xrayzebra
02-04-2007, 11:40 AM
The short version for those who hate long threads:
1 - No ban on anything (except the usual JD policy of no politics or outright porn without adequate work/family safe warning)
2 - Don't let the name fool you, "refinement" and "social responsibility" are not the operative words, art and culture are. Culture takes in a LOT of territory - art, music, body modification, books, TV, movies, language, etc.
3 - YOU are the judge of what belongs in here. It is supposed to be fun.
The long version, for those who care for considered discussion:
:dedhorse:
The guestbook and other threads applying to the show that started this forum have been un-stickied, and the name has been changed. Eventually all the original threads will drift to the bottom of the forum, but they will remain for occasional bumpage as people stumble across them and wonder :wtf2:
Now, this forum becomes something new, but it remains something you will not find on any other knife forum - a forum on arts and culture.
Ded i and I were pleased and surprised to wake up this morning to find it renamed The Refined Devil. I guess that was Mr LaBella's idea - we did not discuss that name in advance - but we were very humbly pleased (if not a little pleasantly embarrassed) to be entrusted to mod a forum with such a high sounding name.
Don't allow the name of the forum to confuse you though. We will avoid any undue emphasis on the word "Refined." "Culture" does not only apply to opera and art museums. "Culture" is a very broad term that takes in art, language, music, literature, dance, food, social customs, religion, politics, and more. Ultimately, the term "culture" refers to all the things that create, alter, or even destroy social meaning between us. These can be very un-refined and even raw. :peeps:
Any discussion of culture is fraught with the artificial tension that occurs when someone makes distinctions between "high" culture and "low." So much of it is about controlling meanings. That's why the term "cultural war" occurs so frequently in today's news. People sometimes disagree on the very nature of reality, let alone what is "good" and what is "bad" in culture.
As much as I like the new name and description of this forum, even the words "refined" and "socially responsible" are very loaded with the potential for disagreement.
Individuals are as easily outraged over art and other cultural artifacts as they are over economics, religion, and politics. A lot of what we might call culture is anything but what most would call "socially responsible." Much of it challenges the views of people who consider themselves responsible or even representative of social authority. A lot of art is about tearing down old meanings and beliefs so new ones can take their place, and many people take offense at change.
"Art and Culture" are sometimes the front upon which various factions of our society fight over the abstract, :stfu2: but they should also be a source of shared enjoyment and a both a place and a method of coming together to celebrate what is good in life. :cheers:
1 - No ban on anything (except the usual JD policy of no politics or outright porn without adequate work/family safe warning)
2 - Don't let the name fool you, "refinement" and "social responsibility" are not the operative words, art and culture are. Culture takes in a LOT of territory - art, music, body modification, books, TV, movies, language, etc.
3 - YOU are the judge of what belongs in here. It is supposed to be fun.
The long version, for those who care for considered discussion:
:dedhorse:
The guestbook and other threads applying to the show that started this forum have been un-stickied, and the name has been changed. Eventually all the original threads will drift to the bottom of the forum, but they will remain for occasional bumpage as people stumble across them and wonder :wtf2:
Now, this forum becomes something new, but it remains something you will not find on any other knife forum - a forum on arts and culture.
Ded i and I were pleased and surprised to wake up this morning to find it renamed The Refined Devil. I guess that was Mr LaBella's idea - we did not discuss that name in advance - but we were very humbly pleased (if not a little pleasantly embarrassed) to be entrusted to mod a forum with such a high sounding name.
Don't allow the name of the forum to confuse you though. We will avoid any undue emphasis on the word "Refined." "Culture" does not only apply to opera and art museums. "Culture" is a very broad term that takes in art, language, music, literature, dance, food, social customs, religion, politics, and more. Ultimately, the term "culture" refers to all the things that create, alter, or even destroy social meaning between us. These can be very un-refined and even raw. :peeps:
Any discussion of culture is fraught with the artificial tension that occurs when someone makes distinctions between "high" culture and "low." So much of it is about controlling meanings. That's why the term "cultural war" occurs so frequently in today's news. People sometimes disagree on the very nature of reality, let alone what is "good" and what is "bad" in culture.
As much as I like the new name and description of this forum, even the words "refined" and "socially responsible" are very loaded with the potential for disagreement.
Individuals are as easily outraged over art and other cultural artifacts as they are over economics, religion, and politics. A lot of what we might call culture is anything but what most would call "socially responsible." Much of it challenges the views of people who consider themselves responsible or even representative of social authority. A lot of art is about tearing down old meanings and beliefs so new ones can take their place, and many people take offense at change.
"Art and Culture" are sometimes the front upon which various factions of our society fight over the abstract, :stfu2: but they should also be a source of shared enjoyment and a both a place and a method of coming together to celebrate what is good in life. :cheers: