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Yes, I said it. Every now and again I get bored with Pop Culture. It takes a lot of television consumption, magazine reading, Internet trolling strolling, comic book obsessing, cartoon avoiding (they're terrible now) and so on to get this bored. But, when I do reach critical pop culture mass there is only one solution. I have to go back and take a dip into genuine culture. I return to the classics and try to blow some of the dust out of the recesses of my brain. I start with books. At least once a year I try to revisit my all time favorite book, Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon. I still cannot read this book without crying at the final sentence.
I read this book when I was 17 and it altered my brain permanently in the very best way. If I’m still feeling a little intellect-lite, I’ll head straight for the Shakespeare. I don’t care if he didn’t write it (check out Anonymous – interesting?) I will forever be intrigued, confused and beguiled by the elegant prose. Twelfth Night has a particular place in my little heart. Luckily for me, a recent trip to Washington D.C. gave me ample opportunity to visit museums and see wonderful classic and contemporary art. I was also able to see some amazing street art (you may call it graffiti – potato, patata, it’s all art to me) I want to make sure that I point out (again) that I genuinely LOVE Pop Culture.
And I believe that when it’s done well it can transcend the often frivolous undercurrent that it has and truly become a part of the permanent context of culture and history. But for every work of genius there will be a work of flaming garbage. We all need to take out the trash once in a while.
Your turn, what do you turn to when it’s time to take a breather from Pop Culture?
