Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Trash Culture, Part 3--The Practice of Cultural Hygiene


Practically all the Hollywood filmmaking of today is stooping to cheap salacious pornography in a crazy bastardization of a great art to compete for the 'patronage' of deviates and masturbators.
FRANK CAPRA

Frank Capra and Quentin Tarantino occupy opposing poles on the Hollywood continuum. Capra made such films as It's a Wonderful Life where a man finds a reason to live and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington where another man takes on political corruption. Tarantino gave us Reservoir Dogs that touched us deeply with a soliloquy to a man's severed ear and Pulp Fiction where violent anal rape was brought back to the cinema for a second round after Deliverance. In between these poles, we have varying shades of sentimentality and depravity. What are we to make of all of this?

In the previous posts in this series, I have endeavored to give you, Gentle Reader, a sensitivity to what is good and bad in the culture. But, ultimately, your judgments are going to be your own in this regard. I can't floss your teeth for you, and I can't pick what you will watch, read, or hear. But I can tell you that good habits in these areas make a big difference. We know we should eat right and exercise. We know we should show moderation in alcohol consumption, wear our seatbelts, and stop smoking. But we don't apply this same thinking to what fills our minds. The result is that we have bodies in better shape than ever while having minds that resemble a public restroom of imbecility and depravity. In short, bad culture makes you vulgar and stupid.

I don't wish to be like those fundamentalists that railed against albums from Ozzy Osbourne and lit huge bonfires for the burning of books and records. Such efforts are just as vulgar and stupid as anything in the media they are burning. But I do think that if you listen to better music, watch better shows, and read better books, you will be a better person. The habit of choosing these better things is what I call "cultural hygiene."

Cultural hygiene is a very simple practice. Ask yourself a question whenever you watch a movie or listen to a song. Does this make me better as a person? Does this elevate me? Or does it debase me? These questions are easily answered. Do you feel gratitude or regret? Would you want to experience it again? Or, do you wish you could get back the time you wasted on that garbage?

The results of cultural hygiene become obvious after awhile. You begin to recognize the true, the good, and the beautiful again. It's like when you stop eating burgers and fries and become vegan. You notice that food has other flavors beyond salt and fat and sugar. Similarly, you begin to appreciate culture beyond its ability to  titillate or shock. You develop a better vocabulary and a better ear. You rediscover your conscience. You learn to discern the sublime.

It is impossible to not be exposed to trash culture in our day and time in much the same way that fast food and junk proliferate in terms of diet. But our goal should be a preponderance of the good and a minimum of the bad. We are the product of our habits, and the habit of cultural hygiene will help us to be the best versions of ourselves.

Another added benefit to cultural hygiene is that it helps to cut much of the media clutter we are buried under today. There are dozens of movies that come out each year, but the good movies worth watching can be counted on one hand. The same is also true of television, music, and books. It is easy to produce garbage, but the good things require extra time. As such, the practice of cultural hygiene eliminates much of the wasted time from our media consumption. It also cuts down the channels on your cable tier.

When you begin this winnowing, you can eliminate the most obvious garbage. This would be porn, heavy metal, reality television, and any movie that has a former professional wrestler in it. As time goes on, you can cut it down further and further as your sensibility increases. Or, you can take the opposite approach and raze the entire edifice and rebuild from scratch. You can begin with classical music and Renaissance art and Shakespeare. Then, you can build from there.

What you want is the true, the good, and the beautiful. You should want to fill your life with those things. Any effort towards this end will produce fruit and make you a better person.

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