And that canon has always been the domain of the extremely (and expensively) educated, and therefore class, race, language, nationality, ability, and to a lesser extent, gender specific, and catered to the interests of its privileged group. The dead white guys argument, in other words.
Also, canons (pop cultural and otherwise) are a way of identifying groups. I always knew how to pick out the Jewish kids in my class because they referenced the same stories (Tanakh, Talmud, and folk) that I did. I knew the fantasy geeks, because when I said "Oh no, Sauron has the ring!" they got it. As it was so it is.
On a side note, my dad gets very few non sci-fi based cultural references, and actually asked my mother and I last month what the heck we were talking about, and what was this "Les Mis" thing we wanted to see, and why do you two keep talking about African and European swallows and killer rabbits?
Oh Joss Whedon... I enjoyed the second and third season of Buffy, but can't stand Angel or Firefly, and decided to avoid Dollhouse. Somehow this means I'm not truly fannish, and if I just "got it" (which is to say Whedon's intent) I would be a fan. On the other hand, I keep trying to get everybody to read the Queen's thief books, so hypocrisy, thy name is Fish.
Oh Peter Pan... I can't stand it, actually, and not just because of the Disney 50s adaption. On the other hand, I adore the movie Hook. Go figure. I already mentioned my essential, To Kill a Mockingbird... It's hard thinking of things I think every child should read. I think it would do a lot of kids good to read The Devil's Arithmetic though.
On another side note, I have a feeling the pony hate has to do with the fact that a) it's for kids (hey adults, that doesn't mean it's low quality!) and b) for girls. *sigh*.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2011-07-19 11:05 pm (UTC)Also, canons (pop cultural and otherwise) are a way of identifying groups. I always knew how to pick out the Jewish kids in my class because they referenced the same stories (Tanakh, Talmud, and folk) that I did. I knew the fantasy geeks, because when I said "Oh no, Sauron has the ring!" they got it. As it was so it is.
On a side note, my dad gets very few non sci-fi based cultural references, and actually asked my mother and I last month what the heck we were talking about, and what was this "Les Mis" thing we wanted to see, and why do you two keep talking about African and European swallows and killer rabbits?
Oh Joss Whedon... I enjoyed the second and third season of Buffy, but can't stand Angel or Firefly, and decided to avoid Dollhouse. Somehow this means I'm not truly fannish, and if I just "got it" (which is to say Whedon's intent) I would be a fan. On the other hand, I keep trying to get everybody to read the Queen's thief books, so hypocrisy, thy name is Fish.
Oh Peter Pan... I can't stand it, actually, and not just because of the Disney 50s adaption. On the other hand, I adore the movie Hook. Go figure. I already mentioned my essential, To Kill a Mockingbird... It's hard thinking of things I think every child should read. I think it would do a lot of kids good to read The Devil's Arithmetic though.
On another side note, I have a feeling the pony hate has to do with the fact that a) it's for kids (hey adults, that doesn't mean it's low quality!) and b) for girls. *sigh*.