behold my thesis statement
I think the key really and truly to having Taste is to understand the distinction between things that are good that are bad, and things that are bad that are good [discernment]
to gain this understanding you need to have a fairly grounded and accurate understanding of not just the art itself but it's real perception and interpretation by Other People and especially The Majority Of People
my worst opinions are probably that arcane and kpop demon hunters I think are in the category of things that are good that are bad, like sabrina carpenter. homestuck may possibly be in the secret and extremely powerful category of things that are bad that are bad (that are good) but I actually don't know enough about the raw source material having just barely any personal exposure so I leave room for doubt that it may actually be something bad that is good, possibly
also if you follow or get connected with Cultural Figures who produce things that are good (tastemakers) - mostly always they are also connected to a network of things that are good. in this category I would put the extended marianas trench music universe (mico, piao, cassadee pope) and the porterverse as more good-leaning things that are good, or the discord-hyperpop friend group/community (or other producer communities (demxntia, experimental asian indie, idk cloud rap and more)) as more bad-leaning things that are good. big platform influencers and tiktok/youtube critics/reviewers very very rarely and seemingly only incidentally produce things that are good so if you get your exposure to new media or your recommendations from there you are cooked and tiktok and yt as algorithms structurally privilege big platform figures unfortunately so really we are facing a cultural dearth of taste/discernment and its not only tragic but honestly maybe kinda dangerous idk. extremely propaganda-prone population. lack of resistance to propaganda. and I think it might be getting worse not better but I hope I'm wrong?