Culture Industry as Reflected in "Robinson Crusoe" Movie

1. Why does certain modern film industry make this kind of movie?
One reason certain Movie Company produces Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe into a movie is that it is one of the most popular adventure novels in the world. Thus, Robinson Crusoe is very well-known. Since the novel is popular, it encourages people to be familiar with the story of such adventurer. Even, in my opinion, the story is still popular nowadays and everyone knows the story of Robinson Crusoe. In this digitalized era, watching the movie is much easier than reading the story. Therefore, having seen the fame of Robinson Crusoe and consumer’s need (that watching movie – a multi media – is easier than reading the story), certain film industry makes this kind of movie in order to facilitate people in accessing literature work through multimedia medium (movie), thus produce a lot of money for the movie company.

2. How MIRAMAX Movie Company has manipulated this kind of modern cultural industry? Support!
MMC has manipulated several scenes in the original story and produces different scenes in the movie. Here is provided the differences between the movie and the original story of Robinson Crusoe:
In the beginning of the story, Robinson Crusoe had loved a beautiful woman whom was promised to one of Crusoe’s best friends. Since he refused to let her go, Crusoe was challenged to a sword duel against his friend. He agreed the duel but reluctantly did it. He tried to argue with his friend so that his friend would come to his senses, but that was not the case. As he walked away, his friend made a mad dash toward Crusoe’s back with sword drawn, so Crusoe spun and, in order to defence himself, he ran the man through and killed him. To avoid vengeance from his friend’s brother, Crusoe left England on a ship voyage and promised to take his fiancé’s hand in marriage. Besides, he did so because her fiancé wanted him to be wiser. Crusoe promised to be away for 12 months.
While in the original version story, Crusoe left England against the wishes of his parents. His father encouraged him to study law, on the other hand, Crusoe wished to go to sea. His family was against him going out to sea since it is better to seek a modest and secure life. At first, he obeyed his father but eventually he disobeyed him and embarked for London with a friend. He had been in several journeys, such as captured by Moorish pirates and became a tobacco planter in Brazil, before he set sail for Guinea in order to buy slaves to extend his business as tobacco planter. He experienced shipwrecked and boarded on an inhabited island while sailing to the South American coast.
In the original story, it is told that Crusoe lived in the uninhabited island for nearly 27 years, while in the movie Crusoe lived in the island for more or less 5-6 years. Another difference found (but still related to the reason why Crusoe left England and the length of time Crusoe spent in the island) is that the movie employs romance, while the original story doesn’t employ it much. Since the movie will be more appealing if it has romance in it, the movie company manipulates Crusoe’s reason for leaving England. Further, the movie tells us that Crusoe will take his fiancé’s hand in marriage as soon as he is back from his journey. Society nowadays will think that it is a stupid thing to wait for someone who has promised to take our hand in marriage for more than 20 years – or probably who is considered has already died. Thus, the movie manipulates the original story to adjust it with nowadays situation by shortening the time Crusoe had spent in the island. (Or it is possible that the movie company, indeed, creates such society in which not to be such a stupid person to wait for someone who has promised to marry us for more than 20 years.)
The last thing manipulated I recognize is how Crusoe left the island. In the original version, they planned to go back to Friday’s island but in the end they changed it since they saved two people from the cannibals: Friday’s father and a Spaniard. As seen in the movie, Crusoe and Friday went to Friday’s island and they were ordered to fight each other in which if Crusoe was killed Friday would stay, but if Friday was killed Crusoe would be free. This was because Friday had been considered died already by his tribe. Besides, he took Crusoe, a white man, into their island, thus made the tribe was afraid of being employed as slaves. Of course this is not without any reason.

3. What’s your opinion about the movie based on Adorno & Horkheimer’s argument?
The movie, in my opinion, has manipulated several things in order to create appealing factors. By providing romance in the movie, MIRAMAX creates what people need: romance, all things related to love (in this case, love between lovers). Since love is one thing favoured among human being and it is interesting to explore, the movie company employs this side of human being to assure people that love is (especially between lovers) is interesting to explore, that love affair is what they need.
Besides, we can see also the manipulation done in how Crusoe left the island. Instead of performing the same story as the original story, MIRAMAX created the fighting between Crusoe and Friday in order to show what people need, war. Some people are assured that to survive sometimes means to sacrifice other people, even our best friend (although both of them don’t want to kill each other, but the essential thing is that they have to kill). This happens in our society nowadays, in which people no longer care about each other in order to survive, even they kill each other. People competes each other in order to survive, to be the best, well-known, rich, and powerful.
The movie Robinson Crusoe employs several things which are needed by people: love affairs and war. Those two things are interesting to explore, and both are something human. People need to love and to be loved, through this movie people are assured what they want is the ideal love affairs, in which the woman still waiting for her lover. Besides, instinctively, people need to survive, and sometimes wars, blood-spilled and killing may satisfy human’s hidden desire. Here I can see that through a movie, several movies company create and assure the society what they need. This is in line with Adorno and Horkheimer’s argument about the culture industry, where the standardized need is assured or created by media for the larger demand of capitalism.