The Dark Knight, IMDB, populism, and egalitarianism on the web
I don't think there was any doubt in anyone's mind--at least not in mine-- that 'The Dark Knight' was going to break box office records. How could it not? It had one of the most extensive viral campaigns for any movie. It reached a point where you couldn't turn anywhere without seeing something for this movie. Add to the mix the death of Heath
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I don't know, dude. You know what I think about Andrew Keen. He is a whiner. He sees his comfortable cultural universe changing before his eyes, and thinks it's everyone's right to hear him complain about it. I feel sorry for him, I guess, but it's so clear that his opinions are based on complete disdain for cultural diversity of any kind that it's pretty hard to take him seriously.
Look, the elite has been worried about the watering down of culture since the beginning of culture. Franz Joseph Haydn was criticized during his lifetime for adopting certain popular drinking songs into some of his music, by shallow critics who thought he was trying to appeal to a lower common denominator. We now, of course, regard him as a genius for doing so, for reinvigorating what was becoming a stale, tired mode of music by weaving in popular elements.
Fact is, since the beginning of human civilization there has been both a 'high culture' and a 'low culture' that have managed to co-exist. Tolerant people like you and me have even been able to appreciate both at the same time. I don't see any evidence of that coming to an end. You think fewer people are writing cool plays, fewer great albums are being produced, fewer high-quality films are being released, fewer novels are being published? I think the opposite is true, and one huge reason is the internet. Both high and low culture thrive in the internet age due to the ability of a greater number of creative people to contribute and a wider, more democratic audience to criticize, judge and distribute. I guess you're worried about the low culture diluting the high culture, or even being mistaken for it? Well, if you consider imdb.com's movie ratings the ultimate arbiter of culture, then I guess you should be worried. But of course you don't. No one does.
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