Читать книгу Sociology of the Arts - Victoria D. Alexander - Страница 49

The accuracy of the shaping metaphor, as with the reflection idea, is undermined by two facts: art is not monolithic and the audience is not homogenous. These two statements alone remind us that there can be no simple, unproblematic mechanism by which art shapes society. There are, in addition, three main criticisms of the shaping approach. First, there are serious methodological problems in trying to measure the effects of the arts on society. Second, not only are audiences multifaceted, they are made up of thinking human beings, not drugged automatons. Third, the cultural critique is seen by some to be itself a product of elitism.