Beauty: An Essential Characteristic of Civilized Culture (In DEFENSE OF Beauty) (Essay‪)‬

That offbeat gothic comedy serial of the 1960s, The Addams Family, would seem to be the last place to look for an understanding of "beauty" capable of withstanding erosion by the cynically diluted materialism of our time. The impish critique of normative values that characterized that ingenious show and that continues to characterize its cinematic sequels would seem an unlikely platform for the analysis of the arts or the improvement of connoisseurship. When probing a potentially disorienting issue like the redevelopment of a culture in which beauty is a central concern, popular perversities like The Addams Family sometimes make important, oddly encouraging points. Looking past the inverted "situation" that made this program one of the most innovative "sitcoms" of the television age and looking at what actually happens within individual episodes, viewers may quickly find evidence for the resurgence of beauty in even hostile situations. The Addamses dress exquisitely if not eccentrically; they practice an odd sort of landscape gardening; they maintain a variety of collections; they display canvasses and esteem portraiture; they venerate the culinary arts. They spend almost all their time in the pursuit not only of happiness, but also of beauty. One encouraging point made by such programming is that beauty is not only part of or an abbreviation for large social and economic processes but is both inescapable in and central to cultural activity of all kinds, including those that call for hardheadedly political or economic rather than aesthetic approaches. The farther revolutionary thinkers or materialist philosophers or experimentally-minded artists stray from beauty, the more likely beauty is to reappear in unexpected, often assertive ways, as occurs when the creators of The Addams Family begin with a satiric reduction of gothic horror and with a relentless burlesque of what American conservatives call "family values" but end up representing an affectionate, stable family that prides itself on its aesthetical pursuits. Beginning with this idea of the inevitability of beauty--its tendency to come into the center of attention when least expected or even when shunned--this essay will attempt to diagnose and explain the aversion to beauty that plagues contemporary cultural establishments (museums, universities, professional organizations). It will consider the vitality of beauty in a variety of literary and artistic contexts from which the popular critics of our day would exclude it. Finally, it will discuss why beauty is an essential, definitive feature of civilized culture.