Sunday, October 6, 2013

What is Culture?

What is culture? There are simply too many ways to describe culture and it is impossible to define it with just one word. The dictionary's definition of culture is "the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively" but another common definition is "the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group".
when we learned about Mathew Arnold and his theory of how to elevate oneself from the industrial revolution, i thought that it was good at first, but after realizing what he meant by how culture is going to "save" us, i didn't really agree with him. He states that "culture will save everything" but by that, he meant that culture is how people will pursuit in perfectness. No one can be flawless, and that is not the right way to live. In contrary, i feel that pursuit in perfectness is restrictive and isn't a practical way to save people from their obsession on the industrial revolution.

Also, Arnold was rather 'picky' on what was considered culture. The definition of his 'culture' is to go for "the best which has been thought and said in the world" - which includes opera because it is higher in monetary value. Other things such as a comic book is considered to be 'low' culture, and that leads to the question - if you don't go and watch an opera, does that mean you aren't perfect? and, if you have watched an opera before, are you perfect now?

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