Firstly, I’ll never understand why people will waste their time complaining about how much they hate the stuff they hate. Why don’t they just write about something they DO like? I guess I feel the need to defend the things I like that are mentioned, even if I get his point and would say all of that in jest anyway!
I think that
yes, if all of culture was just Downton Abbey, cake and Kirstie’s Homemade Home,
the world would very be boring. If we were only allowed to listen to Adele then
we would all go mad, but the same is true of any other band or musician (except,
perhaps, the Beatles). But there isn’t anyone who only enjoys the things that
this article describes – because it would be BORING and they would not be
human.
Part of the problem with this is that it’s all the stuff that’s been ruined by
being overhyped. Like Keep Calm and Carry On posters, the minute something is
liked by most people it gets over used by people too lazy to think of something
new. Are there people who hate Adele? I can’t imagine that there are, but there
may be those who think she is over exposed and even the biggest fan must be
sick of hearing Adele songs on EVERYTHING. Imagine how cool a Keep Calm and
Carry On poster would be if you’d never seen one before.
With
Downton Abbey, I can see his point but only if people actually watched it seriously.
Like most people I know, I watch Downton Abbey because it’s the most bonkers
thing in period costume! Lady Mary sexing Mr Pamuk to death, the evil maid and
footman plotting together and Mathew’s broken penis... what more could you want
from a programme?!
The cake
and craft aspect of the article is most difficult to explain. I imagine that if
you don’t want to make stuff yourself (or aren’t any good at it) you would be
bored beyond words but Kirstie’s Homemade Home. But that doesn’t mean it’s
generally boring. I sometimes watch Kirstie’s programmes because I’m interested
in the crafts, but she is coming at it from a completely different angle than
me. Kirstie Allsopp is a very rich middle class Tory playing with crafts
because it’s fashionable. I can imagine you would be very bored if all your
friends suddenly calmed to be all creative and started really bad and boring
stuff inspired by this. But for me, making stuff (I really hate the word craft
because it’s far too twee & Kirstie Allsopp) is not at all about playing.
It’s about looking at cheap mass-produced products and thinking that you could
make a better version and it would be cheaper and greener and fun. I started
getting into craft (vom) when I got to uni and started reading about feminism. My craft inspiration came from reading Bust and watching Threadbanger (but mostly Meg Allen Cole and Corinne Leigh, rather than the other loons they
have on that channel now) and from the amazing Craftivists. This craft isn’t
boring, it’s bloody amazing.
Rant
over. Did it make sense?
Yes! Because, like, I'd imagine this dude isn't exactly the target audience for either programme (he probably writes about other stuff, I dunno, can't be bothered to read someones moans) and, you know, dull to one person is heaven to someone else! Although I still can't watch Alsopp because, you know, Tory. And yay making stuff for yourself! My moomin cushion is one of my favouritest things, because I made it myself and it's more special that way.
ReplyDeleteAlso, "If we were only allowed to listen to Adele then we would all go mad, but the same is true of any other band or musician (except, perhaps, the Beatles)." So. True.