The concerning rise of anti-intellectualism in the arts is but one of many signifiers of rising conservative, even fascist, political sentiments.
There has been a small, but notable, shift in the perception of the arts. What has served to function as a reflection, critique, and product of society, tends now to be dismissed by it. The arts are increasingly being labelled as frivolous, elitist, inaccessible, and most significantly, unimportant to individuals. Anything construed as 'intellectual' is waved off with a disdain disguised as class-consciousness but is indicative of the notion that intellectualism in STEM fields is valuable and legitimate, whereas the arts are tools of the 'elite' and should thus remain unacknowledged, and unvalued.
While anti-intellectualism officially refers to the distrust of credential experts in a given field, when taken to encompass the former phenomenon, it serves as a significant lens of analysis for why individuals are being distanced from the arts.
In Jason Stanley's How Fascism Works, he identified anti-intellectualism as a pillar of fascist politics. In a subsequent interview with Inside Higher Ed., he elaborated on this, distinguishing between a healthy suspicion of elites, one that allows us to be critical of the narratives we consume, and fascist anti-intellectualism, which adheres to the fascist strategy of 'trafficking in myth' , such as cultural superiority, of the patriarchy, historical myths of a nation's past, etc. (Jaschik, 2018).
Thus, mediums comprising academia and the arts are targeted, as they tend to encourage critical thinking and, ultimately, reflect the truth. 'This is the essence of anti-intellectualism,' explains Stanley, 'it is an attack on truth' (Jaschik, 2018).
To target these mediums, they are positioned as inherently inaccessible through relegation to belonging to and serving the purposes of the 'elite'. Merkley's “Anti-Intellectualism, Populism, And Motivated Resistance to Expert Consensus” explains that 'evidence shows anti-intellectualism is connected to populism, a worldview that sees political conflict as primarily between ordinary citizens and a privileged social elite' (Merkley, 2020). Thus, individuals who view themselves as 'ordinary' do not feel compelled to engage in the arts or academia, as they find it irrelevant, and inapplicable to their lives.
Furthermore, these mediums are judged through a lens of productivity - their contributions, despite their significance, are positioned as less-than to knowledge produced in other, scientific fields. On a Reddit thread, titled "Anyone else seeing a rise in anti-intellectualism?" a since-deleted account writes: 'When intellectuals invent new technologies that save millions of lives, everyone is happy and loves the intellectuals, but when the arrogance comes into play, then it starts.' Everything else in the thread, unsurprisingly, echoes this user's sentiments. Much of current discourse, whether it's being said online or over the dinner table, does too. Intellectuals who invent technologies, implied to be those in STEM, are of value, and anything perpetuating arrogance is not. Evidently, to care about the arts is to be arrogant, given the presumption of malice towards those who are familiar with a work another is not.
Small sentiments like these serve as a sophisticated take-down of the arts to the individual, who grows a distaste for them. Whilst believing themselves to be class-conscious, they are ultimately unable to engage with political sentiments critically, as the arts often promote. Emphasis on often - the idea that the arts always reflect the truth, is, of course, debatable.
Here, fashion plays a complicated role. It is a medium frequently referred to as frivolous, insignificant, and elitist- all claims it cannot easily escape. While it is undeniable that fashion is politically, socially, and culturally significant, high fashion's associations with social justice is questionable. Sorcha Brennan's article “Haute Couture Fashion and the Aestheticization of Justice” outlines haute couture's tendencies to misappropriate social movements, referring to its aversion to, and fetishization of, grassroots cultures (Brennan, 2021). Brennan questions the ethics of haute couture's reflection of the world around it, referring to John Galliano's 2009 collection for Dior which referenced the homeless population of Paris. Brennan acknowledges fashion's significance as an art form capable of spurning political sentiments, writing that 'fashion occupies a curious space in the cultural imaginary,' noting the contrast in its performativity and performance (Brennan, 2021).
However, problematic practices are inherent to many artforms, as are they in academia. This does not diminish their intrinsic value to society, nor does it substantiate the disdain they face at the hands of anti-intellectualism.
To argue for the value of fashion, to list its contributions, would be playing into the framework of anti-intellectualism, which demands a justification for the existence of art. But, fashion will not cease to exist if these demands aren't appeased - it exists because so long as humans have existed, we have been making clothes, and so long as humans have been making clothes, these clothes have reflected our circumstances. While anti-intellectual thought would surely argue for fashion based on functionality, it has always been a creative endeavor of great significance.
Sources
Brennan, S. (2021). Haute Couture Fashion and the Aestheticisation of Social Justice – A*Desk. [online] A*Desk. Available at: https://a-desk.org/en/magazine/haute-couture-fashion-and-the-aestheticisation-of-social-justice/ [Accessed 3 Jan. 2025].
Jaschik, S. (2018). Author Discusses His New Book on Anti-Intellectualism and Fascism. [online] www.insidehighered.com. Available at:
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/08/15/author-discusses-his-new-book-anti-intellectualism-and-fascism [Accessed 3 Jan. 2025].
Merkley, E. (2020). Anti-Intellectualism, Populism, and Motivated Resistance to Expert Consensus. Public Opinion Quarterly, [online] 84(1), pp.24–48. doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfz053.
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