Lowest Common Denominator Culture Nominations.

What artists, music, film, television, book or visual artwork is proof of the decline of Western Civ? Cut thru the bullshit, the spin, the rationalizations and the hype, and name the poison.

As always, I nominate talentless ass clown Eminem.

I just don't see anything entertaining about this show. I'm told that it is. But I don't see it. It's just so...tawdry.

Terry

and couldn't believe what I was seeing... It was total TRASH! If I had children, they would not be allowed to see that garbage.

I'd like to nominate the entire "genre" of "reality" television, but since none of the others would be there without the "success" of Survivor, I'll put that in there.

Ann Cuolter and Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly being considered "knowledgable thinkers about current events", the fact that people think Shrub is a good president and a good leader, Beyonce, most pop music really, and on and on and on...

That's a subversive choice. He appeals to a LCD that thinks it's better than that.

but want something "nice" for their walls that matches their sofa fabric.

But they think they are classy. "I like stuff that looks like stuff"

to which céline do you refer? louis-ferdinand? or . . . some other one(s)?

for whom Canada still hasn't apologized, that nothing thing we call Celine "I suck" Dion

I thoroughly agree with the Stern Show on that one. What a cheesedick.

Teen pop/boy band music that emerged in the mid to late 90's. Popular music in the early part of the decade was refreshing and it was sad to see it regress to something similar to the 80's. I would add the whole "Fast and Furious" action genre of movies.

Okay, he was the voice of the Iron Giant. Otherwise, buh-bye, marble mouth.

All special effect, no plot, no story, no characters, no acting, no nothing.

Haven't seen the 3rd, being fleeced twice was enough.

of 1,000 corpses, Crank Yankers,"Reality tv".

Michael Crichton fan here! =)

Haven't seen it yet, of course, and I don't plan to.
But the concept -- get a bunch of normal-looking women, give them massive plastic surgery, then allow some of them to compete in a beauty pageant -- ick.

It could only get worse if they have a kid's version.

as a plain spoken man...UGH. he's anti-intellectual and revels in mediocrity.

You may not like him, but Eminem truly is a talented man. One should always be able to recognize talent despite not having a taste for the style. For example, I think Eric Clapton is one of the best musicians that has ever lived. Do I own even a single Eric Clapton CD?? Nope. Babyface has written more hit songs for a greater number of musicians than just about anyone you can think of, but I personally hate every single one of them. That doesn't make him any less talented.

Now, if you want to talk about people like the Backstreet Boys or Britney Spears being talentless, be my guest. The only thing they do for themselves is dance, and that ain't so hard when the only thing you really have to do all day is learn the moves the best choreographers in the world create for you.

as "talented" as Mr. Mathers. Both can dance and sing, skills he does not possess.

Not fans of either of them, btw, but if he's talented, they're talented, I reckon. Could gladly drive all the above off a cliff, though.

Mr. Mathers writes all of his own lyrics, produces all of his own music, and takes all his own samples. Spears and Timberlake do not do any original creative work. They dance routines that are pre-planned for them and sing songs already written for them. That's a huge difference.

Mr. Irony, table for one!

You clearly don't understand the process involved... It's not nearly as easy as you think.

Note: I am NOT a rap fan at all. I listen mostly to hard rock/metal.

Britney Spears. The entire ouevre of John Grisham, who writes like a half-bright eighth grader. Vin Diesel. Reality television in general, starting with MTV's "The Real World" on up through whatever the latest bit of mindless garbage on NBC/ABC/CBS/Fox is.

Popular culture is mostly hideous; this is because most people have no taste, but they DO have money. This is what happens when you live in a consumerist society, unfortunately. There are more Epsilon sub-morons and aesthetic cretins out there than people who want intelligent, well-written and thought-provoking literature, music, film and television, et cetera, so that's the bulk of what gets made.

This isn't so much "the decline of Western Civilisation", though; it was ever thus. It's just that now we see all these things becoming the majority of our popular culture because thanks to the growth of the middle class we now have large groups of people with disposable income who didn't have it before, who are (arguably) literate thanks to public education, and who are, essentially, the largest target market in our consumer society.

Wanky middlebrow shit.

sure i can. i nominate the 1960s. the decade of the birth of space exploration, bay of pigs, the first fraying of the american social fabric, the beginning of our inherent suspicion of those in power and those who seek it, some good and bad art, and the Beatles with their subsequent lacklustre solo projects. things have gotten progressively worse since, of course, but the 60s and early 70s, i believe, are when the west finally began to unravel for the sake of RATIONAL CERTAINTY

western civilization, i salute you

that cost us our security deposit.

bye bye organic relationships! hello gradual decline of western culture!

:party:

that unfeeling, impudent, malicious little whoremonger

Never 'eard of 'im.

:eyes:

Still the leader IMHO

like so many of us in the early 80's yearning for something beyond the subdivision. I jumped ship early, though.