I'm an Elitist, You Should Be Too

I've had the term elitist thrown at me alot lately. It is generally because of something I say in reference to pop culture. If I say Brittney Spears has no talent, or that I have no interest in Paris Hilton, if I say that most of the time reality television is moronic - there is more and more often someone standing there ready to throw out the E. word. I have heard it enough in fact that I'm willing to accept the term, but we're going to have to redefine it or at least better define it.

To me an elitist has always been someone in a monocle and smoking jacket who will tell you that classical music and opera are the only true forms, who generally doesn't like film or television at all but prefers literature and classical theatre. Someone who believes in 'natural ruling classes' and that good breeding is a predictor of success, intelligence and overall worthiness. That is not me, not at all.

Well maybe a little:

I have nothing against classical music, I like some of it. I have nothing against classical literature or theatre. But I grew up on a steady diet of Joy Division, Black Flag, X, the Clash, Talking Heads, not to mention Star Wars, the Muppet Show, reruns of the Twilight Zone and the original Star Trek, comic books and good B movies. I do not judge people based on their economic class, or what they do for a living - I do not, for a moment think that humanities finest artistic achievements have been made and I do not believe in 'natural ruling classes' or any of that garbage.

So, apparently the word Elitist has come to mean something else. Elitist now means someone who has their own set of tastes, their own criteria for judging things, someone who doesn't take guidance from entertainment tonight, or pretend to 'love' something simply because some clever marketing campaign claims that 'everyone loves it.'

So, being an elitist, here are my basic criteria and this is going to sound 'traditionally elitist' but bear with me. Back in my theatre days I learned about the three rules of dramatic criticism. Although intended for drama I find them fairly easily adaptable to most art and media. I'm pretty sure this came from Johan Goethe originally, though I can't find a good reference for it. It would be appropriate though since Goethe wrote the most widely known version of Faust - about a man who makes a deal with the devil in exchange for earthly fame and profit; Something I'm convinced that many of today's 'stars' are familiar with.

Anyway, Goethe's(?) Three Rules of Dramatic Criticism:

The first thing to ask is What were you trying to do this is fairly straight forward. Simply what is the creator of the work trying to accomplish. In much of todays popular media the honest answer is "make alot of money" but since that can't be rated except in dollar terms which don't tell us anything about quality we have to revise it to what, artistically or creatively, were you trying to do? Occasionally something falls off at this point if you honestly have no idea what whe artist was trying to do.

Next you have to ask was it worth doing. This is where the wheat is really separated from the chafe. This is where we ask what is it that your brought to this that is unique and original. What is it that you've brought to this that hasn't been done before. In all too many cases, especially in television and film, the answer is nothing at all. For me this is where most endeavors fall off the map.

Finally you ask how well was it done. For the most part this is in the eye of the beholder. You and I may see the same film and I may think it was done very well while you think it was done very poorly. To me this question is not nearly as important as the second one. If you have a brilliant idea and a small budget you stand a better chance with me than someone in the opposite situation. I am willing to overlook low production value, if you really brought a fresh, original idea. This is also, perhaps, where the threat in user generated content lies. Everyone has ideas, some of them good, some of them less so, but until very recently only a tiny handful of people had the ability to bring their ideas to the world. Now tens of millions of people (and growing) have that ability and they can do it without big economic risks.

So, those are my criteria and though they may be elitist, I insist on keeping some criteria and not just 'eating what's put in front of me and liking it'. I do have more to say, and I'll get to a second post on the topic in the near future - I think the next thing to tackle is why the Neilson ratings, and many other forms of measurement used by media are ultimately meaningless.