[Web4lib] At Session on the Future of Libraries, a Sense of Urgency

[Bill Drew]

There is a wonderful scene in one of the early StarTrek movies where
they go back in time to San Francisco 198?.  I believe it is Spock
talking about what are called the great writers of the Twentieth
Century.  He rattled off some names and at least one of them is now
considered a writer of low brow fiction (Jacqulinwe Suzanne?).  It was
very funny.

I really hate intellectual snobbery.  

Bill Drew

-----------------------------------------
Wilfred (Bill) Drew, M.S., B.S., A.S.
Assistant Professor
Librarian, Systems and Tech Services
Tompkins Cortland Community College  (TC3) Library:
http://www.tc3.edu/library/
Dryden, N.Y. 13053-0139
E-mail: dreww at tc3.edu
Phone: 607-844-8222 ext.4406
AOL Instant Messenger:BillDrew4
Online Identity: http://claimID.com/billdrew
StrengthsQuest: Ideation, Input, Learner, Activator, Communication
http://www.facebook.com/people/Bill_Drew/


>>> "Ross Singer" <rossfsinger at gmail.com> 7/2/2008 10:53 AM >>>
On Wed, Jul 2, 2008 at 9:55 AM, Christopher Kiess <clkiess at gmail.com>
wrote:
> This brings me to my final point. There is something inherently wrong
with
> my culture. People in my culture know more about their favorite TV
show than
> they do about art or literature or history.  My point is that when
you have
> a culture that is more interested in American Idol than fine art or
> literature it is hard to sell libraries, research, scholarly
conversation or
> the like. While I admit this is a sweeping generalization, there is
some
> truth to it.

As opposed to previous generations that put down their Proust for a
couple of hours to go see Toscanini conduct live at the local opera
house?  Afterwards, a night of digestifs with the town literati to
discuss foreign affairs, the state of modernist poetry and reconciling
theodicy?

What is this myth that popular culture hasn't *always* been the
majority and fairly low-brow?  Elizabethan theatre had dancing dogs.
Commedia dell'Arte had chamber pots dumped on lothario's heads.

The theatre of late 19th/early 20th century was filled with sappy
melodramas of the sort now reserved for the Lifetime channel.

Why is that because *you* value fine art or literature it makes your
opinion of what is important more valuable than what the majority
wants to read/watch/listen to?

-Ross.


_______________________________________________
Web4lib mailing list
Web4lib at webjunction.org 
http://lists.webjunction.org/web4lib/