Wouldn’t You Rather Be Lame?
I am obsessed with the idea of “lameness.” Why is it that some people find certain things lame whereas others think that it’s the coolest thing in the world? Does it have to do with age, nationality, culture or religion? If you find most things about popular culture lame, does that mean that you have refined tastes? I think people who think of certain things as lame are to be pitied because they cannot find pleasure in the arts as easily as someone who is easily pleased.
A heightened sense of lameness is caused by being exposed to the world. If you are a well travelled person, you will probably find certain TV shows, music or movies lame compared to a person who has never left their home town. This is because you have seen a wider variety of entertainment and art and can pick and choose between them.
You can judge what is good and what is lame. If someone has never left their little village in their life, then anything that comes out of Hollywood is cool. Worldly people who live in cosmopolitan cities have a more heightened sense of taste in the arts than people who live in plain vanilla towns and villages. That is why people from New York or London may seem elitist to the country folks or townies.
But it is not their fault. Having a heightened sense of lameness is actually a curse. It is like being highly intelligent and being tormented by all the stupidity in the world. If you are good at spotting cliches, then you will have fewer chances of finding pleasure and happiness in the world than the simple minded country boy who thinks that Justin Bieber is a great talent. It is sad and cruel to be so elite.
So which would you rather be? Would you want to be the cool, bored, artistic type who can only appreciate that which is truly provocative, intelligent and ground breaking? Or would you want to be the simple minded who finds pleasure in Madagascar sequels but does not understand the latest creepy music coming out of Iceland?
Frankly, I would much rather be simple minded. That way I don’t have to think about things and simple pleasures are enough to make me happy. Unfortunately, I belong to the camp filled with city boys and hipster wannabes and pop culture makes me cringe.
