential critiques of popular culture came from Marxist theorists of the Frankfurt School during the twentieth century. Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer analysed the dangers of the culture industry in their influential work the Dialectic of Enlightenment by drawing upon the works of Kant, Marx, Nietzsche and others. Capitalist popular culture, as Adorno argued, was not an authentic culture of the people but a system of homogenous and standardised artworks produced in the service of capitalist domination by the elite. The consumer demand for Hollywood films, pop tunes and consumable books is encouraged by the hegemony of the corporate elite who control the media and the corporations. Adorno wrote, "The industry bows to the vote it has itself rigged."Adorno & Horkheimer: Dialectic of Enlightenment. p. 106. It is the elite who commodify products in accordance with their narrow ideological values and criteria, and Adorno argues that the audience becomes accustomed to these formulaic conventions, making intellectual contemplation impossible.Adorno & Horkheimer: Dialectic of Enlightenment. p. 100. Adorno's work has had a considerable influence on culture studies, philosophy and the New Left.Held, D. (1980). Introduction to Critical Theory: Horkheimer to Habermas. Berkeley, University of California Press. Writing in the New Yorker in 2014, music critic Alex Ross, argued that Adorno's work has a renewed importance in the digital age: "The pop hegemony is all but complete, its superstars dominating the media and wielding the economic might of tycoons...Culture appears more monolithic than ever, with a few gigantic corporations—Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon—presiding over unprecedented monopolies." Jack Zipes, a professor of German and literature, critiqued the mass commercialisation and corporate hegemony behind the Harry Potter franchise. He argued that the commodities of the culture industry are "popular" because they are homogenous and obey standard conventions; the media then influences the tastes of children. In his analysis of Harry Potter's global brand, Zipes wrote, "It must conform to the standards of exception set by the mass media and promoted by the culture industry in general. To be a phenomenon means that a person or commodity must conform to the hegemonic groups that determine what makes up a phenomenon".Zipes, J. (2002). Sticks and Stones: The Troublesome Success of Children's Literature from Slovenly Peter to Harry Potter. p. 175. According to John M. MacKenzie, many products of popular culture have been designed to promote imperialist ideologies and to glorify the British upper classes rather than present a democratic view of the world. John M. MacKenzie. "Imperialism and Popular Culture". 1986, Manchester University Press 155 Although there are many films which do not contain such propaganda, there have been many films that promote racism and militarist imperialism. John M. MacKenzie. "Imperialism and Popular Culture". 1986, Manchester University Press 155 Feminist critique Bell Hooks, an influential feminist, argues that Beyoncé and her music are commodities reinforced by capitalist corporations complicit in imperialism and patriarchy. Hooks' view is that something cannot be progressive if it collaborates with imperialist capitalism. Bell Hooks: URL Hooks said: "If, let's say, Beyonce was a homeless woman who looked the same way, or a poor, down and out woman who looked the same way, would people be enchanted by her? Or is it the combination of all of those things that are at the heart of imperialist, white supremacist, capitalist patriarchy?"Bell Hooks: URL Bell Hooks. Beyoncé's Lemonade is capitalist money-making at its best. Guardian. 2016.
The most influential critiques of popular culture came from Marxist theorists of the Frankfurt School during the twentieth century. Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer analysed the dangers of the culture industry in their influential work the Dialectic of Enlightenment by drawing upon the works of Kant, Marx, Nietzsche and others. Capitalist popular culture, as Adorno argued, was not an authentic culture of the people but a system of homogenous and standardised artworks produced in the service of capitalist domination by the elite. The consumer demand for Hollywood films, pop tunes and consumable books is encouraged by the hegemony of the corporate elite who control the media and the corporations. Adorno wrote, "The industry bows to the vote it has itself rigged."Adorno & Horkheimer: Dialectic of Enlightenment. p. 106. It is the elite who commodify products in accordance with their narrow ideological values and criteria, and Adorno argues that the audience becomes accustomed to these formulaic conventions, making intellectual contemplation impossible.Adorno & Horkheimer: Dialectic of Enlightenment. p. 100. Adorno's work has had a considerable influence on culture studies, philosophy and the New Left.Held, D. (1980). Introduction to Critical Theory: Horkheimer to Habermas. Berkeley, University of California Press. Writing in the New Yorker in 2014, music critic Alex Ross, argued that Adorno's work has a renewed importance in the digital age: "The pop hegemony is all but complete, its superstars dominating the media and wielding the economic might of tycoons...Culture appears more monolithic than ever, with a few gigantic corporations—Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon—presiding over unprecedented monopolies." Scholar Jack Zipes critiqued the mass commercialisation and corporate hegemony behind the Harry Potter franchise. He argued that the commodities of the culture industry are "popular" because they are homogenous and obey standard conventions; the media then influences the tastes of children. In his analysis of Harry Potter's global brand, Zipes wrote, "It must conform to the standards of exception set by the mass media and promoted by the culture industry in general. To be a phenomenon means that a person or commodity must conform to the hegemonic groups that determine what makes up a phenomenon".Zipes, J. (2002). Sticks and Stones: The Troublesome Success of Children's Literature from Slovenly Peter to Harry Potter. p. 175. According to John M. MacKenzie, many products of popular culture have been designed to promote imperialist ideologies and to glorify the British upper classes rather than present a democratic view of the world. John M. MacKenzie. "Imperialism and Popular Culture". 1986, Manchester University Press 155 Although there are many films which do not contain such propaganda, there have been many films that promote racism and militarist imperialism. John M. MacKenzie. "Imperialism and Popular Culture". 1986, Manchester University Press 155 
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Jack Zipes, a professor of German and literature,
Scholar Jack Zipes
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Feminist critique Bell Hooks, an influential feminist, argues that Beyoncé and her music are commodities reinforced by capitalist corporations complicit in imperialism and patriarchy. Hooks' view is that something cannot be progressive if it collaborates with imperialist capitalism. Bell Hooks: URL Hooks said: "If, let's say, Beyonce was a homeless woman who looked the same way, or a poor, down and out woman who looked the same way, would people be enchanted by her? Or is it the combination of all of those things that are at the heart of imperialist, white supremacist, capitalist patriarchy?"Bell Hooks: URL Bell Hooks. Beyoncé's Lemonade is capitalist money-making at its best. Guardian. 2016.