Being Cultured.

It all comes off as snobbery to me. "Mmmm look at all this super-expensive exquisite art and all the expensive wines and food and clothes and et cetera..."

I don't think of intelligence or understanding when I think cultured. I think snob. Maybe that's just the Los Angeles culture, but cultured = hedonism here.

edited 2nd Mar '11 9:01:31 PM by Barkey

How about I fill in the mad libs. Being cultured is knowing of the major works of art and science that have created the culture that you are a part of. It is as much knowing your einstein and your godel as you Tupac and your Jimmie Hendrix. It is the ability to know what has lead into what you are living in now. It is the ability to know how to talk to other members of your culture in any setting. How to rock out at a kegger and show up to a job interview. How to tip, how much, when not to. How to bribe the usher at the stadium and the maitre de at a resturant. It is the knowledge of how your society functions.

Still, haven't seen anything value that's not tautological in nature.

I dunno about you, but I'd hate to be stuck in a dull grey cubicle farm for the rest of my life with nothing to liven it up.

I'd call it street smarts.

Which is really knowing about the culture you're in. For example, somebody that grew up in upper class London isn't going to know the first thing about Brooklyn culture.

I tend to use "cultured" as code for "snobbish elitist twat". I also use it jokingly to mean "having experienced foods from many cultures". Can it be used for what you said Shrimpus? In some occasions I use it to mean that first half of what you posted there. In some. That other half? That's social, practical, and street smarts there. This is going off what I've understood to be "cultured" though which is almost always "knows a lot about fancy media and food" when it's not outright "snobbish elitist twat".

edited 2nd Mar '11 9:10:09 PM by Aondeug

Thats a misconception bred by the fact that to be truly cultured you have to sample from the breadth of your culture not limit yourself to one reach. Generally exposure to the higher quality stuff it creates an upward pull on your tastes and you start to get criticitis. You know. That disease that strikes movie critics where they can no longer say "what a stupidly fun movie". Becoming cultured tends to breed elitism because a lot of the requisite stuff requires that you delve pretty deeply into the history and works of the past. Which requires a certain level of education.

I have found most people who consider themselves to be "highly cultured" to be incredible boors. Part of being better than other people is not acting like your better than other people.

And yet sadly that misconception is now becoming the meaning of cultured. At least around people I know.

I wonder if people ever think I suffer criticitis...

edited 2nd Mar '11 9:18:21 PM by Aondeug

Part of being better than other people is not acting like your better than other people.

-raises eyebrow-

What? It is! This is the internet. I don't have to be humble and polite like in real life.

Edit: Sense of humor is required also. Can't be too full of one self.

edited 2nd Mar '11 9:24:39 PM by Shrimpus

Part of being better than other people is not acting like your better than other people.

It's you're, not your.

Hmmm...I dunno, I always thought that "being cultured" was a good thing to be referred to as. When someone refers to him/herself in this way or is compared to someone else (like X is more cultured and thus better than Y) then the connotation is bad.

^^

-Adjusts his monocle and proceeds to give DG a measured golf clap-

Good show Delta Gamma, I say.

Why thank you my good sir. It has been an enjoyable evening, has it not?

Quick! We need a copy of Exit Through The Gift shop and Brahms seventh addagio!

Nonono, The Black Swan is far more appropriate.

I think that what we think when we think of "cultured", I think is a traditionalist view of culture. I don't think there's anything wrong with that per se...if that's your culture. And I'm a person who thinks that in general culture is very important. It's just that I don't think that older necessarily is better. That's not to say that new necessarily is better either.

But in the end, I just don't think better or worse actually matters all that much. The reason why being "cultured" was important was that it provided a common language of metaphors that could be used for various situations. The actual quality of the cultural experience actually doesn't matter nearly as much as the emotional and real intellectual impact. (As opposed to a fake intellectual impact. Think of someone who claims that 2-Camera sit-com X is the most revolutionary thing ever)

These days, with our modern communications systems, we have access to more cultural content than ever before..almost infinite really. There's a bad side to this of course. It reduces some of the impact of culture, as we're not all drinking from the same fountain so to speak, and as such often the metaphors fall flat. But that said, we're much better off with too much culture rather than too little.

Why not go all the way and get The Kings Speech dumb high culture movie of the year.

I was asked for an objective view, and I did my best to supply one. My actual view is that many things valued as "high culture" have merit, either in terms of entertainment value (subjective) or in terms of introducing people to new concepts and ideas to people who would otherwise not grasp or bother with them, but that elitism itself is obnoxious and irritating.

'Being cultured' just means 'knowing about your culture'. It's usually taken as meaning 'knowing about the abstract or highly intellectual aspects' rather than the ordinary, run-of-the-mill pop-culture side of things, or being some kind intellectually defficient number-geek who thinks only things that can be measured have value.

I honestly have no interest in "being cultured" as cultured people say getting drunk at 6am is apparently "bad".

And pissing on the car of someone you hate is right out, in their eyes.

Thanks Bobby, you gave me the best objective definition for the things I've seen the term used for.

It is the ability to know how to talk to other members of your culture in any setting. How to rock out at a kegger and show up to a job interview. How to tip, how much, when not to. How to bribe the usher at the stadium and the maitre de at a resturant. It is the knowledge of how your society functions.

"your culture"

Yeah for those who don't 'rock out at a kegger' and go and bribe usher for entrances to buildings, where do we fit xD

I didn't mention Faust, Aasimov or how to set a formal dinner either. Anything other minutia you would like me to list off?

Fiire away Shrimpus!