Captain PMS, 9/12

Captain’s Blog Stardate 9/15

Once again it seems that the easiest way for me to understand the concepts in class is to apply them to something seemingly trivial. When we were discussing Habermas and the concept of Bourgeois art, two points on the overhead caught my attention the most. The first was that the “laymen is educated to become an expert” and the second was that the action of the first allows a buyer to “behave as a competent consumer.” These two ideas along with the point that ROG made about people specializing in smaller areas brought to my mind the Antiques Road Show.

The whole idea, if you haven’t seen the show, is for people to bring their family antiques or garage sale buys to the show, stand in line for what looks like hours, and then present their treasures to some expert who tells them the item’s history and what it’s worth. Some people spent nothing on priceless items while others paid too much for something that isn’t worth anything. Habermas contends that the distance between the public and “culture” is growing. The experts that Antiques Road Show employs would probably agree. These people specialize in very succinct areas. You may for example have someone who knows everything there is to know about dinnerware from the 1800’s or belt buckles made during WWII. If an item is particularly noteworthy or if the consumer paid too much for it then it might be featured on the show. In this way the “laymen is educated to become an expert” and is made too feel like they are becoming a “competent consumer.”

While I suppose it is possible to learn something from the show I believe most people watch it to see the reactions of those who gain money and especially those who lose it. It reminds me of the people who watch NASCAR for the crashes. Because of this, the show also brings to mind Lyotard who believes we derive our pleasure from pain. People are often in pain when they discover they’ve wasted money. While the Antiques Road Show is about yesteryear, it is also thoroughly post-modern.