What Is Culture?

The word is bandied about,

Stuck on white walls in galleries under colossal paintings.

Hiding in the small print of those tiny, shiny placards,

Those work of art descriptions,

rolling off the tongue of supposed intellectuals constantly as they nod their heads vehemently,

Agreeing with the inscriptions,

Clutching delicate wine glasses whilst hands gesticulate wildly and red-wine stained lips articulate mildly: “Yes, it’s a cultural phenomenon”

“Cultural masterpiece”

“Very cultural”

“Yes, it really showcases the artist’s cultural identity”

“Culture”, ”culture”, ”culture”.

When all the quotes on the back of classic novels and popular contemporary literature consist of “cultural masterpiece” or “pioneer of culture”,

When the world seems to revolve around celebrities spouting stupidity to spark some controversy which will unleash the cancel culture, 

When the culture of hate that exists on social media criticises and abuses and chips away at confidence in poisonously angry comments,   

When a person’s opinion is reduced to nothing more than their background, their upbringing, their culture,

What does it actually even really mean?

It’s taken so out of context, blown way out of proportion.

The truth is that culture can be anything,

In biology the term ‘culture’ refers to the cultivation of cells stored in just the right conditions to thrive...

And this is basically what all cultures and subcultures are: a collective that starts out small and grows when provided with the correct ingredients to flourish. 

Punks, hippies, bikers, goths, emos, beatniks, 

Each with their own music and interests and style and language,

Culture is not just some random term that is lobbied about to give off the sense of high-brow sophistication or to create an aura of academic intimidation

And it shouldn’t be about haters smearing their cruel critiques across the internet. 

Culture is whatever you want it to be.

By Frances Hudson