Has the US produced anything truly great in this century?

[BurtWorm]

I think we're finished, as a culture, for good.

[Tesibria]

1. other than the Blues and Rock-n-Roll, you mean? nt

[BurtWorm]

4. That was last century.

[Tesibria]

15. correct -- of course -- duh ... in the 2001 century ... i guess not.

[smiley_glad_hands]

2. Yeah, a great debacle. (reelecting W) eom

[demnan]

3. Those little memory cards

you store stuff from your computer are pretty good. They sure beat the floppy drive.

I know, just searching.

[Goldmund]

5. Which century?

20th or the 21st?

[BurtWorm]

8. This century. The 21st.

Rock and roll was 20th Century. But I'd accept a "great" 21st century rock-and-roller if you can come up with one.

[Goldmund]

23. Britney Spears and Spice Girls?

I downloaded some Ali G episodes from Kazaa this weekend. In one, he interviews David Beckham and Posh Spice, who had just had a baby. He asked Posh: "Do you want your son to grow up to be a footballer, like his daddy, or a singer -- like Mariah Carey?"

[BurtWorm]

27. British.

Doesn't count.

[kiahzero]

6. I'd argue you're using one such thing right now. (n/t)

[cheezus]

10. Agreed

assuming you're referring to the Internets and not DU specifically

[billyskank]

48. Either way,

both were invented last century, so neither count.

[LisaLynne]

7. I was thinking this the other day ...

I'm not saying there aren't ANY, but who are our really great writers, artists? I can think of some muscians who might be considered great in 100 years, but it seems that basically, we're stalled culturally. I hope I'm wrong and I just am out of touch.

[LibInternationalist]

9. culturally?

well, the century is very young -- there are probably a few movies that pass for "great" in this era, and a couple musical recordings -- the best dramatic television ever has been made on HBO in the last 4 years

I think it's generally difficult to say what is great without at least 50 years of history to look back through.

And what is your definition of culture? Does SpaceShipOne count?

[sister moon]

11. The internets! (thanks, Al) n/t

[Blue_Tires]

12. the C6 corvette

sex on wheels...and matches up against most cars costing 4-5 times as much...built in Bowling Green, KY

[immoderate]

13. GORE-TEX is a miracle

It keeps you dry, but it breathes. Also singing birthday cards.

--IMM

[HysteryDiagnosis]

14. Great amounts of hatred and intolerance for those who are "different".

http://www.empirenotes.org/

>>November 5, 7:55 pm. Two quick responses to my recent writing on Fallujah that I'd like to share with you, one from a current military person and one apparently from an ex-military person:

how dare you call Americans ruthless................with the animals that occupy that city

...

However, having killed my own number of ragheads and my strong support of genocide of the Arab race and Muslim religion, stands. These are a people who have no business living. None of them. Women, children, old men and any other filthy pig fucker. We should systematically eliminate them all.

No, I couldn't make these up. Yes, this is America.<<

[ermoore]

40. keeerrrr---rist!

You know there are still Nazis and skinheads in Germany, are they truly representative of Germany? What about Bin Laden? Is that the Islamic world? For cryin' out loud, there are SO many people on this board who are capable of only looking for the worst in America. Have a little faith people. I know you don't like to hear it, but Americans always do the right thing, sometimes it just takes us a little while to realize what that is.

[WoodrowFan]

16. Finding Nemo?? (NT)

[immoderate]

17. THIS century is 1904-2004, right?

--IMM

[BurtWorm]

25. No. I mean the one that is just beginning.

What was happening in the arts 100 years ago? A lot more than is happening now. It seems.

[MsUnderstood]

18. its only 4 years old

Give it a little while before you say "we are done".

Sheesh!

[BurtWorm]

29. Look at what was created in the first four years of the last century.

Literature
The Ambassadors, The Wings of a Dove, The Golden Bowl, by Henry James
The House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton
The Call of the Wild, White Fang, the Sea-Wolf, by Jack London
The Souls of Black Folk, by W.E.B. DuBois
The Varieties of Religious Experience, by William James
The Octopus, by Frank Norris
Up from Slavery, by Booker T. Washington

For starters

[MsUnderstood]

34. I don't know the answer

I don't know the answer, but the question I pose is were these considered 'classics' at the time or were they viewed as nothing special by the reviewers at the time?

