Sport and sport media as a culture industry product

Abstract

Today, the concept of sports is associated with commercialized and industrialized elite sports instead of the activities that are required to sustain healthy lives. Sport is the first area in which capitalism can deepen its hold on society and renew it. This conceptual study examines how Marxist critical theorists, led by Frankfurt school of thought and French structuralism, address sports. According to critical theorists; culture industry products such as cinema, television and music entertain and divert the masses from thinking about the realities of life. Today’s culture industry which is based on commodification serves to spread a shallow culture instead of a culture with depth. Sports, transmitted to the masses via the media, are now a part of this shallow culture. According to culture industry, first conceptualized by the representatives of the Frankfurt school of thought Adorno and Horkheimer, masses have become the objects that are shaped by the culture instead of subjects that establish it. When considered as a part of the culture industry, sports are one of the mass entertainment and diversion tools that define the lifestyle of individuals. According to critical thinkers, sports such as football -the focus of interest for the masses- is a field in which injustice in income distribution is legitimized.