Trump Stole America’s Soul — and Half of Americans Cheered

A Paper on The Role of Mass Culture: Celebrating the Strongman. And How To Resist.

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By re-electing Donald Trump in 2024, with over half of the popular vote, the American electorate has made a choice that reveals a profound cultural and political shift. This decision isn’t just about politics; it’s a reflection of deeper forces at play in our society. We find ourselves at a critical juncture where mass media, the tech industry, and the powerful pull of a new kind of authoritarianism have combined to create a landscape where truth itself has been redefined.

To make sense of this, I decided to revisit some of my graduate work. The Frankfort School seemed a logical place to start because, well, I can’t seem to shake it from my thoughts. So, I turned to a group of mid-20th-century thinkers and scholars who were way ahead of their time in analyzing how culture shapes our beliefs and political choices.

Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer, two key thinkers of the Frankfurt School, coined the term “culture industry” to describe how mass media manipulates society into passivity. They argued that in a capitalist system, cultural products — media, from TV shows to social media content — become standardized and designed not to challenge us, but to comfort us. In this context, Trump’s re-election is the culmination of decades of cultural conditioning where spectacle and sensationalism have come to dominate our understanding of truth.

We’ve seen the rise of a political figure who thrives on being larger than life, a reality TV star who blurred the line between entertainment and governance. The culture industry has played a pivotal role in making this possible. The constant bombardment of media content — much of it sensational, emotionally charged, and divisive — has created an environment where it’s difficult to distinguish facts from fiction. We are left in a perpetual state of distraction, caught between the real and the hyperreal, where what feels true becomes more powerful than what is true.

The rapid expansion of digital technology has only deepened this crisis. In the 21st century, information is mediated through algorithms designed to maximize engagement, not to inform or educate. The Frankfurt School warned us about this kind of technological rationality — a way of thinking that prioritizes efficiency and profit over ethics or truth. Social media platforms are the perfect embodiment of this shift: they feed us content that reinforces our existing beliefs, creating echo chambers that foster division and amplify misinformation.

Trump’s victory can be seen as a triumph of algorithmic culture, where emotional appeal and outrage are more valuable than policy or substance. This isn’t accidental; it’s a product of a system that prioritizes what gets clicks, likes, and shares. In this environment, figures like Trump become unavoidable. They dominate the digital space, drowning out nuanced debate with a flood of simplistic, emotionally charged messaging.

In the past, institutions like the media, education, and even religion served as checks on political power. They were the pillars of the Ideological State Apparatuses (ISAs) described by philosopher Louis Althusser — structures that help maintain social order by promoting shared beliefs and values. However, the erosion of trust in these institutions, accelerated by the rise of digital media, has paved the way for a new kind of apparatus: one that is more directly tied to corporate and authoritarian interests.

The Frankfurt School critiqued how the culture industry supports the status quo, but we are now seeing a mutation of this dynamic. The undermining of traditional ISAs has led to a vacuum filled by more repressive mechanisms of control. Trump’s rise has been fueled by a culture that prizes disruption for its own sake and distrusts expertise and traditional authority figures. The result is a political climate where authoritarianism isn’t just tolerated; it’s desired by a significant portion of the populace.

We live in a society where mass culture doesn’t just reflect our values; it shapes them. The Frankfurt School’s analysis of the commodification of culture explains how entertainment has become the main vehicle for ideology. Trump, a master of media manipulation, has turned the spectacle of his own personality into a kind of political entertainment. He embodies the fantasy of the strongman — a figure who promises to cut through the noise and restore order, no matter the cost.

This isn’t a new story; it’s the same appeal that autocratic leaders have used throughout history. But what’s different now is the scale and speed at which this message can be broadcast and accepted. The entertainment industry, news media, and political punditry have all played a role in normalizing divisive rhetoric, creating a feedback loop that amplifies authoritarian narratives.

If we take anything from the Frankfurt School’s analysis, it’s the need to cultivate a critical consciousness that questions the narratives we are fed. Adorno’s concept of the negative dialectic — the idea that true understanding comes from engaging with contradictions and rejecting easy answers (also know as Socratic Dialog)— is a useful tool here. We need to push back against the simplistic, binary thinking that has come to dominate political discourse.

PUSH BACK_THERE IS A LONG ROAD AHEAD, BUT WE CAN DO IT.
We know this. We must persevere.

Another member of the Frankfurt School, Herbert Marcuse, argued that the arts and countercultural movements have the power to challenge the status quo. We need to reclaim the public sphere through creative expression and direct action that disrupts the comfortable narratives of power. Supporting independent journalism, promoting media literacy, and fostering spaces for genuine dialogue are all essential steps in building a resistance movement grounded in critical reflection. I’m look at you Blue Sky and Substack.

Finally, we can turn to Jürgen Habermas’s theory of communicative reason, which emphasizes the importance of rational dialogue and mutual understanding. This is a time to rebuild our public discourse from the ground up, focusing on transparency, inclusiveness, and a shared commitment to truth. It’s about creating forums where we can have real conversations, free from the noise of sensationalism and manipulation. Trump’s re-election has exposed a deep rift in American society, one that goes beyond politics and cuts into the very fabric of our culture. Half of the country cheers as he dismantles norms and institutions that once held us together, but this isn’t just a crisis of governance — it’s a crisis of meaning. We’ve allowed the culture industry, tech monopolies, and authoritarian rhetoric to steal our collective soul, replacing critical thought with passive consumption.

But there’s a way forward. By embracing the insights of critical theory, fostering democratic dialogue, and standing firm against the allure of easy answers, we can begin to reclaim our shared values. The road ahead is difficult, but the stakes couldn’t be higher. If we want to resist the tide of authoritarianism, we need to start by rethinking how we engage with culture, technology, and each other. This isn’t just a political fight; it’s a fight for the very essence of what it means to be a democratic society.