Recently, somebody with whom I work was lamenting her eldest son’s lack of interest in “high culture”. They had brought them up going to galleries, concerts and museums. She couldn’t understand why he didn’t do it anymore, and whether there was any point in doing it when he was younger as it didn’t appear to have made much impact. I thought about this for a bit.
He is a frighteningly successful entrepreneur finding new, seemingly impossible angles in a fast paced and highly volatile industry; he’s clearly highly intelligent, but so are lots of people. I can’t help but think that his early exposure to such a wide range of art, history and music helped to widen his opinions and horizons, leading to the person he is today. I’d say his cultured upbringing absolutely made an impact. He asks questions, doesn’t expect the “right answer” and looks for explanations where others see answers.
What do you think? Can you measure the impact of culture? Can its impact only be measured in enduring interest, or does it have a sub-cultural, social function?
Tags: Culture, Rants, Thoughts
Can the response to the mothers wondering be the question “what is culture?”….. Its a sociological debate that is decades old.
Cultural theorists would say that, being a social construct, culture is by definition anything that society engages in.
It’s the perils of leaving the nest - much like learning at school sets one up for the future, yet a lot people don’t continue a structured education into their professional life. Those that do will have a variety of social, personal & professional reasons for doing so, as will those who don’t continue down that path.
A lot of ‘high culture’ is valued for social factors (meeting like-minded people at concerts), the appreciation of greatness and ‘a better time’ (the view of the transcendant by artists), or just pure escapism from the working day.
Now, if those factors aren’t required by someone, they won’t be sought - a long walk in the woods or a well-stocked library might be a more pleasurable pastime than going to hear a concert program picked purely to attract funding & audiences.
‘Culture’ is a fluid concept, and the diversity of expression is to be celebrated - because while some (like the person alluded to in your article) won’t consciously be appreciating it, they are all actively contributing to it.