Posted on 01/16/2009 6:09:36 AM PST by William Tell 2
Conservatives are having a St. Paul-on-the-road-to-Damascus type conversion as of late. After spending decades eschewing the popular culture, they now realize the value striving to influence it.
For the past few years, organizations like the American Film Renaissance have been promoting conservative movies from established actors such as Patricia Heaton and Gary Sinise. These events also furnish an opportunity for unknown, conservative artists to present their works -- something Hollywood would never do.
Conservatives used to approach the pop culture with a laager mentality -- they prohibit their kids from watching television or listening to popular music. As if eliminating exposure to the popular culture would prevent them from being affected by it.
Unless they are prepared to live in a compound in Surinam, or join Rambo in a remote village in Tibet, they and their kids are going to be exposed to the popular culture.
Other reactions by conservatives to the pop culture have been to form their own subsets. They established genres like “Christian Rock” and “Christian Film.”
Christian rock is a good art form. So is chamber music. However, just like chamber music, Christian rock doesn’t appeal to a general audience.
Christian movies are first rate -- especially those made by former “Growing Pains” star Kirk Cameron and Stephen Baldwin. Just don’t expect them in a theater near you anytime soon.
Such art forms are analogous to the “voting with your feet” strategies used by the middle class a few decades ago. They moved to the suburbs from the cities that were being destroyed by liberal culture.
They did not realize those ideas and culture would follow them.
The liberals’ cultural conquest of America’s major cities is tantamount to the barbarians’ sacking of Rome. Once they ruined Rome, the barbarians needed to find other cities to sack.
Once the liberals made cities like New York uninhabitable -- they moved into the suburban counties - where the middle class conservatives fled long ago to protect themselves from the senseless policies of the left.
Meanwhile, conservatives thought that as long as they controlled the political machinery, they had nothing to worry about. They thought they could avoid the pop culture in their suburban enclaves.
It never occurred to them that politics follows the culture.
Now, instead of retreating and establishing their own entertainment enclaves, they are now campaigning to acquire the helm of the established media. Instead of -- metaphorically speaking of course -- busting the DVD’s, breaking the CD’s, banning the movies and burning the books, conservatives are now beginning to enter the established venues of music, literature, television and newspaper media.
Why have conservatives taken so long to see the light? Who knows. Just be glad they finally have.
As long as the left controls the society’s opinion-forming, cultural centers of influence, then liberal ideas will be enacted into laws. As someone once said, “I’ll let you write the laws, if I can write the songs.”
The liberals have always been a few beats ahead of conservatives about this -- actually a few generations ahead.
The Italian communist Antonio Gramsci realized this 80 years ago when he developed the concept of “cultural hegemony.” He believed that a state controls its subjects by force initially, yet eventually, it would need the consent of the people. Gramsci theorized this consent was accomplished by inculcating the political leadership’s values to the people -- i.e. cultural hegemony. Gramsci believed that as long as capitalistic values monopolized the popular culture, communism could never advance in a society.
He felt that the communists would have to control the opinion forming elements of society -- the “chattering classes,” as Judge Robert Bork liked to call them -- for communism to predominate in Europe.
The American leftwing recognized this and established The Intercollegiate Socialist Society (ISS) in 1905 to promote the study and advocacy of socialism in academia. Among the founders were Jack London, Upton Sinclair, and Clarence Darrow.
Is there any wonder why American colleges, universities and public schools are leftwing?
Until now, conservatives never understood the concept that -- paraphrasing Victor Hugo -- an idea whose time has come is the most powerful thing there is.
Now that conservatives have entered the mainstream channels of movies, music, television, journalism and literature, perhaps one can conceive of a future Academy awards show where the hosts or recipients will not condemn American foreign policy as imperialistic simply because the Democratic Socialists of America was somehow able to convey this message to them.
Or the next time a journalist gives a college commencement speech implying those who serve in the military are losers, the audience will know in advance that he is an avowed socialist who does not like the American military.
conservatives ought to just be themselves.
Big time ditto’s!
The ol’ “build it, they will come” trick.
Wrong.
Conservatives believed if they starved the beast
( canceled magazine subscriptions,
quit buying records,
stopped buying books
turned off network news,
walked away from liberal newspapers)
they could protect their children.
This battle was joined a decade ago...
Could you ping your list?
Of interest to our group.
Seems to me that this article is short on specifics. On the net, you can play the conservative movie or music and you can certainly display the graphic art or the poetry.
Sadly, you won’t convince many around here about the value of using pop culture to spread a conservative political message.
Hardly. But buy the RIGHT books.
Me: I read SF. And that's why I pretty much stick to Baen Books. Conservative authors. Pro-military. And don't treat their customers like criminals.
Their e-books are inexpensive and no digital rights management. Their forums (the Baen Bar) have spirited, open debate. . . and not a few Barflies are also Freepers.
And with the way things are today: a recommendation: read The Last Centurion. Ringo's latest. Liberal idiot in the White House (OK, so he guessed wrong, and based it on Hillary. . ). Impending Ice Age. Bird Flu. And America pulls through. . . .
One nice thing, though, is that at this time, the conservative message is somewhat counter-cultural. That alone can be a selling point.
Seems to answer why this is a problem. Existing in a bubble can only last so long. Eventually the bubble bursts.
You get it. Read the right newspapers and make the others go bankrupt or if that can’t happen because of the inertia of the marketplace promote the staffing of the MSM with conservatives.
It is such a simple concept I often wonder why many of these Freepers either can’t or won’t understand it.
As the saying goes - if you’re not part of the solution you’re part of the problem.
Most conservatives are pragmatic, pop coulture usually stems from superfluous nonsense, conservatives don’t usually create superfluous nonsense because its not pragmatic. Art for the sake of art (and there are exceptions)isn’t a conservative cliche. I owuld be safe to say most Freepers would prefer a degree in Finance of Chemistry to one in Art.
*Finance or Chemistry
Until conservatives can wrtie a novel that gets the cult following of Twilight, until movies with conservative world views consistently make the top 10 box office lists, until the universities have more Victor Davis Hansons than Ward Churchills, we are not going to get our message out.
Withdrawing our support doesn't affect them...they have a whole new generation of customers who have been shaped by liberal education. Hollywood really doesn't care what we think, because they have more than enough customers.
Christian rock is a good art form.Amen! Jesus Is Still Alright with artists like dc Talk.
Christian movies are first rate -- especially those made by former “Growing Pains” star Kirk Cameron and Stephen Baldwin.Amen! "Six: The Mark Unleashed" offers some of the best available SciFi IMNSHO.
When fundamentalism committed itself to a no-future future, the humanists were glad to claim the discarded trifle for their own. For a while, writers populated their Darwinian futures with characters who were motivated by derivative religious values. That moral capital has been consumed. The bleakness of the current weltanschuung opens the door again for people who have a vision, who have a passion, who believe that they and their grandchildren truly have a future.at a website named ArtsReformation.com that may appeal to conservative intellectuals such as conservatism_IS_compassion et al.
Marple, I don’t know that it’s ever been any other way. Hard work, thrift, honor, industry - all things virtuous have never been an easy sell.
But something for nothing - it’s been done to death yet it still works. It’s the oldest scam going.
So, do you read Lois McMaster Bujold? Are you a Vorkosigan fan?
Exactly the right approach. Trying to win political power and using that to change culture is backwards. Win the hearts and minds, and the power comes with it.
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