“The greater the decrease in social significance of an art form, the sharper the distinction between criticism and enjoyment by the public. The conventional is uncritically enjoyed, and the truly new is criticized with aversion”
Benjamin Mann
After reading this statement by Benjamin Mann a couple of times through, I believe that he has hit the nail on the head for our current media landscape. When conventional pieces of media are released, they are not as heavily criticized and just stated to be as part of a “genre,” which excuses their conventionalism. When something new is released, it can either face unwavering praise (which is still something good to be looked for) or be slandered for trying something new. For example, country music over the last couple of years has been very mentionable within its own music tone, subject matter, and vernacular use. Though many will criticize the country because of its substandard style, many people still enjoy it because of that familiarity. There are not many country songs that are released that challenge or have much social significance.
This quote is also very reflective for me of the current film industry that we are dealing with. Disney the last couple of years has been releasing live-action remakes of their classic animated films. After these films are released in theaters, they make hundreds of millions to billions of dollars. The general public will go to see these films without thinking the true implications of setting them and give Disney that money. In essence, these live-action remakes have taken what used to be art (i.e the old animated Disney films) and made them into cash-grabs that make no effort to differ from their animated counterparts. In some sense, the tide is turning with these remakes. The new Mulan, which was released on Disney+ in early September, has received much backlash due to its lack of energy, passion, and cultural insensitivity. However, the Mulan remake did try to change the original animated tale, which led to many disliking it purely for that reason.
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