Let us consider another passage from the work of Horkheimer and Adorno on the culture industry:

“The standardized forms, it is claimed, were originally derived from the needs of the consumers: that is why they are accepted with so little resistance. In reality, a cycle of manipulation and retroactive need is unifying the system ever more tightly. What is not mentioned is that the basis on which technology is gaining power over society is the power of those whose economic position in society is strongest.”

The initial argument by the proponents of the culture industry is that cultural goods such as movies are produced with a certain degree of ‘sameness' and accepted by the consumers with little resistance because consumers want these goods. The culture industry states that such goods/products will be produced as long as there is demand for them, even if they are homogenous and mass-produced. This is also an argument to justify the standardization of cultural goods.

But according to Horkheimer and Adorno, a cycle of ‘manipulation' of the consumers and ‘retroactive need' are at play. Technology usually belongs to those who exercise economic power. The critics use terms such as ‘predetermined ideology', ‘manipulation', ‘social control' and ‘illusion' to further explain how consumers are manipulated by the culture industry.