Snobbery is everywhere, especially at a place like Northwestern where comparing how intellectual you sound has replaced penis measuring as the new penis measuring. It takes on many forms, whether you’re discussing your favorite French New Wave director — yes, I know how revolutionary Godard was — or raving about the new indie band no one has ever heard of because they are currently recording their first LP in your basement.
I’m not going to lie: Discovering new, undiscovered talents or older and forgotten gems is thrilling. There is nothing I like more than sharing something exciting I’ve found with people who I know will enjoy it. I get to see their eyes light up with delight and can’t help but feel that at least part of that expression is there because of me. It’s like giving a fantastic gift. The actual present is what’s making the person happy, but facilitating that joy makes you partly responsible.
Now, if that were the case at Northwestern, I would have no problem. But here, we are a bit more malicious. Most people just want to prove that they know more than you about music or movies. They pride themselves on this knowledge. They will hate on anything mainstream that you find appealing. It makes them special. That’s all well and good, but not when it comes at the cost of other people’s embarrassment.
These people are always going to exist. Wherever intellectuals gather there will be competition. The idea is the take away their power. For your benefit, I’m going to share my fool-proof method of deferring any form of snobbery.
1) Listen to snob describe the grandiosity of an obscure movie, band, or book.
2) Nod.
3) Nod again. This time pantomime saying an enthusiastic “Oh!”
4) Let the snob finish.
5a) If discussing music, inform the snob that you’ve heard that band before, and that they’re totally overplayed on the radio back in your home city.
5b) If discussing film, inform the snob that you agree that the director is genius, but that the director whose name you made up is much better. Go with a foreign sounding name.
5c) If discussing literature, inform the snob that you had to read it in high school for AP Lit and thought it was “okay.”
With this guide you should be able to avoid most art snob situations. But getting yourself out of those scenarios isn’t the only problem when it comes to snobbery. The fact is, it’s all around us, and it would be easier to disagree with such behavior if most people were not occasionally guilty of it themselves. Though the transgression may be nowhere near the level of the more serious bragging aficionados, the average person does have the occasional slip. Who hasn’t felt the slight pang of hearing what he or she thought to be relatively unknown music on the radio playing alongside every other pop song of the day?
The problem is art possession. Songs, for example, have a way of connecting to the listener on a much more personal level than other art forms. When we come into contact with a song that particularly speaks to us, we take possession of it. It is ours now. When we realize that the song belongs to the world, we can’t help but feel a little betrayed. This is the more subtle, more common form of snobbery. When we try to take sole possession of something that belongs to the world, we will undoubtedly get hurt.
So while art snobbery may be annoying, remember how it feels to be on the other side of it. It might be more innocent or well-intentioned than you think.
But to be fair, Nickelback sucks balls, though.