The Effects of Mass Culture on the Loman Family : The Frankfurt School Critical Theory Applied to Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman

Abstract: This essay discusses the effects of mass culture on the Loman family in Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman. The focus is to identify whether conformation to mass culture and alienation have caused the characters to be lonely and to give up what they enjoy and to fall in line with a system where individuality is replaced by totality. The theoretical framework used is the Frankfurt School’s critical theory which further developed Karl Marx’s socialist economic theory by putting an emphasis on the role of media and culture. The Frankfurt School critical theory purports that people in a mass culture society are estranged from themselves and others as large corporations and machines eradicate individual skills. Consumerism and meaningless media control and keep fatigued workers happy in their leisure time and thus distract them from starting a revolution. Advertising and entertainment create heroes to be revered which leads to a society where people strive for success, but this also results in competition and further estrangement. The conclusion is that the behaviour of the Loman family members is a result of conforming to the expectations of a mass culture society. Willy and Biff fail in their professional fields as they are not engaged in the manual work they are qualified for and that would fulfil their true needs. The constant effort to live up to expectations leads to immoralities, lies, contradictions, and loneliness. A false consciousness conveyed through media has indoctrinated a belief that someone who is not successful should be excluded from society. Willy’s escape after his own and his sons’ failures is suicide.