Am I suppose to admire one of the mechanisms used in the transmission of a counter productive meme complex?
In a word yes! If something is beautiful or interesting, and studying or contemplating it provides you with emotional experiences that lead to a richer fuller life then why not? It comes down to what you want art to do for you... I want it to show me interesting ways of thinking seeing and feeling. In short I turn to art for diversity of sensation I DON'T want it to provide me with an anchor for my own personal ethics, nor do I expect it to make me a more rational person.
Are you ready to throw overboard ALL the mechanisms which transmit counterproductive memes?
I find the ancient pyramids pretty damn amazing. Were they a objectively speaking, a 'good idea' for the society who built them? I seriously doubt it. Was there any merit to the theocratic ideology they embodied? My answer would be an definite no. So should we rip em down? Are they still worth seeing? How about the ceiling of the Sisteen Chapel? Is it irrelevant to you if you aren't a christian and best avoided in order to prevent infection with the christian meme? It seems to me that if we start avoiding the artifacts of counterproductive memesets we will live in a pretty sterile world.
It WOULD be theoretically possible to discuss the aesthetic merits of September 11. I personally refuse to do it.. Will my children or my grandchildren have the same qualms? Probably not..
What did you think of the Pearl Harbor movie? Not the insipid love story added to help guys cajole their dates into the movie theatre but the main destructive visual setpiece that was the movies central purpose? Doesn't it pretty explicitly invite an aesthetic appreciation of the Pearl Harbor bombings...?
But whatever the case, I think there is also a confusion of categories on your part happening here Don. The attacks on the Twin Towers were not a work of Art advocating an evil or misguided view. They were an evil act in and of themselves....
Would I be able to discuss the artistic merits of a piece of Al-Quaeda propaganda? Yes I think I could...
This is turning into an interesting little topic!
Edited by Utnapishtim, 04 March 2004 - 02:09 AM.