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I'm a culture snob. If you're an adult and you tell me your favourite writer is J. K. Rowling, Barbara Cartland or James Patterson I will almost subconsciously judge you. Same if you say your favourite musician is Justin Bieber or Donny Osmond. I won't think you're bad or stupid - I'm sure many Potter fans are much more intelligent than me - but your taste will colour how I look at you. I may try and subtly introduce you to what I perceive as much better material in the hope that your taste will change. I realise this is a character flaw and that people don't need me to tell them what to consume. So what are your thoughts on culture snobbery? Are there any other self-confessed snobs out there? If so, do you even consider yourself a snob, or just someone with good taste?
"We believe that we invent symbols. The truth is that they invent us; we are their creatures, shaped by their hard, defining edges." - Gene Wolfe
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I think there is a fine line here. Almost everyone believes their taste is refined compared to the masses. To judge a person based on their tastes isn't in itself a problem because that is kind of how life works. That's why all those Star Trek nerds flock together and the rest of the world just looks on in amazement of the dorkiness :p
If some guy at work I just met tells me that he is a die-hard Miley Cyrus fan, unfortunately I will judge him as a tard and never be able to shake it.
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That's what was bugging me as I wrote this: is everyone to some degree a culture snob? A large majority of people I think would look down at a grown man who loves music designed for tweens. Perhaps some just take their snobbery to an unacceptable level.
"We believe that we invent symbols. The truth is that they invent us; we are their creatures, shaped by their hard, defining edges." - Gene Wolfe
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11-27-2011, 06:31 AM
(This post was last modified: 11-27-2011, 06:31 AM by Leanne.)
I will write off someone's love of something I consider cheesy or ridiculous as being a quirk that doesn't make them in any way inferior to me. I have my own favourite uncool songs or happy-making mind candy -- I don't really feel the need to be highbrow 24 hours a day, or even 2 for that matter. Being conversant with Puccini's operas or the entire works of Tolstoy doesn't make anyone better than anyone else, it simply means they've been fortunate enough to be exposed to such things in a way that appealed to them (and sometimes, it just makes them a bit of a twat who "likes" things because they think they ought to in order to conform to a certain "type").
It could be worse
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People who "like" certain things to affect a persona make me squirm. I guess I'd much rather be friends with someone who genuinely likes Justin Bieber than someone who pretends to like Hamlet.
"We believe that we invent symbols. The truth is that they invent us; we are their creatures, shaped by their hard, defining edges." - Gene Wolfe
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That's pretty much it. I'd much prefer honest bad taste to pretension... but I wouldn't let the Bieber fan choose the venue for a night out...
It could be worse
