6.07.2006
The Idiocy of "Mass Culture"
A big question came up upon reading Ien Ang's essay, "Dallas and the Ideology of Mass Culture" this afternoon. Basically Ang argues that people's common disdain and cynicism towards popular culture is actually an automatic response, which involves very little thought. When we think we're being critical of shows like Survivor or American Idol, all we're really doing is trying to bolster our own sense of superiority. Ang claims that this activity of establishing our superiority replaces an actual critical engagement! So the question is, why do I (you, we) hate TV? Or, alternately, why do I (you, we) like it?
