Understanding Taste @erinmonica - Tumblr Blog

Subcultural Bricolage Drawing on the recent internet phenomenon of 'doge' memes.

The Foodie The Works is an example of the recent commodification of the connoisseur. They offer the 'world's best gourmet burgers' and even offer suggestions of the appropriate craft beer to pair with each. The Works is an example of a 'regular' consumer object that has been turned into a specialty product with Foodies everywhere raving about 'the best burger place' they know of. As delicious as these burgers are it wont be difficult to rack up a $20 bill at your local Works restaurant. Aside from the various gourmet toppings, they even offer a variety of 'gourmet burger patties' as well such as gourmet veggie, portabello mushroom, and elk.

John Waters discusses bad and good taste. One needs to accurately understand the elements of good taste in order to appreciate bad taste. John Waters is credited with being a master of filth and badness as most notoriously displayed in his film Pink Flamingos (1972).

Springbreakers & KIDS as Paracinema Harmony Korine, the director of both films, exercises paracinema through the manipulation of the classic teen summer flick. Korine exercises an intentional 'badness' within both films, drawing on contemporary trends and discourses amongst youth. His earlier film, KIDS, has accrued a cult following since it's initial release, a likely prospect for Springbreakers. Korine draws upon filth and badness within his films to send a message about contemporary youth culture.

What Not to Wear Makeover shows such as What Not to Wear operate as arbitrators of taste. They show the masses what is okay and not okay to wear. In this manner they are communicating appropriate taste to the middlebrow consumer. What Not to Wear tries to advocate legitimized taste through wardrobe makeovers. Typically they take people displaying 'poor' or 'bad' taste, and those with a kitschy style. These shows work as guides to legitimate and appropriate taste.

Comedian Ricky Gervais is sending his culturally inept friend Karl Pilkington to the 7 Wonders of the world. The aim of the show is for viewers to enjoy Karl's lack of cultural knowledge and appreciation for the places, things and people is experiencing on this trip. Karl is an example of a consumer of low-brow tastes. We like watching the show, because we like watching Karl be absolutely absurd and ridiculous. This ties into Bordieu's concept of cultural, educational, and social capital, and loosely relates to West's article of Reality TV & the Power of Dirt. We enjoy watching Karl, because he is so uncultured and lacking in almost all areas of capital. We enjoy watching him struggle as he tries to navigate various cultural terrains.

"Unititled" By: Felix Gonzalez-Torres

To an individual who does not have the required capital to view Torres' they may only see a pile of individually wrapped candies in corner. To an individual with the appropriate cultural, educational &/or social capital they see the metaphor for human life. Viewers are encouraged to take a piece of candy upon viewing; this diminishing of the pile is meant to represent the suffering and weight loss Torres' partner endured before his death due to an AIDS related illness. Torres states the pile should constantly be replenished in order to metaphorically imply perpetual life.

The Mona Lisa Synthesized

Unless the viewer is familiar with the original innovations that the Mona Lisa was credited with, the synthesizing of the portrait may go amiss on them. In order to appreciate this portrait, there is a need for educational capital on the works of da Vinici and the artists' desire to achieve realism and naturalism during the Renaissance.

British street artist Banksy sets up a pop-up stall in New York's Central Park, selling original signed canvases of his work

Banksy set up a stall in Central Park, New York, selling original copies of his spray art. Various passers-by did not even notice the famous artist or the hugely discounted artworks he was selling. He set up shop around 11 am and did not make his first sale until 3:30 pm; in which the woman haggled down to 50%. At the end of the day the artist sold 8 canvases for $420 dollars. Banksy's stunt illustrates the need for cultural and educational capital in order to perceive and even recognize artworks that are considered to be high art. In fact, none of the individuals who even bought the canvases recognized who he was, or the value of the spray art they were purchasing. Unless an individual has the necessary capital to recognize and perceive cultural objects, they will not truly grasp the value or a real understanding of the object.

If you’re a basic bitch, you LITERALLY LIVE for Coachella. Basic bitches love music, but they love music festivals even more because DRUNK! SUN! INSTAGRAM! AND DANCING!

For a better idea on a day in the life of a Basic Bitch; this article give an idealized portrayal of the cultural tastes consumed by Basic Bitches.

The much-maligned "Basic Bitch," the drab, bland, corny women with no sense of humor, deserves a reexamination. Without Basics, what would this world even look like? It'd probably be pretty frightening.

THE BASIC BITCH & MIDDLEBROW TASTE

Bordieu's article, The Aristocracy of Culture, discusses the 3 zones of taste as determined by Bordieu; 1. Legitimate Taste 2. Middle-brow Taste 3. Popular (Low-brow) Taste

Within the article Bordieu addresses three sets of capital individuals possess that will determine their level of taste. Cultural Capital: the cultural knowledge & skills; accrued through level of education and family. Social Capital: the assets/resources one obtains through being a member of a social group. Educational Capital: consists of ones credentials (degrees) and the world view one was exposed to and trained in.

