Philippe de Montebello, director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art has been quoted as saying “the public is a lot smarter than anyone gives it credit for.” More Intelligent Life magazine gives strength to this idea with a recent article that chronicles the rise in popularity of intelligent cultural fare. It explains that public enjoyment of opera, classical music, literature and quality pop music and television (like The Wire) is steadily growing, countering the popular notion that as a whole, society is getting less intelligent.
Could it be that access to such quality work is increasing, exposing people who may not have previously been? They don’t come to a definite conclusion on any leading factor that’s contributing to this perceived growth in intelligence, but it’s an interesting run through of the possible drivers. A good read.
From the article:
Millions more people are going to museums, literary festivals and operas; millions more watch demanding television programmes or download serious-minded podcasts. Not all these activities count as mind-stretching, of course. Some are downright fluffy. But, says Donna Renney, the chief executive of the Cheltenham Festivals, audiences increasingly want “the buzz you get from working that little bit harder”. This is a dramatic yet often unrecognised development. “When people talk and write about culture,” says Ira Glass, the creator of the riveting public-radio show “This American Life”, “it’s apocalyptic. We tell ourselves that everything is in bad shape. But the opposite is true. There’s an abundance of really interesting things going on all around us.”
Facebook
Twitter
Digg
Reddit
StumbleUpon
