slowguy wrote:
Quote:
It's "popular culture," for sure. And popular culture has always appealed to the lowest-common denominator. But what's so bad about that?
Popular culture doesn't always appeal to the lowest common denominator. It frequently does. I find it pretty hard to believe you don't have any idea why catering to the lowest common denominator might not be a good thing.
You make some good points.
I guess I'm not so worried about popular culture because I believe most normal people -- having agency as a natural right -- can distinguish between reality and entertainment. I'm not so sure about the intelligentsia, however, if the writer's unctuousness is any indication.
Also, the popular culture horse has already left the barn and there's no way to get it back in short of a Cultural Revolution along the lines of what Mao and his henchmen tried to pull off.
Eh, I recall some pretty graphic depictions of "life" on various villa walls in ancient Pompeii and, earlier, on Greek amphora jars. Depictions that would fit in quite well with what the average teen can find on PornHub, from what I hear. Not that I would have any experience with that sort of stuff, of course.
Heck, it may even have been that both ancient Roman and Greek civilization died out because of the rot that their popular culture is said to have caused within their organizing foundations. Or it may have been something more prosaic, such as overextension of empire or even lead in Roman aqueducts. Who knows? But I'm comforted by the fact that we can still make educated guesses and pronouncements (I'm a fan of Gibbon, as far as the Roman empire goes), for certain.
Reality versus entertainment. It's been something we appear to have thought about for a few years, that much I can say for sure. ;-)
"Politics is just show business for ugly people."