An individual must have have the proper educational and cultural capital at minimum in order to accurately understand and execute 'high' or 'legitimate' taste. The Basic Bitch is defined by Urban Dictionary as:

Used to describe someone devoid of defining characteristics that might make a person interesting, extraordinary, or just simply worth devoting time or attention to.

Lacking intelligence and unable to socialize on even an elementary level.

Annoyingly frustrating because of the above.

The Basic Bitch is a consumer of middle-brow tastes. They are an individual who strives to be upper-brow and a consumer of legitimate taste, however they fall short. The Basic Bitch is a consumer of the 'average' or the 'normal', they are uninteresting consumers of popular taste because they lack the necessary cultural, social, and possibly educational capital to exercise appropriate tastes. The Basic Bitch is a predictable consumer, indulging in the cultural products labelling them as middlebrow and lacking of cultural capital.

The Modern Day Camper

The above individual is an example of the modern day 'camper'. Displaying an excessive over-the-top personality and true character in all his videos. Lohanthony is a prime example of the modern day camp persona. A love for stylization and excess over content and meaning in combination with the unserious and love of artifice are underlying qualities of almost all camp objects. However, what makes camp campy is the sincerity behind its creation. Lohanthony displays a truly genuine and unique love of character, and is a great example of modern day camp persona.

Was that Celine Dion @ the Oscars???

Bette Midler's performance of Wind Beneath My Wings instantly reminded me of Carl Wilson's conversation circulating Celine Dion and her value as a kitsch performer. I recall it was the excessive sentimentality and intentional playing upon emotions within her performance that made her appear to be corny or kitschy. In Midler's performance at the Oscars, her song is chosen to play after they pay tribute to those in the film industry that passed away this year. Since Midler is such a campy individual in and of herself, pairing her song with this particular moment at the Oscars made it a very campy/borderline kitschy performance. It was not meaningful or touching, but painfully obvious and then cruelly humorous. All in all it appeared to be in bad taste thanks to Midler's campy exaggeration. This performance is good example of naive camp.

The Nance: An Early Camper A Nance: a stereotypically camp homosexual man; often played by a straight performer. Nathan Lane is starring in a new broadway play called The Nance written by Douglas Carter Beane and directed by Jack O'Brien. Lane plays a headline burlesque nance performer in 1930s New York, who also happens to be gay. Broadway.com describes it as "a unique play juxtaposing kitchen sink drama with colourful, fun and hilarious burlesque sketches."

Camp Persona William Shatner, Bette Midler, & Ru Paul are all examples of a camp persona. They each display an overwhelming use of excess in their behaviour and mannerisms. Shatner has become a camp icon for various roles in which he exercises his over-the-top acting and elaborate facial expressions. Ru Paul is known for his robust and elaborate personality, and his outright amazing talent for drag. "Camp is the glorification of character . . . Camp taste responds to 'instant character', and conversely, what is it not stirred by is the development of character. Character is understood as a person being one very intense thing. This attitude towards character is a key element of the theatricalization of experience embodied in the Camp sensibility." (Susan Sontag, Notes on Camp).

A person of camp enjoys the unseriousness and revels in artifice and frivolity. They are willing to look past distinctions of high and low culture and find their own meaning and enjoyment regardless of cultural status. A person of camp allows themselves to experience cultural objects in a manner a consumer of high art would never allow themselves to. The only risk of 'camping it up' and exercising a camp sensibility is loosing oneself in that unseriousness and playfulness that camp cherishes.

Camp Cinema

Both Hot Shots 2, and The Birdcage are great examples of camp cinema. Both films are extremely playful, yet extremely serious. They display the excess, frivolity, and artifice that makes camp, camp. "In naive, or pure, Camp, the essential element is seriousness, a seriousness that fails. Of course, not all seriousness that fails can be redeemed as Camp. Only that which has the proper mixture of the exaggerated the fantastic and the naive." (Susan Sontag, Notes on Camp)

The Birdcage also displays a wonderful example of male camping by Nathan Lane; an outright amazing camp performer.

Kitsch Objects

A low-brow style of mass produced art or design using popular or cultural icons. Also referred to as tacky, kitsch as a term is reserved for unsubstantial or gaudy works of decoration, or works calculated to have popular appeal; the inauthentic, the substitute of memory. (Greenberg, Avant-Garde & Kitsch).

Kitsch objects are seen as those mass-consumed tacky pieces of art, furniture, clothing. Just about anything can be 'kitschy'. The consumer of kitsch objects is seen to be a consumer of poor low-brow taste. This is because the goods they are consuming are taken at face value and have nothing more to offer than just that.

The above are a few examples of previously popular kitsch objects.

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