Low culture

Low culture is a derogatory term for some forms of popular culture. The term is often encountered in discourses on the nature of culture. Its opposite is high culture. It has been said by culture theorists that both high culture and low culture are subcultures.

Kitsch, slapstick, camp, escapist fiction, popular music and exploitation films are examples of low culture. It has often been stated that in postmodern times, the boundary between high culture and low culture has blurred. See the 1990s artwork of Jeff Koons for examples of appropriation of low art tropes.

Romanticism was one of the first movements to reappraise "low culture", when previously maligned medieval romances started to influence literature.

In simple terms, low culture is another term for popular culture. This means everything in society that has mass appeal. In todays society, this would involve things like 'take-away' meals, gossip magazines, books that are current best sellers and sports such as football and basketball.

ee also

*High culture
*Popular culture
*Lower class
*Lowbrow