Critical culture (was: Re Save us from 60s Nostalgia)

Chuck Grimes cgrimes at tsoft.com
Tue Feb 22 17:57:08 PST 2000


Where Will Critical Culture Come From?

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>From the same place as always.

That was a nice article, but it didn't answer the question, except to point, hopefully at new media. But the concrete answer is, critical culture becomes critical when, by any measure, it produces better works. Now, I have no idea how to define better, except that I know it when I see it, hear it, taste it, smell it, work with it (or fuck it).

The definition of better already advances a critique of what is, and therefore is critical. It is a tautology, but that can't be avoided. And, I think it is a mistake to believe being critical is the same as a critique. In other words, just dumping down on some idea or work doesn't advance to a critique until it posits an alternative or produces something qualitatively better than its nemesis. So, in some dialectical fashion, critical culture is positive in its production, otherwise it isn't critical.

Chuck Grimes



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