To be "cultured"

[molly bloom]

Originally posted by Spiffor
The general press salutes "refined" culture and often reviles pop culture...

You're not very familiar with the News International media outlets, I take it?

I don't have sufficient time available to do a thorough critique of your answers, but I think you're using a 20th Century left wing French analysis of what constitutes culture or to be cultured and elites, and applying it to the rest of the world. Italy wouldn't be a place where, for instance, opera or classical music remains the sole preserve of the wealthy/elite nor do you take into account the means by which formerly 'high' culture can be transmitted to those who might crave or enjoy it and cannot afford the price of a box at La Scala or Covent Garden- the radio, the c.d., the paperback book.

If I read the worksof classical authors it doesn't necessarily make me part of an elite- it might just mean I like reading.

As for Shakespeare not being educational- I'm not sure what you're getting at there- I think those works are both educational and enjoyable- and dangerous enough to be banned in dictatorships like Uganda, Rumania and Nazi Germany.

[Al B. Sure!]

Rasslin is his school's valedictorian... seems like an accomplishment until you notice his location... Georgia...

[Ben Kenobi]

while Asher's ideas are inherently inferior to our own, we should not perma-IP ban him in the name of forward thinking.

Agreed?

Agreed.

[Ben Kenobi]

4 a : enlightenment and excellence of taste acquired by intellectual and aesthetic training b : acquaintance with and taste in fine arts, humanities, and broad aspects of science as distinguished from vocational and technical skills

b : the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group c : the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes a company or corporation

UR cuts to the chase.

You are right that I am using b and c together, in a broader definition, than listed in that definition.

However, you are still left with the explanation for 4a. If one believes that there are 'cultures' that are not cultured then you are left with several problems.

1. You are asserting that one such culture is superior to others.

2. This culture also happens to correspond with the values of the majority.

I think the definition of 4a is no different from 5b and c, just that 4a is the values espoused by the society looking out, and 5b and c come from looking into other cultures.