Modern Culture

It’s high time we considered “culture” (pronounced by some high-falutin’ folks as “cull-cha”) as something more than great novels, symphonies or art museums full of stuff made by dead or dying artists.  And as we begin this discussion I’ll admit that I’ve been less than open-minded in what I consider part of the great melting pot that is modern culture.  In fact I’m a bit of a snob.

The dictionary has a long list of definitions of culture.  For the sake of this little article we’ll use this one from “The American Century Dictionary”:  1a) Intellectual and artistic achievement or expression 1b) Refined appreciation of the arts, etc.  Pretty simple.

In fact the simplicity of that definition opens up the cultural world to include what I’ve always considered to be pretty crappy stuff.  If the arts are literature, music and visual creations then we must consider stuff like comic books, rap and splashing paint randomly on canvas as culturally viable.  Dang.  Of course the definition does open with the words “intellectual” in part 1a and “refined” in 1b.  So maybe we can pare down the volume of material that is truly cultural by using those two razors.

Let’s start with music.  Music is arguably the most widespread cultural pursuit.  People who wouldn’t open a book, even if the title was “There’s Money Taped to Every Page”, still will listen to music.  Many will make up tunes in their head and hum them as they jog along through their lives.  There is a thing called the “Music Industry” and it is sub-divided into dozens of genres or types.  A person’s individual taste, which is formed over a lifetime, will dictate the types of music he or she prefers and considers high on the cultural scale.  Some people have a narrow taste in music while others are open to several types.  I prefer Bluegrass, Beethoven and Mozart, Big Band, Sixties Rock and Folk, Older Country and Melodic Jazz.  One friend of mine will only listen to Bach, Beethoven and Brahms.  He thinks anything written after those guys croaked is anti-cultural.  Another guy that I know is completely obsessed with Heavy Metal, especially Metallica.  But, and here’s the big point of this thing, it’s all part of our culture.  Just because we don’t like a certain kind of music doesn’t mean that music is without value.

Except Rap.  Rap is out.  No, I’m kidding.  Rap is in.  Reggae is in, even the stuff played on steel drums.  So we’ve settled, by the flawless logical method of me making the decisions here, that musical culture includes any type where the artist or writer makes an intellectual effort and garners an audience that has a refined approach to the appreciation of that form.  Even those songs that Barney the purple dinosaur sings have some cultural relevance.  Sad, isn’t it?

Now on to literature we go with our newly discovered opened minds.  Literature should probably be approached in the same way as music.  There are all kinds of literature:  classical, romance fiction, detective and mystery fiction, thrillers, horror, gothic; non-fiction, magazines, short stories, newspapers; cooking books, self-help, inspirational, religious.  (Did you see all those colons, semi-colons and commas in that sentence?)  You see what I’m getting at here, right?  You have to decide for yourself the parameters of how high or how low on the cultural scale your preferred form of literature should be.  If you think James Patterson ranks up there with Shakespeare, well that’s your decision.  Just be advised that some folks will take exception to your choices.  They may even call you a mindless twit.  But don’t let it bother you.  I’m sure people called Shakespeare a mindless twit at one time or another.  But not Stephen King.  Nobody calls him names. 

Of course I’m sure we can all agree on one major fact.  The highest of the literary arts, the form of literature that sits at the tippy-top spot on the cultural scale is Poetry.  And not just any poetry, no, it must be the good stuff.  And if you want some recommendations to beef up your own cultural standing I’ll be happy to oblige.  Just contact me.  There will be no further discussion on literature.

Now we move on to the visual arts.  There are a bunch of visual arts and they include, but are probably not limited to – painting, drawing, photography, film, television, sculpture, pottery, making little villages out of popsicle sticks, dance (which combines music and motion), graphic art and graffiti.  It is especially important that we keep the “intellectual” and “refined” guidelines in mind when it comes to visual art.  Coloring inside the lines most likely does not constitute an artistic accomplishment.  It’s a good thing and should be rewarded with refrigerator placement but it isn’t art.  Television is a very tough art form to judge.  Some folks might think that the Jerry Springer Show is art.  It’s not.  Others might think that “Dancing with the Stars” is art.  Since it has dancing as a part of the show it can be considered art.  At least it could until they brought Bill Nye the Science Guy onto the set.  Then it slid into just being silly.  Now I honestly shouldn’t be making these judgments about TV since I almost never watch that art form.  For good information on where TV shows place on the cultural scale you should probably check with TV Guide, People Magazine or some other high-class publication like that.

Other kinds of visual art are easier to rate on the cultural scale.  If a piece of art looks like it has some intellectual basis and can be appreciated by at least a handful of folks then it just might have some cultural standing.  If a piece of art looks like a piece of crap that some wacko put together just to get a reaction then, sadly, it may be art.  That doesn’t mean you have to look at it or if you accidentally get a peek you have to like the thing.  Nope.  Art critics will disagree about the cultural value of the stuff.  Just find out which critic hates the same thing you hate and in artistic discussions agree with him or her.  That’s called having an informed opinion and it’s all the rage in cultural circles.

Well I’ve got over a thousand words on “culture” now.  I hope I’ve brought some understanding to all you good folks.  I made my big point a few paragraphs back.  In case you forgot already the big point is that “culture” is a very large and varied thing.   It’s worth studying.  It’s worth finding some cultural things to appreciate because they will help you grow intellectually and maybe even spiritually.  But if you don’t like something that is considered high on the cultural scale don’t feel that you’re less of a person.  Just be sure you approach your cultural decisions with intellect and refinement.

Now go do something artistic and have a fine day.