Abstract

The evolution of the welfare state resulted in the diversification of occupational stratification, an increase in social prosperity, and the collapse of Soviet socialism. This led media researchers to turn their attention to gender, race, consumption, and globalization. Consequently, class issues have lost their ideological significance, receiving little scholarly input in recent decades. However, the COVID-19 pandemic, Russo-Ukrainian conflict, and US-China hegemony have seriously impacted the economy and widened class separation. Therefore, media studies must reconsider class issues and develop media and class-related research perspectives and analytical methods based on a re-reading of classical theories. This study focuses on the Frankfurt School and Cultural Studies in critical theory, as an extension and development of Marxism. It compiles research perspectives and analytical methods on class and media by reviewing relevant theories. This study emphasizes the critical schools’ significance in analyzing contemporary class and media issues, and proposes research topics for subsequent research.