Gladys: "You know, I was thinking...don't you guys think good taste sucks? I mean, what is good taste but just the commonly agreed opinion about things? What if the common wisdom is wrong?" 
Petunia: " Hmmmm. I don't know, Gladys. You have to anchor your opinions in something outside yourself. If you only have your own reason and emotions to judge things by you'll drift off into craziness and selfish behavior." 
Marigold: "I think we're anchored. I mean I wouldn't run around naked on this tree limb if I thought it would fall. "
Violet: "Um, Marigold...I think Petunia meant "anchored" in a philosophical sense."
Marigold: "Oh..."
Sunflower: "Er... can I say something? It seems to me that the Greeks figured this thing out long ago. For them good taste was an aspect of virtue and virtue was something public. Good taste had something to do with making choices that were good for society. So..."
"
Mildred: "Holy Cow! Look! IT'S A MAN!!!!!!
Fred: "Grrrrr! I heard you girls babbling! None of you got it right!! Good taste is something for consumers of art to argue about! For the makers of art there's only the quest for greatness of spirit, for mastery over nature, for something worthy of the miraculous minds we were born with!!!!"
Girls: " (Gasp!) EEEEK! Run for the Hills! Let's book! Eeeeeekkk!!!!!! Eeeeekkk!!!!!!!!!"
Sunflower: "Er... can I say something? It seems to me that the Greeks figured this thing out long ago. For them good taste was an aspect of virtue and virtue was something public. Good taste had something to do with making choices that were good for society. So...""
Mildred: "Holy Cow! Look! IT'S A MAN!!!!!!
Fred: "Grrrrr! I heard you girls babbling! None of you got it right!! Good taste is something for consumers of art to argue about! For the makers of art there's only the quest for greatness of spirit, for mastery over nature, for something worthy of the miraculous minds we were born with!!!!"
Girls: " (Gasp!) EEEEK! Run for the Hills! Let's book! Eeeeeekkk!!!!!! Eeeeekkk!!!!!!!!!"
HAHAHAHAHAHA! This was hilarious! I approve of female nudity if there is at least one man and funny dialogue. Thusly, I hereby grant you my official approval.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Gladys on this one. The idea of good taste has never made any sense to me. When you are watching a movie, you are either a) immersed in the world of the characters, laughing at their antics, crying over their mishaps, etc., or you are b) admiring the skill of the artist in getting you to do (a). Neither one of these requires "good taste." Good taste is probably just a timid sort of self restraint, based on a vague fear that "something might go wrong" if you "go too far." So, yay Gladys! (She's good climber too!)
ReplyDeleteBTW, there's a thread on 2Blowhards that you might call "My Favorite Song that Doesn't Show any Good Taste At All."
ReplyDeleteEveryone should strive for good taste, but how can you know when you have acheived it?
ReplyDeleteHere are some things you should start by liking:
Art
Music
Literature
Cuisine
Social Justice
Intelligence
If you can like these with a straight face then, you are already on the right track!
Here are some things you shouldn't like:
Bad Art
Bad Music
Bad Literature
Bad Cuisine
Social Injustice
Stupidity
Please spread this information freely!
I guess good taste would seem to be not showing the male genital area.
ReplyDeleteMan, I LOVE this blog!! Where else but on "Uncle Eddie's theory Corny" can you find a spirited discussion of Good Taste AND vintage photos of barenekkid wimmens skinny-dippin' at the same time?
ReplyDeleteThank you, Uncle Eddie....Thank you very much!!
P.S.
Doesn't the subject line of this post kinda remind you of those old "Star-Kist" tuna commercials from the late 60s?
"Charlie, Star-Kist DOSEN'T want tunas with 'good taste'---they want tunas that TASTE GOOD!!"
I neglected to mention pithiness. People with good taste are always pithy. It's not important for having good taste, but it's essential for making others notice that you have it.
ReplyDeleteArt: Cartoons, Sketchbook drawings, animation, pop art, commercial art.
ReplyDeleteMusic: Tenacious D, Weird Al, Death Cab For Cutie, Junior Senior, game music (8-bit style).
Literature: Fantasy books (Harry Potter, Oz novels), Animation insturctional books (Cartoon Animation: Preston Blair, Animator's Survival Kit, Illusion of Life), game magazines (EGM), Golden Picture Books (particulary old Mary Blair disney books) and Coffee table books showing old arcade game art and pixel art.
Cuisine: Korean food (kalbi, bulkogi, rice, spinach, beansprouts, potatoes and kimchee), Hamburgers, Pizza, Ice-Cream, Soda. Egg-salad sandwhiches.
Social Justice: No assholes or jerks and I'm pretty much cool.
Intelligence: 3.6 average in art college.
