An elitist culture has rather blurred boundaries, especially at present with trends in the tendency of mass elements to express individuality. Its peculiarity is that it is doomed to be misunderstood by most people, and this is one of its main characteristics. In this article we will learn what an elitist culture is, what are its main characteristics and compare it with the mass.
What it is
Elite culture is the same "high culture". It is contrasted with the mass, which is one of the methods for its detection in the general cultural process. This concept was first emphasized by K. Manheim and H. Ortega-i-Gasset in their writings, where they deduced it precisely as the antithesis of the concept of mass culture. They meant by high culture that which contains a semantic core capable of developing a human personality, and from which the continuation of the creation of its other elements can follow. Another area they highlighted is the presence of special verbal elements available for narrow social groups: for example, Latin and Sanskrit for clergy.
Elite and popular culture: contrast
They are opposed to each other by the type of influence on the consciousness, as well as by the quality of the meanings that contain their elements. So, the mass is aimed at a more superficial perception, which does not require specific knowledge and special intellectual efforts to understand a cultural product. Currently, there is an increased dissemination of mass culture due to the process of globalization, which, in turn, is spread through the media and is stimulated by the capitalist structure of society. Mass culture, in contrast to the elite, is intended for a wide range of people. Now we see its elements everywhere, and it is especially pronounced in programs of television channels and cinema.
So, Hollywood cinema can be opposed to arthouse. At the same time, the first type of films focuses the viewer's attention not on the meaning and idea of history, but on the special effects of the video sequence. Here, high-quality cinema implies an interesting design, an unexpected, but easy to understand plot.
The elite culture is represented by arthouse films that are evaluated according to different criteria than Hollywood products of this kind, the main of which is the meaning. So, the quality of the footage is often underestimated in such films. At first glance, the reason for the poor quality of shooting is either the lack of good funding or the director’s amateurism. However, this is not so: in cinema, an arthouse's video function is to convey information and the meaning of an idea. Special effects can distract from this, so they are not typical for products of this format. The ideas of the arthouse are original and deep. Very often, in the presentation of a simple story, deep meaning is hidden from a superficial understanding, the real tragedy of the personality is revealed. When watching these films, you can often track that the director himself is trying to find the answer to the question and studies the characters during the shooting. Predicting the plot of arthouse cinema is almost impossible.
High culture characteristic
The elite culture has a number of characteristics that distinguish it from the mass:
- Its elements are aimed at displaying and studying the underlying processes of human psychology.
- It has a closed structure, accessible to understanding only by outstanding individuals.
- Differs in originality of art decisions.
- Contains a minimum of visual aids.
- Has the ability to express something new.
- It approbates what can later become a classic or trivial art.