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Mailing List Logs for ShadowRN

Message no. 1
From: Mongoose m0ng005e@*********.com
Subject: Elitism and stuff
Date: Sun, 11 Apr 1999 01:31:56 -0500
:> When I refereed to "the triumph of the spectacle" it was in
:> the sense of
:> Situationist theory, which is distinctly ANTI elitist. What is elitist
is
:> saying something is cool because somebody finally came along and spent a
:> couple million dollars advertising it an making is palatable to a broader
:> audience, which is exactly why people get ticked off when something goes
:> "mainstream". Its not because THEY want to be elitist, but because
:> elitism is CREATED by the situation. The real elitists are the ones who
:> don't give a shit either way, and are just in it for the money.
:> The broader
:> exposure of ideas is generally good, and does not engender
:> elitism; the mass
:> media's control of and profit from those ideas is, however, DESTINCTLY
:> elitist.
:
:Very thought provoking response. Thanks, I hadn't looked at it from that
:perspective. I get into this argument a lot. There is a band that I like
:named "Switchblade Symphony". They're very popular among a very small group
:of people. Said people sometimes say things like they hope they never hear
:one of their songs on a TV commercial or on a Jock Jams cd. I argue that
:there should be nothing wrong for an entertainer to make money if they
want,
:and wouldn't it be great if society changed so much that this wonderful
:music was appreciated by a large portion of society. These are the same
:people who like "early" alternative music, but not now that they're
:essentially 'mainstream'.


I'm not really up to speed on Situationist International theory (it gets
kinda silly sometimes), but I'm glad I got the salient aspects across, and
could dig up some books on it if you really care. Admittedly, many people
misdirect their anger, and knowing WHY people are pissed doesn't mean its
not often irrational. God knows the books I saw were anything but ratioanl,
but they do expalin why some things (like roleplaying) can be really neat,
but will never be "cool"- they depend to much on personal interaction to be
expolited in the mass market media.

Mongoose

P.S. I just bought tickets to a S.B.S. concert, partly because they are
opening for Front Line Assembly, who I know put on a good show.
I thought I'd mention it because I seriosuly doubt any of the Goth crowd I
expect will be there will be happy to see me in any way, despite a lot of
them being supposed friends (I look pretty "mundane" at times, I'd guess),
so I understand "elitism" from both sides of the fence. I often get
distinctly uncomfortable at really "hip" events (like 2600 meetings or
fetish fashion shows, if I cared to go, or were ever invited). Ah well, the
music is good, what little I've heard.

Further Reading

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