Absolutely love the point of conflating pretentiousness with passion. Made me think about how we often see things online nowadays saying critique or analysis of media products isn’t necessary — we’ll say “its not that deep” to avoid critiquing what we love. (I think we let ‘let people enjoy things’ go too far…) But sometimes it is that deep or someone just wants it to be and that’s okay!! Let people enjoy things can also extend to analysis i guess is what im saying
Also i always liked the word pretentious — one of those words that sounds like what it means
Yes!! Totally agree with your point of view - I've been finding myself feeling opposed to the "let people enjoy things" argument a lot lately because it just strips art/conversations of their nuance. We enjoy neat binaries so much that it's challenging to say that we enjoy something online while also providing it with necessary critique. What makes art so exciting is the complexity of emotion that it can ignite in you - sometimes sparking emotions that feel contradictory to one another. That should be welcomed instead of dampened.
Glad you found this piece thought-provoking :) I think there's definitely a level of performance involved in being pretentious - less so to be polite, and more to appear intellectually/artistically superior. This performance has become more nuanced with the internet allowing users to express their opinions on just about anything.
It's challenging to think through whether "pretentiousness" would exist in an egalitarian society - I think there may be less of it, as people may be less eager to access the cultural capital that comes with being a culturally palatable/subversive artist. Maybe? But also, what work we deem "pretentious" has a subjective nature, which may exist regardless.
This was really interesting- the way different people choose to use the word pretentious is always really interesting and can be so telling about so many things about them (class, education, political beliefs, socioeconomic standing and ultimately perhaps how they feel they fit in larger society).
I hard agree re the spiritual experience of making oatmeal. I also will only make it by stirring it on the stove for 20 mins and like my nuts chopped a certain way. It’s an art! 🥣
Thank you! The individual identity of a person accusing art of being pretentious is definitely another important factor to consider when we think through how people interpret "pretentiousness." On the flip side, I suppose that there's also a subjective quality to which work appears "honest" to us as well. While we can defend our stances, people are going to interpret work differently based on their own identities and past experiences, and that's what makes art so great :)
Glad you also share my zeal for oatmeal!! Literally cooking some on the stove as we speak.
This article really made me think, about my opinions of art and how to be more open minded about the diversity of thought and not putting a pretentious label on it .
Thanks for your comment Romana! I think what you touch on well here is the lack of authenticity associated with pretentiousness, which is what I really connected with in Fox’s analysis.
Absolutely love the point of conflating pretentiousness with passion. Made me think about how we often see things online nowadays saying critique or analysis of media products isn’t necessary — we’ll say “its not that deep” to avoid critiquing what we love. (I think we let ‘let people enjoy things’ go too far…) But sometimes it is that deep or someone just wants it to be and that’s okay!! Let people enjoy things can also extend to analysis i guess is what im saying
Also i always liked the word pretentious — one of those words that sounds like what it means
Yes!! Totally agree with your point of view - I've been finding myself feeling opposed to the "let people enjoy things" argument a lot lately because it just strips art/conversations of their nuance. We enjoy neat binaries so much that it's challenging to say that we enjoy something online while also providing it with necessary critique. What makes art so exciting is the complexity of emotion that it can ignite in you - sometimes sparking emotions that feel contradictory to one another. That should be welcomed instead of dampened.
The article generates some afterthoughts in me,
do we genuinely enjoy intricate arts or do we just perform pretentiousness to be polite and be seen by the upper class?
would there still be the word "pretentious" in an egalitarian global society?
Glad you found this piece thought-provoking :) I think there's definitely a level of performance involved in being pretentious - less so to be polite, and more to appear intellectually/artistically superior. This performance has become more nuanced with the internet allowing users to express their opinions on just about anything.
It's challenging to think through whether "pretentiousness" would exist in an egalitarian society - I think there may be less of it, as people may be less eager to access the cultural capital that comes with being a culturally palatable/subversive artist. Maybe? But also, what work we deem "pretentious" has a subjective nature, which may exist regardless.
This was really interesting- the way different people choose to use the word pretentious is always really interesting and can be so telling about so many things about them (class, education, political beliefs, socioeconomic standing and ultimately perhaps how they feel they fit in larger society).
I hard agree re the spiritual experience of making oatmeal. I also will only make it by stirring it on the stove for 20 mins and like my nuts chopped a certain way. It’s an art! 🥣
Thank you! The individual identity of a person accusing art of being pretentious is definitely another important factor to consider when we think through how people interpret "pretentiousness." On the flip side, I suppose that there's also a subjective quality to which work appears "honest" to us as well. While we can defend our stances, people are going to interpret work differently based on their own identities and past experiences, and that's what makes art so great :)
Glad you also share my zeal for oatmeal!! Literally cooking some on the stove as we speak.
This article really made me think, about my opinions of art and how to be more open minded about the diversity of thought and not putting a pretentious label on it .
Thanks for your comment Romana! I think what you touch on well here is the lack of authenticity associated with pretentiousness, which is what I really connected with in Fox’s analysis.