Theodor Adorno’s concept of industrial culture implied a strong connection between capitalist society and the products capitalism produces in the cultural sphere to enhance the existing social practices that benefit the further development of capitalism. Therefore, Adorno suggested that most media products, such as films, books, television programs, reinforce the population’s belief in capitalist values. On the other hand, the structural functionalism theory approaches society as a living organism, where each part of society plays its function in the viability maintenance of the whole organism. Therefore, even though the concepts have similarities in equally prioritizing the importance of stability in society, their differences can be more apparent through application to modern culture and society.
In his theory, Adorno pointed at the obvious narrative of mass media products, such as films and books, where wealth is often associated with happiness. However, another example with a more apparent connection to reinforcing capitalism is entertainment for children. From a very young age, modern children are exposed to different sorts of media in the form of tv shows, cartoons, and animated films. In the structural functionalism approach, the entertainment industry for children presents a source of education and emotional development. In different forms, the children’s entertainment industry teaches them important moral practices of being kind and polite to other people, which serves as the foundation for security in the future society. However, in the industrial culture approach, modern children’s entertainment is focused on selling the merchandise of different characters featured in films. For example, one of the most influential companies, Disney, invented the business model of using cartoon characters to attract children to their theme parks (Clement, 2018). Now, the company strategically plans simultaneous launches of animated films and merchandise with the films’ characters to ensure financial benefit.