What’s beautiful, what isn’t, and who has the right to say? These three simple questions inform the entirety of our perceptions of taste, culture, art, and criticism. In A.O Scotts “Better Living Through Criticism,” he attempts to answer these questions as part of a larger dialogue about the true meaning of criticism.
He begins his essay by stating that “there is axiomatically no disputing taste, and also no accounting for it.” (Scott 43). Scott explains how even though you can’t tell someone how to feel, you can still criticize them for their feelings. As I continued reading “Better Living Through Criticism,” I found this use of criticism to be incredibly problematic; it makes us feel obligated to enjoy certain types of art, music, and food “just because we’re supposed to.” Scott perfectly articulates this when he states that “our job is to accept.” (Scott 108). If we don’t accept, we face the risk of being shamed or ostracized. In my first commonplace book, I explained this phenomenon through the example of pineapple pizza. Pineapple pizza is a particularly contentious topic, with lovers of the pizza often ridiculed simply because their tastes don’t fall under what’s considered acceptable. But this doesn’t make sense. Everyone should be allowed to like what they want; even if their taste doesn’t adhere to what’s culturally “acceptable,” who are we to tell them they’re wrong? Luckily for pineapple pizza lovers, society is constantly amending itself to new beliefs and findings, and with that change comes an opportunity to influence what we perceive as culturally acceptable; for example, language arts used to not be taught in school, artists like Jackson pollock and Marina Abramovic were considered taboo, and schools were reluctant to teach Toni Morrison in school. So why did these norms change? According to Scott, the answer is criticism. Criticism allows us to enact social change, express our personal tastes, and enhance other forms of art. It is the most powerful tool we as individuals possess. Though it occasionally mimics science, philosophy, politics, and poetry, it is a distinct category that requires deep consideration. Anyone can be a critic, anyone can enact change, and anyone can alter societies perception of beauty, taste, culture, and art. In my second commonplace page, I drew a book as a representation of the 20th century culture wars. The culture wars represents an attempt at challenging conventional norms and deviating from what was considered culturally acceptable. I chose to include this page because it describes the power of criticism to influence society and our choices and because the culture wars are the quintessential example of how we have the power to enact change and define what is and is not beautiful. I assume we read this passage because this year, we will be acting as critics, analyzing literature in the pursuit of knowledge and personal thought. I am so excited to grow as a reader, writer, and thinker, and I cannot wait to connect this knowledge to the other topics we learn about this year.
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November 2019
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