the cult of genre: Philosophy Forums

Philosophy Forums » Philosophy of the Arts » the cult of genre » the cult of genre

the cult of genre
are people genre obsessed?

the cult of genre

nelvan
Graduate

Usergroup: Members
Joined: Jun 14, 2008
Location: USA

Total Topics: 10
Total Posts: 101

Posted 10/19/09 - 11:56 AM: Subject: the cult of genre	#1
People often ask when first getting to know me, "What kind of music do you like?" I usually answer, "All kinds", which is usually an unsatisfactory answer. When using the example of music, first and foremost in importance is the musical composition, secondly the artist, and lastly, if categorial, genre. The importance of genre stems from wanting a genre to represent one's personality. In other words, it is an easy, instantaneous way of symbolically representing who one is without having to go through the trouble of expressing oneself. So when someone asks me if I like horror movies or romantic novels, I answer, "If it has a good story naturally." I don't really care about the genre as long as it has something to say in a creative way. One can like Tolstoy without liking any other Russian novelist and one can like Anna Karenina without liking Tolstoy's other novels. Similarly, one can like hip hop without liking the fashion of baggy clothing. Another sort of genre is that of time where what is new and current is often attributed to what is best. Another genre is regionalism where one symbolically proves one's loyalty to one's region. I invented this little story to prove my point: Imagine a group of young hipsters drinking coffee at a cafe, and the topic of music arises as it usually does. The trick is to mention a musical group that most people at the table are unfamiliar with save one or two persons. If you mention a musical group that everyone knows, you are not hip. If you mention a group that no one is familiar with, you are an odd ball. And so you see how the game is played.

rebekahlynn
Initiate

Usergroup: Members
Joined: Oct 19, 2009

Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 1

Posted 10/21/09 - 11:25 AM:	#2
I agree. I think people feel the need to associate themselves with certain groups, genres, etc. Because it gives them immediate identity. There's no need to define themselves on their own if they can just say "I'm a (insert group here)" and people fill in for them the definition of that group. Also I think its a safety-in-numbers sort of thing. Its much safer to just become part of a group already established than to put yourself out alone. Both are just easy options really, convenience is key nowadays.

MasterSean2k
Initiate

Usergroup: Members
Joined: Oct 17, 2009
Location: DC

Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 11

Posted 10/21/09 - 04:36 PM:	#3
Keep context in mind. Western societies value individualism and define identities more so through independent attributes than relationships. Hipsters and their ilk conform to this trend more than others, striving for absolute dissimilarity from those outside their circle. The assumption is that everybody who has a single attribute in common shares other attributes as well. This feeds into identity-formation, as claiming to like a particular sample of genre implies liking the entire genre and bestows upon the individual the attributes allegedly shared by others. Liking a sample that nobody has heard of (and therefore cannot immediately classify) spares you the correlation with other fans of the genre.
~MS2k

Desidude666
Assistant Professor

Usergroup: Members
Joined: Jun 17, 2007
Location: Singapore

Total Topics: 0
Total Posts: 334

Posted 10/28/09 - 11:58 PM:	#4
Most of whatever's out there is a load of horse manure where real music is concerned. I tend to fall back every year by at least 100 years or so. After discovering the likes of Beethoven, Mozart, Strauss II, Holst and Chopin, I really do not quite like anything contemporary anymore. I also follow the likes of Andrea Bocelli, Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Nobuo Uematsu and Shiv Kumar Sharma though, but they are hardly hip... and I admit that's quite a rebellion in my circle and general social sphere. That should really set the tone probably. Rebellion against the cult of genre - repel the evil.
What you are, you are by accident of birth; what I am, I am by myself. There are and will be a thousand princes; there is only one Beethoven. - Ludwig van Beethoven

CalicoCat
Initiate

Usergroup: Members
Joined: Oct 19, 2009

Total Topics: 3
Total Posts: 13

Posted 11/01/09 - 06:59 PM: Subject: Yes, we are genre obsessed	#5
People have an innate need to make sense of the world around them and create labels for everything, and to associate everything new and unidentified either with something else, or if not then to create another label for it. People operate on language, with the left side of their brains, that is what is encouraged and rewarded in society (modern society is highly left brained, logical and linear, type A, get r done, stake your individual claim on the world, rather than "become one with the universe") -- and here I go, can't help with the labeling myself). But anyway, yeah we are very much genre obsessed, but only in as much as we are language obsessed, and idea obsessed, and task oriented and logic obsessed. If people would just learn to shut up and stop talking about things, and just try to experience them for what they are how it makes them FEEL, outside of any context, reference point or language, and for one second suspend the need to pinpoint, label and communicate it to the homo sapien sitting next to you... then we would experience what it would be like to for one second not be "genre obsessed." It would be a scary and lonely and sublime and exciting right-brained experience, but it would be very real... you know they say that logic is only logic in a certain context, with your feelings and motivations to back you up. So yes, we use words as anchors, but the motivation for this is because if we didn't our mind would feel like it was drifting endlessly in an ocean of experience. And as spiritual and sublime as that may be, it is lethal to survival on the physical plane of planet Earth... and so that is why we are "genre obsessed"

Sorry, you don't have permission to post. Log in, or register if you haven't yet.