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Originally Posted by Bethberry
The other problem is that aesthetic appreciation is often a matter of education. Not in the sense that high brow art must be beat into us, but in the sense that very often it takes one courageous artistic vision to suggest an idea which others cannot yet grasp. Slowly, though, they come round. After all, Tolkien's work was first derided by fellow academics because it flew in the face of the ruling style of the moment, modernism.
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I have to stick my 'oar' in here briefly - but bear with me, I agree, as you shall see. Do you really mean education? And in what way? Do you mean in terms of formal education or in terms of broader education which might include the simple thirst for knowledge whether leading to qualifications or not, maybe being undertaken in the local library independent of any formal system?
I'm often loathe to rely purely on the opinion of the academic for which way my tastes ought to go, simply as in my experience they can be as prejudiced as any 'lay' person. As you point out, the academics indeed derided Tolkien at first (and I have to say that in the UK they still do; an expert like Shippey is exceedingly hard to find in our Universities), so perhaps this itself shows that 'education' might not always be a pointer to what is 'worthy'.
Hmm, so as not to argue pointlessly, how about 'artistic vision' as the quality which the innovator must possess? The willingness and bravery to take a different point of view must be important if any academic is to stick their neck out and say that writers such as Tolkien are worthy. This would be where 'education' might come in, as such a person would need the authority and knowledge to back up their statements.
Now I've discussed my point back aorund in a circle to where it began, I think that yes, education does count, certainly in terms of giving added weight to the authority of what someone says. But in addition vision is also vital. just who was it who did this with Tolkien?
As a final thought - it is now more common for the authority figures in the world of knowledge, the academics, to take up popular culture and bestow it with deep meaning and significance, not always correctly. Are we about to see a backlash whereby academics will return to extolling the virtues of obscure and high-brow 16th century poets?