Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2024 April 2

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April 2

Patterns in popular cultural exports

I can't help but notice that some of the most popular cultural exports that have become closely identified with their home nations over time, began as outliers espoused by so-called outcasts, the estranged, and the oppressed. This pattern keeps coming up, from Flamenco (Spanish culture), to Impressionism (French culture), to Jazz (American culture). Why is this, and what does it say about human culture? It is as simple as saying that humanity is highly resistant to any kind of change and will go to great lengths to insure cultural continuity of older ideas, or is there something more to it? Why must there always be a fight or struggle to present something new and different? Are our brains hardwired to reject this? Viriditas (talk) 23:14, 2 April 2024 (UTC)

Is Status quo bias or Social inertia helpful? --136.54.106.120 (talk) 00:17, 3 April 2024 (UTC)

Yes! That should keep me busy for a while. Thank you. Viriditas (talk) 00:42, 3 April 2024 (UTC)

You can add Jamaican Reggae to your list of examples. Xuxl (talk) 13:36, 3 April 2024 (UTC)

Yes, the list is long. Viriditas (talk) 20:45, 3 April 2024 (UTC)

Ars longa, vita brevis. See also Newton's 3rd law. MinorProphet (talk) 14:02, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

cf Derek Jarman and the 'ars longa vita brevis' Tradition. Should that be "arse longa"? MinorProphet (talk) 14:02, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

I suspect another effect also plays a role. The outcast status also allows people to escape from the stranglehold of the dominant cultural norms and develop a vibrant counterculture. Eventually, this is tamed and gentrified, and the cycle starts over.  --Lambiam 21:15, 3 April 2024 (UTC)

Brilliant. Viriditas (talk) 21:17, 3 April 2024 (UTC)

Our Underclass article quotes: "The underclass rejects many of the norms and values of the larger society. Among underclass youth, achievement motivation is low, education is undervalued, and conventional means of success and upward mobility are scorned." Alansplodge (talk) 11:06, 4 April 2024 (UTC)

I think Devine & Wright should have added a couple more uses of the qualifier "conventional": "motivation for conventional achievement is low, conventional education is not highly valued, and ...".  --Lambiam 17:46, 4 April 2024 (UTC)

"...conventional" equals "predictable" ? --Askedonty (talk) 17:58, 4 April 2024 (UTC)

Not in this sentence. The authors did not mean to say that the underclass youth spurn predictable means of success.  --Lambiam 22:12, 4 April 2024 (UTC)

It's the most common meaning of "conventional", i.e. normal, standard, usual. Clarityfiend (talk) 11:47, 11 April 2024 (UTC)

Here's an interesting coincidence: the article on Teleseme is in the lead DYK spot at the moment. The penultimate sentence reads, "A broker of PBX systems in 1914 wrote that hotels with telesemes were reluctant to switch systems." Viriditas (talk) 22:55, 3 April 2024 (UTC)

Money money money --Askedonty (talk) 16:42, 4 April 2024 (UTC)