Defenestrating Thoughts from the Bivouac

Often I have various thoughts, including lots of funny observations that pop into my head (like how the addition of too much eco-friendly technology (sensors, etc.) in the bathroom at work have made it much worse for the environment). I try to remember to jot these down, but usually forget and they are gone forever.

Tonight (most of the interesting thoughts come at night), I was thinking about culture and the arts. A lot of people say that the arts are an indication of the health of a culture. I’ve felt that if a culture is producing new, meaningful art, there’s something at the culture’s core that’s healthy and vibrant. When there’s a lot of creativity and innovation in a culture, it’s not just the arts that prosper, but you get new breakthroughs in sciences and philosophies that are extremely beneficial for the people.

I’m guessing that most anthropologists would agree, because a society must product enough basic resources (food, energy, etc.) to free up part of the population for the professions that bring long term value — someone’s got to grow the food that feeds the research scientist and the artist. Economically, if the research scientist and artist are providing enough value, then it’s worth feeding them. So a society that has good growth in these areas has some fundamental soundness.

Cultures that are “stuck in their ways”, are less likely to embrace anything that challenges the status quo. They get stuck, there’s less innovation, and less growth. A symptom of this is a dearth of new concepts in art. Instead the same old songs and stories are recycled and retold. The paintings and sculptures are slightly different but really just more of the same.

Now, it’s tough to measure pace of growth in sciences and philosophies, because a lot of the effects are long term. You can, however, measure art relatively easily. I’ve often heard that the barbaric spectacles at the Roman Colosseum were at indication of the cultural decay of Rome. Not only was it a horrible disregard for human life, but it shows that the arts weren’t producing anything more entertaining. Or the Romans no longer appreciated anything better.

So, is Reality TV our Colosseum? Honestly, most of it is a utter nonsense. I openly admit I like some of the shows, but man, when you think about it, they are completely pointless. I still can’t comprehend how anyone can like Deal or No Deal. It’s so utterly contrived and there’s no skill involved at all.

Is Reality TV a symptom of American’s culture fading? Either we as a society can’t produce anything better than The Bachelor or we lost the ability to appreciate anything better. Either way, it’s pretty sad.