Now if you look above I don't think everyone has in common with everything I am or into, but to use the analogy, that sophistication is what everyone agrees with would be ludicrous. If that was the case Spider-man 3 would be considered high art. Imagine if EVERYONE was into my taste we'd all be fat on hamburgers getting rid of foods such as vegetables. Sophistication as something where our tastes lead to making thing better, I dunno?
To me good taste is something you are comfortable with despite what everyone else around you says. I don't have to like everything John or Eddie loves or even what the newspaper or internet critics say. I love my own culture I built for myself and therefore am happy in my own temple. If others like it, cool, if not, AWESOME!
To me if I can back up why I like my own culture then that makes me sophisticated in my own mind no matter how stupid it is to everyone else.
Great article Eddie! Funny, smart and down to the point! :)
You have some very interesting neighbors, Eddie.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteFirm believer in free market, capitalism, and the idea that individuals are responsible for themselves, also devout Christian
ReplyDeleteJesus taught that we are responsible for each other. He was not much of a capitalist either. If you dopn't believe me, ask the money changers.
Eddie,
ReplyDeleteNow I know what you're talking about when you John and everyone else mentions Jorge :).
I dimply recall the greeks discussing virtue and civic whatnot but where is it written that what we call "good taste" was tied into virtue by those ancients?
ReplyDelete"Taste" is acumen applied to esthetics. It's a subjective thing, always changing, differing from one culture to another. There are certain aspects that are fairly solid that apply to "good" taste--the adage "too much of a good thing" sort of points to one generally accepted truism: bad taste=too much of anything, spoiling it/good taste=balance, restraint.
But taste good or bad is generally only discussed as far as I know as it pertains to art, music, appearance--beauty. Not civics. I don't get that part.
hey Eddie,
ReplyDeleteI just saw Tales of Worm Paranoia on the Boomerang network. Great stuff!
Wha...what did I type? "Dimply"?! Jeezus!
ReplyDelete*sigh*
Dimly...damn!
Lester: Good taste is a weapon yielded by timid and unimaginative people sometimes but I don't think we should get rid of it just because it can be misused.
ReplyDeleteIf you've ever been in a messy, random room devoid of any aesthetic influence or been in a neighborhood full of weeds, chainlink fences and grafitti, then you know the consequence of bad taste.
The concept of good taste is a far more effective fighter of bad taste than an ecclectic and purely personal standard.
Even so, there is a higher standard than good taste for those who can handle it.
Jenny: Aaaargh! It would take hours to research an answer to that!
Jorge: I like capitalism too. I like Carnagie's advice about how to get rich: "Find a need and fill it!"
Sam, Cartoon Joe: Thanks!
The concept of good taste is a far more effective fighter of bad taste than an ecclectic and purely personal standard.
ReplyDeleteKind of like etiquette.
Even so, there is a higher standard than good taste for those who can handle it.
Only if you can pick up the big rocks.
Good taste is the enemy of Art. Good taste is almost always about NOT showing something. Good taste tries to change your mind about what tastes good. Good taste favors flavorlessness because it fears being judged by itself. Good taste makes noblemen out of ordinary aristocrats. Good taste is painting Lorenzo de Medici's face on John the Baptist. Good taste is a slag heap of irrelevant opinion with Queen Elizabeth sitting on top of it.
ReplyDeleteThere. I found a need & I filled it.
You damn punk kids made me so cranky I can hardly nap.
P.S. IMO
ReplyDeleteThis relates to one of my favorite quotes:
ReplyDelete"The Chief enemy of creativity is 'good' taste."
-Pablo Picasso
I truly feel that greater words have yet been spoken!
Here's another funny one from Judy Garland: "When I die I have visions of fags singing 'Over the Rainbow' and the flag at Fire Island being flown at half mast."
Ha, pretty good.
And I don't know the guy who said Spiderman 3 was brilliantly executed... but please don't trust him.
Art: Impressionism, Landscapes, Abstract, Urban neighborhoods, 20th Century architecture, Comic strips, animation, sketches, character designs, layout and background paintings, color stylist renderings
ReplyDeleteMusic: Jazz (Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Winton Marsalis, Count Basie, Duke Ellington)
Soft Rock (Tina Turner, Michael Jackson, Toni Braxton, Tears for Fears, Rod Stewart, Billy Joel)
Motown/Rhythm & Blues (Smokey Robinson, Temptations, KC and the Sunshine Band, Bee Gee's, Mary J. Blige), Video games (early-mid 90's Sega Genesis)
Literature: Romanticism, Fantasy, Science-fiction, Satire, Animation Art & History
Cuisine: Fruits and fruit salads, pork, fried chicken, fish, Bic Macs, french fries, buttered popcorn, carrots, spinach, broccoli, potatoes (all cooked), assorted subs, Pizza, General Mills and Kellogg's cereal with milk, ginger snaps, Oreos, chips
Social Justice: Democracy, individualism, rationale, imagination, versatility, diplomacy, vividness
Intelligence: B-range minimum