DITCH THE CULTURE

A young opthalmologist told me that she studied ballet and Asian Indian folk dancing up through the time she graduated from college. “I wish I were dancing now,” she said. “No you don’t,” I told her, speaking from the standpoint of income. But she made me reflect yet again on how foolish and damaging has been the media’s de-culturization. It’s become CW throughout most of the “mainstream” commercial media that culture is no longer worth covering. Digital hasn’t done much better, either. A potentially advertiser-attractive audience has been shut out. But at the same time, a circular reinforcement has taken place, as readers and viewers are exposed to less and less cultural coverage–How much have our lives and spirits been impoverished as a result?