Critical aesthetics of manifestations of culture industry in literary texts (Case study: Simin Behbahani's poems)

Paying attention to the negative effects of the culture industry is among the principles of critical aesthetics of Frankfurt School. Culture industry eliminates one's creativity and individualism through their assimilation. In this documentary research that was conducted using a descriptive-analytical approach, the first five books of Simin Behbahani, including Jay-e Pa (Footprints), Chelcheraq (Chandelier), Mar Mar (Marble), Rastakhiz (Resurrection), and Khatee ze Sorat va az Atash (A Trajectory of Speed and Fire), were analyzed from the critical aesthetics perspective. The results of this research showed that besides depicting the life narration of the persons such as the dancer, the prostitute, the employee, and the rich man as some manifestations of the culture industry like beauty industry and entertainment industry in her poems, Simin Behbahani has represented reification as the consequence of the culture industry in the form of gender reification and administrative reification. Regarding the form area, Behbahani is, at first, an imitator by following the literary tradition, but she has liberated her art from imitation and entered the creative art area by bringing a manifesto in Khatee ze Sorat va az Atash manuscript and using the unprecedented and rare weights in Persian poetry. It can be said that her poem is an authentic one and complies with the principles of Frankfurt School. This way, Behbahani has, in fact, criticized the consequences of the culture industry by negating the status quo and presenting an indictment against the established rhyme.