I once asked this question to a group of people.I compared the audience of an orchestra or opera event with football audience. And i asked, are they really that different?
Of course, society puts these two different people in different classes, and we know which is the "common class" and which is the more "culture affluent". But why???
Both people,
1. are attending an event that they paid for (approx. the same amount of money per ticket)
2. are very ecstatic and excited to witness this event
3. cheer and clap in the event
and in the end, both people,
4. get a natural "high" from the event
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I, of course, disagree with the logic of the above, i think the person who goes to concerts IS a higher class (sorry folks ;-/ )
My feelings are so because,
1. unlike sports, orchestra or opera has no "winner-loser" so, all are able to go home happy
2. sports are a show of competitiveness and strength, orchestra is a show or more subtle emotions (emotions that i think are at a deeper level than pure body strength or skills, no matter how impressive they are)
3. I don't know about you, but i never heard of a riot that broke out after a Yanni concert lol
4. the people attending the event with you. I bet you if you survey the people in a Yanni concert or an opera, and then compare that with the final game of Fifa World Cup, you will find that on average, the former have higher salaries, better homes, higher education, etc.
so THAT must mean that there is a difference between the two groups of people.
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Now my follow-up question, for the orchestra group...
Can someone learn "Culture" ? If i go there for example, and i hate orchestra, and can't stand it... can i pretend that i do like it and i'm enjoying my time? will that work? will i grow into it?
someone might say... "just be yourself". YES! BUT! People are constantly discovering themselves and shaping themselves. So being one's self is not a static rather dynamic thing.
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So, what do you think?
Question 1: Are Sports Audience (fans) the same as Orchestra audience from a society's point of view? And your view?
Question 2: Will pretending to be sophisticated make one so?
3 comments:
As an opera-goer, I think that anybody can find orchestral/operatic music powerful, moving, and entertaining if they allow themselves the time to find the sound they enjoy the most. If they are not knowledgeable in such things (as I was at first) then they need to keep an open mind and attend more than one event if they hate the first one. As I was learning about opera, I started seeing everything and eventually figured out that I can't stand contemporary/modern opera. So, now I know to avoid it or at least not put it high up on my list when choosing what operas to go see.
I think the two events (sport vs. music) are incomparable. Like you said, one is competitive and the other is not, respectively. So, yes, I think people can 'learn' culture.
One thing's for sure:
100% of people attending a sports event do so because they enjoy it, while a good portion of opera/concert attendees do so out of social obligation (i.e. to keep up appearances) without actually enjoying themselves.
And yes, if you survey the two types you'll see that on average opera/concert attendees earn more and are of a higher educational level. But it's not the opera/concert that's having this effect; it's the fact that many people who perceive themselves as being "of high class" choose this kind of activity.
Fin:
good point of view
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Bu-Rayish:
also, valid point of view.
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