4 ms·
Where is it stated that relatability and universality are lesser artistic qualities?
by OCASM 7y ago
Where is it stated that relatability and universality are lesser artistic qualities?
- dkonofalski 7y agoI would argue that universality isn't an artistic quality because it's the exact opposite of individual expression. Art can be universal but something that's intended to be universal is rarely impactful or expressive enough to be art. Art is meant to stoke and provoke thought and discussion. It's pointless if it only evokes passive agreement. Edit: To clarify, I disagree that the Marvel films are not art or cinema.
- vincent-toups 7y agoIf all important experiences were universal then communication would be superfluous, if not, in some sense, impossible. We don't need to do much work to explain what we all experience. There is no virtuosity of the obvious. Communicating those things we don't share is the province of skill and a particular kind of value not present in the immediate and universal.
- dkonofalski 7y agoThat sounds like you agree with me, though... My point is that art is meant to share the non-universal experiences. Art can be universal but not everything universal can be art.
- vincent-toups 7y agoI'm not advocating for any sort of prescriptive definition of art, obviously. There are certainly lots of ways to talk about art, and in many respects the Marvel movies meet the definition. But just as it would be absurd to be totalitarian about the definition art, it would be absurd to suggest that The Avengers 12 or whatever is identical to, for instance, Cinema Paradiso, and that there isn't something in the latter film that is missing from the former. From there its not a leap to ask broader questions about what sorts of films dominate popular culture and whether that state of affairs is good or not. This is a discussion of art, and thus the human condition. We're unlikely to find anything like a concrete conclusion. But its note futile either.