Phantasmagoria is aesthetic appearance turned into commodity function.

Evidence

InWagner, Adorno further develops this interpretation of the concept of fetish: … It sums up the unromantic side of the phantasmagoria: phantasmagoria as the point at which aesthetic appearance becomes a function of the character of the commodity. As a commodity it purveys illusions.The absolute reality of the unreal is nothing but the reality of a phenomenon that not only strives unceasingly to spirit away its own origins in human labor, but also, inseparably from this process and in thrall to exchange value, assiduously emphasizesitsusevalue,stressingthatthisisitsauthenticreality,thatitis ‘noimitation’–andallthisinordertofurtherthecauseof exchangevalue. InWagner’s day the consumer goods on display turned their phenomenal side seductively towards the mass of customers while diverting attention from their merely phenomenal character, from the fact that they were beyond reach. Similarly, in the phantasmagoria, Wagner’s operas tend to become commodities. — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 386

Categorization

• DEFINE: Adorno’s redefinition of phantasmagoria connects aesthetic illusion to commodity fetishism and exchange value.
• XREF: Connects to Benjamin’s Arcades Project phantasmagoria concept and Marx’s commodity fetishism analysis. — connects to: The grey, disenchanted look of the world stems from its commodity character.; Aesthetic style becomes a commodity attribute that aestheticizes everyday life. — Theodor W. Adorno, The Culture Industry: Selected Essays…, 61; Capitalist commodification displaces the aesthetic value of art — Wael Hallaq, Restating Orientalism: A Critique of…, 69 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Aesthetic style becomes a commodity attribute that aestheticizes everyday life. #expands (0.90) — Theodor W. Adorno, The Culture Industry, 61
• Capitalist commodification displaces the aesthetic value of art #qualifies (0.80) — Wael Hallaq, Restating Orientalism, 69