r/Socialism_101 Learning 1d ago

Question Socialism/communism would be a renaissance for art… but what about schlock?

I get that we won’t have entertainment studios (movies/tv shows/video games) that are trying to increase revenue for the next quarter, and this will inherently be a good thing for high art - and even low brow art - since folks will be able to just do what they’re passionate about.

But what about the big budget, lowest common denominator schlock we see now? I know the MCU isn’t Kurosawa or anything, but it’s nice having simple non-challenging stories too. Would socialism be the death of Grand Theft Auto and Kitchen Nightmares?

16 Upvotes

8 comments sorted by

u/AutoModerator 1d ago

IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ BEFORE PARTICIPATING.

This subreddit is not for questioning the basics of socialism but a place to LEARN. There are numerous debate subreddits if your objective is not to learn.

You are expected to familiarize yourself with the rules on the sidebar before commenting. This includes, but is not limited to:

  • Short or non-constructive answers will be deleted without explanation. Please only answer if you know your stuff. Speculation has no place on this sub. Outright false information will be removed immediately.

  • No liberalism or sectarianism. Stay constructive and don't bash other socialist tendencies!

  • No bigotry or hate speech of any kind - it will be met with immediate bans.

Help us keep the subreddit informative and helpful by reporting posts that break our rules.

If you have a particular area of expertise (e.g. political economy, feminist theory), please assign yourself a flair describing said area. Flairs may be removed at any time by moderators if answers don't meet the standards of said expertise.

Thank you!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

11

u/GroundbreakingWeb360 Guerilla Warfare Expert 1d ago

I don't think that it would exactly remove that from the equation, but it certainly wouldn't incentivize it over other types of art. Some people make art that is derivative and uninspired, some people like consuming that art.

5

u/silverking12345 Learning 1d ago

It's a good question actually. In an ideal socialist world, there will be enough surplus resources and goods to would allow artists to produce whatever the hell they wanted regardless of practical value of their creations (which is difficult to define anyway).

Now, what about schlock? Well, how do you define schlock? I mean, what is good quality and bad is ultimately a matter of perspective. If audiences enjoy it (such as yourself), then is it really useful to say that it's bad? I mean, Pollock's paintings are sometimes considered trashy pretentious nonsense but there are a lot of abstract-art enjoyers who really like them.

Imho, in a socialist world, any and all fields and "qualities" of art will flourish. Even stuff that isn't traditionally "good", can still exist so long as there's an artist out there happy with making them.

1

u/scooter-411 Learning 1d ago

My hope is that we would still see plenty of “big-budget” type art that has mass appeal (GTA, MCU) that despite a bit of audience pandering, still has a lot of soul. I expect the quantity of this stuff to drop off a cliff, but the quality to rise. By expect I guess I mean hope.

3

u/FaceShanker 1d ago

Currently, the "schlock" is over inflated due to the priorities of the market (aka profit, advertising and so on) and the conditions of the working class (burnt out, stressed, wanting a distraction).

Socialism should heavily change that equation, meaning both the motive and desire for that kind of content will likely fade substantially.

3

u/Socialimbad1991 Learning 1d ago

I object to the characterization of GTA as "schlock" (it isn't quite high art but it's at least a step or two above drivel)

I don't think socialism is bad for that stuff, for a simple enough reason: people love telling stories, even if they aren't very good at it. It's a time-honored tradition that predates capitalism. In a world where the working class is freedom from the drudgery of fruitless labor, people will have more free time to pursue their interests, including telling simple stories.

Actually this is something often leveled as a critique against socialism: that nobody would do any "real" work because everyone would just want to be lazy artists. Personally I don't find that realistic/plausible, but I absolutely think we could do with a few more artists - both good and mediocre. Art is (generally) good for people, both in it's production and consumption.

The one kind of schlock I think we can do without is that which is intended to serve as propaganda for capitalism/the capitalist class. Such art rarely has much of anything redeeming about it, including simplicity (cf. Ayn Rand)

2

u/scooter-411 Learning 1d ago

I include GTA in this because while it’s higher quality than the other examples, it’s the closest video game (budget wise) to the MCU movies I could think of. The time sink and resources required are so monumental and the end product ends up with so many dick and fart jokes, I guess it feels almost impossible to create without the profit motivator.

Small price to pay in the end, and as another commenter pointed out - maybe they won’t be missed much once the stressors of capitalism are eliminated.