Do you think that culture lies in having access to books, high art and classical music matters?
Robot
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Mamapolo2016 · F
It all depends on your definition of culture. The older I get, the more I think “culture” is merely a veneer. I have known and do know many more “uncultured people” who are kinder, more generous and in many ways, both more intelligent and wiser than the people who get chased by paparazzi.
The people who ‘buy art’ are not necessarily great and useful people. They buy it because it looks good on the wall and will probably increase in value, or even just because they can’t bear being outbid. The publishing arena is more like mean girls in high school than great minds digesting literature and spewing out judgment.
They may know which fork to use at a fancy dinner, but they neither know nor care about which words comfort and soothe.
Culture today and maybe always, is more a game of keep away than an enrichment to the world.
The people who ‘buy art’ are not necessarily great and useful people. They buy it because it looks good on the wall and will probably increase in value, or even just because they can’t bear being outbid. The publishing arena is more like mean girls in high school than great minds digesting literature and spewing out judgment.
They may know which fork to use at a fancy dinner, but they neither know nor care about which words comfort and soothe.
Culture today and maybe always, is more a game of keep away than an enrichment to the world.
ArishMell · 70-79, M
@Mamapolo2016 I agree that simply owning a high-grade painting or enjoying a Beethoven symphony is no indicator of personal character, but that is not the fault of the arts.
True culture is more than knowing which creative "Name" to know; it does, or should, include civilised behaviour and creativity too. I cringe at self-contradictory phrases like "the drugs culture" - that makes me think of the bacteria "culture" on a pathology laboratory's agar plate.
We should celebrate creativity - the "drugs culture" celebrates destruction - but also decency to our fellow people. Culture is not just knowing a symphony from a concerto but also behaving properly.
True culture is more than knowing which creative "Name" to know; it does, or should, include civilised behaviour and creativity too. I cringe at self-contradictory phrases like "the drugs culture" - that makes me think of the bacteria "culture" on a pathology laboratory's agar plate.
We should celebrate creativity - the "drugs culture" celebrates destruction - but also decency to our fellow people. Culture is not just knowing a symphony from a concerto but also behaving properly.