This is a dialogue from a famous sequence in the not so much memorable Monalisa Smile film. You might not remember the movie, but you might have asked yourself once, what's art? You might have even wondered who gets to decide it?
As a former art student, I was so lucky to have been on many occasions in the presence of those who get to make that decision on people's behalf. Did you notice the sarcasm in the previous line? Well, if you didn't before, now you know it.
I've always wondered why some people get to decide what's art, what's good, what's creative or cool?
Think about it: someone, someday, decided that Marcel Duchamp was a great artist. Note that I chose to write decided instead of recognized. That's because many people had most likely admitted his genius – not an expert here – before the decision-makers had given him their approval stamp. In any circle and at any time in history, these people make decisions on our behalf constantly.
Think of your group of friends; I bet among them there is a film critic. Just look around, check your Instagram feed; I'm sure there's a food connoisseur or at least a fashionista too. It's just like within our family; we all have specific parts in the plot – I was the rebel, just saying. It's a natural thing, and it's part of our socializing experience. The problem starts when the eye-rolling begins.
Have you ever being shamed because you didn't like or understand a particular artist, singer, film, or fashion designer? Like that moment when you naively confessed you don't like much Jeff Koons – guilty here – and people around you just roll their eyes as their way of letting you know that you are clueless. It happened to you too, don't lie! Remember those lovely gallery vernissage nights, when the the art lovers gather to sip cheap warm white wine together and stare at white canvas? Or the line at that fabulous alternative film festival where film buffs anxiously waited in line to watch a remarkable Iranian movie without subtitles? If you ever attended one of those highly sought-after venues, it wouldn’t surprise me if you have done the inexcusable faux pas of stating shamelessly that you were bored. Once, I was given a pass for liking an immersive exhibit– that was sort of a friendly rolling eye.
You see, eye-rollers think that they are the decision-makers. It isn’t exclusive to art. Eye-rollers believe they are part of an elite group that gets to decide what's good or bad, appropriate, beautiful, politically correct or simply cool. You might have been got caught once humming a Britney Spears song to a friend's complete disgust too. Remember what happened next? Rolling eyes, that's what happened!
But although they think that they decision-makers, I strongly suspect they aren't. In the best-case scenario, I think they are only the taste police. Or they might be cool hunters– trend-seeking narcissistic vampires who only care about how their feed looks like, which is just another type of follower. Yes, they might be influencers too. But frankly, when someone like Kim Kardashian is considered an influencer in prison reform– yes, she is – one begins to wonder who is actually influencing Kim Kardashian? Or do you think she came up with it on her own? Please, don't say Kanye.
Here's my question: who is behind the influencers and the taste police deciding what's art, creative or cool, so they can let us all know?
In his 2000's book Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell, the Canadian author-slash-cultural-guru, wrote that "ideas, products, messages, and behaviors spread like viruses do." Back then, it was a disruptive concept. He completed this by saying, "the success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts." Actually, he wrote much more than this. Still, this pretty much summarizes the overall book premise– at least for the purpose of this post.
Maybe he is right, and some people have a particular gift set that enables them to pick ideas and societal transformation earlier and quicker than others. But, according to him, the connectors, another group with a specific gift, with their array of social, cultural, professional, and economic connections, will help these spread ideas into the mainstream. If that's the case, maybe I was indeed privileged to have met some of them in my life. Or maybe, let's throw it out there, I'm one of them! Nah, most likely not.
Anyway, I'm still wondering why we let other people pick what's correct or tasteful on our behalf? And more, do we still need this?
In a world that has recently witnessed the rise of the influencers – some predict their downfall is coming – it looks like we still need it. But staying true to my role in my family, I don't care about taste police or decision-makers in general. I've realized that in the past I had spent too much time giving power to people who weaponize knowledge, influence, and access to personal profit or just to feed their egos.
Backstage, some powerful people might be pulling the strains and deciding for us what's art, for example. Or Gladwell is right; a few gifted people are the initiators or the disruptors to use a current term. They get to decide everything, and we are just their followers. Well, I guess they must be the "right people." But if they are, I feel like I'd rather be among the wrong people.
Joking aside – not so much – I guess my point is that there will always be people influencing others. Still, in the current environment, there's a huge opportunity to update this dynamic. As much as social media has enabled individual voices to be heard, it is time for people to feel free to share their opinion without fearing being shamed as public entertainment. Most importantly, knowledge should set people free. It's not a matter of right or wrong, and no one gets to decide anything for anyone.