As I walked to my car the other day I thought about the artistic tastes of friends of mine. What do we have in common? Do I want us to have more in common? What does artistic taste tell us about someone?
I thought about it for a while and realized that there are different levels of similarity in artistic taste. To make things simple I catagorized them by percentages; 75, 50, 25, and 5%. At the 75% level I'm not learning much about the person because whatever we are talking about is appreciated by so many people that having that in common with someone means little. At this point I think it's easiest if I just provide an example of what I'm talking about by looking at my taste in music under this framework.
75% - The Beatles 50% - The Talking Heads 25% - Pavement 5% - The Fall
So if I find that someone else likes the Beatles it tells me almost nothing. Almost everyone does, and those that don't usually have some silly personal bias that it's best just to ignore. Now, if someone likes the Talking Heads I think it tells me a little bit more about them. If they like Pavement I'll know that I'm talking to someone with at least a passing knowledge of less popular music and a tolerance for more experimentation in music. When we get to the 5% mark, however, this nice progression stops. I don't think I've ever met anyone that really likes The Fall in the way I do. The Fall just don't sound good when you think about them in normal musical terms. Somehow I really really like the way in which they don't sound good, but I don't expect anyone else to.
This theory isn't intended to explain how people relate to each other. Artistic taste is far from the most important factor in most relationships and people are willing to shift their tastes quite a bit to enjoy something with their friends. It's just a way of thinking about what you like in a way that gets you thinking of other people as well.
For fun I'll do my tastes in movies:
75% - The Godfather
Who doesn't like The Godfather? Of course, if someone doesn't like it because it's too long or boring then I know I can ignore what they say about other movies.
50% - Pulp Fiction
Many people think this is overrated. I don't. If they think it's overrated I probably know what to expect them to think of other films.
25% - Schizopolis
If you don't find this movie funny you've lived a different life than I.
5% - La Dolce Vita
Heck, if they've even made it all the way through this movie I know that we have something to talk about. Still, if someone thought this movie was boring I wouldn't be able to argue otherwise and I wouldn't think less of them.
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7 comments:
Its a good thing we're related,,, else you might accidentally ignore most of what I have to say about a lot of stuff. Except i will give to you, you trained me well in music for most of growing up. But see here now i am grown! I will listen to The Fall and tell you how I feel. Movies, eh, i care a lot less for movies these days. I cant get over my extreme defensiveness about gender and sexuality enough to enjoy most movies i see. And i dont want to right now. What does that tell you?
I don't know, but I sometimes wonder how my opinions would change if I were female. Would I be able to overlook sexist attitudes that were so prevalent in many classic films? Now that I think about it, every single one of those films could be considered problematic. I would argue that Pulp Fiction isn't sexist, but it does give much more screen time to the male characters. Schizopolis is largely about its creator's inability to deal with women in a mature way so at least it's acknowledging the issue.
I feel like the 75% category pretty much reads, "This film/band are so bland you can't possibly think of a reason to dislike them." I do like the application of information theory to rating friend-similarity though.
As a film buff, I sometimes tend to think that people should watch classic movies because it's GOOD for them, like it's like eating your vegetables or something. But the truth is that only certain people in a certain mindset will really benefit from the so-called "classic movies." I just feel so strongly about the way that movies have helped me feel better about my life, and I want to spread that joy any way I can, but I sometimes feel like a "Movie Preacher" or something. I can only help the people who are in the same mental space as me (like Yoggoth).
That said, I'd like to think that most of my favorite movies could be enjoyed equally by either gender. What movies have you been watching? Have you tried Barry Lyndon? Or how about McCabe & Mrs. Miller? Maybe you'd pick up on things I haven't though.
Personally, I don't enjoy music that is too sexually explicit (such as Prince and post-"What's Going On" Marvin Gaye). I can recognize that the MUSIC is good, but I can't put aside the discomfort I get from the lyrics enough to enjoy the sound of it. Same with sexually explicit movies. I'm just not at a place in my life where I feel like I benefit from it. Believe it or not, I also have a violence threshold in movies (although it's probably pretty high). I don't like scary movies, but those are usually aesthetically crappy anyway.
I don't think of the Beatles as bland though. I could actually think of many bands that could fit in the 75% that aren't bland. The cultural and historical significance of many bands makes them ubiquitous but not for purely artistic reasons. And bland, to me, is an indictment of artistic value.
Concerning information theory-- At some point we're going to have robot friends. My theory can help us make those robot friends better!
Now that I think about it though, friendship is almost always based upon random encounters. How would friendship change if it was arranged based upon some criteria? Are we just trying to find better and better ways to talk to ourselves?
explicit sex doesnt bug me. I dont like the power relations that make me feel like being a woman is only to do with pleasing men. I like sex a lot, and i like talking about it and listening to sexy music. and Prince rocks. but i understand everybody gets uncomfortable about different stuff. I cant stand scary movies because they make me feel like all everyone i know is wretched inside, why else would they love violence so much? bunch of creeps if you ask me.
Can you name examples of movies with sexist power relations?
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