The lowbrow dominates culture and anyone who questions the status quo is dismissed as an elitist killjoy. But with bland algorithmic content on the rise, perhaps we consumers should start taking our art a bit more seriouslyIn Too Much, Lena Dunham’s Netflix romcom, protagonist Jess has a toxic ex called Zev. Via flashback, we witness Zev dismiss her emotional needs, demand she get rid of her dog and – worst of all – pour scorn on her cultural preferences: Vanderpump Rules, the “Real Housewomen of North Carolina”, Miley Cyrus songs. When Jess enthusiastically sings along to the ballad Angels Like You, Zev admonishes her: “It’s not real music, it’s manufactured bullshit – come on, you’re too smart to fall for that.” Jess briefly defends Cyrus, before retreating. “Don’t make me feel stupid for loving things!” she implores tearily.Zev is a bad guy and a cultural snob. He’s a bad guy partly because he’s a cultural snob. He’s also a relic. We live in a world where contempt for culture based on its level of sophistication or intellectual value is considered deeply passé, if not borderline evil. The derogatory labels – guilty pleasure, idiotbox, dumbed-down entertainment, disposable pop, trash TV – are no longer in circulation. Culture of every stripe is worthwhile: superhero movies prompt near academic levels of discourse; Taylor Swift is the subject of multiple university classes; and reality shows double as state of the nation treatises (The Traitors echoes British democracy’s dysfunctions, wrote Ian Dunt in the i; the brutal competition of Love Island USA is an allegory for the mercilessness of American life, according to the New Yorker). Throwing insults – vapid, stupid, pointless, brain cell-depleting – is now like spitting into a mirror: it says more about you than the song/show/movie you are criticising. Continue reading...