My literature history classes seemed to preface so many introductions with "This author was a visionary. . ." meaning that the contemporaries did not like the writing.

[BurtWorm]

37. Well can you name anything at all published or exhibited since 2000

that might come close to being visionary?

[BurtWorm]

43. I just thought of a possibility: "The Plot Against America"

by Philip Roth. According to several reviews I've read of it.

[tridim]

19. Burt Rutan's Spaceship One

It's the only thing I can think of. Ironically the project represents an anti-government movement.

[Beaverhausen]

47. but didn't richard branson fund that?

he is a brit.

[tridim]

52. Branson is funding the commercial part of it,

Paul Allen funded the development. So it is indeed an American development.

[greyfox]

20. Oh indeed it has!

Me -- and you!!!

[Atlant]

21. The transistor.

The transistor (although it probably would have been invented somewhere sooner or later if it hadn't been invented in Murray Hill, NJ).

The follow-on Integrated Circuit.

The 1964 Civil Rights Act.

The Salk vaccine against polio.

In a race with the Nazis, liquid-fueled rockets.

The nuclear bomb and the thermonuclear bomb. (They may not be "good",
but they certainly both rank as "great").

[morgan2]

22. well I was produced by this country

in the last century, in my humble opinion, I'm pretty damn great.

[knight_of_the_star]

24. Lord of the Rings

That's great culture!

[LibInternationalist]

26. that sounds sarcastic

and even if it is, LOTR was produced mostly by New Zealand from an English work of literature

[robpopulace]

28. Segway!!!

Naw not really...

[TX-RAT]

30. Compared to what?

[BurtWorm]

31. I think the last great age for American culture was the 1970s.

I think it's been down hill ever since, as corporations have exerted greater and greater influence on how culture is made and distributed. Reagan's deregulation was the first cut across the culture's neck.

PS: This is not just true of the arts. Technology has been similarly coopted by corporate rule.

[alfredo]

32. the iPod

The DailyKos

[BurtWorm]

33. Isn't the iPod a consumption machine?

Isn't it made to keep you purchasing and purchasing and purchasing...?

[alfredo]

51. Not if you file share

The iPod is nothing more than a portable hard drive with some extended capabilities.

[Cleita]

35. Well this century just began,

but I think inventing the technology to go out and study space was the biggest great thing we did in the last century. I'm not talking about putting a man on the moon, but the probes and telescopes that we have launched to study the planets and beyond. It's really a stunning acheivement.

[ermoore]

36. What country has?

C'mon, for Pete's sake, it's been less than four years! (right, didn't this century begin 2001?)

I think one could make the case for some sort of democracy in Afghanistan (if not a perfect democracy then something a helluva lot better than what it replaced) being pretty great.

The Segway Scooter? Ended a nasty curse in Boston?

But really, what other country has "produced anything truly great in this century"? What a silly question.

[BurtWorm]

39. I think the US hasn't produced anything worth shit in the arts since

the 1970s. Everything since then seems derivative.

[ermoore]

42. I'd reckon that's mostly a matter of your taste.

I would disagree. I think the problem is that you're mainly looking in 19th and 20th century mediums and ignoring the fact that we've pretty much moved on. And not just the US, but most of the world. Seinfield. The Simpsons. The Blue Man Group. Tons of worthy stuff on the internet. HBO. Pulp Fiction and a lot of other great movies have been made since the 70's, and will continue to be made.

Yeah, I can't name a new novel that will someday be considered as great as A Farewell to Arms or a poet that will be elevated to the level of Tennyson, Frost, or Brooks, but c'mon, Shakespeare wasn't recognized as a genius until well after his death.

Furthermore, I think a large part of the problem is the sheer volume of material being put out there. I suspect that sometimes the truly great stuff gets lost amid the mediocre. But is this a bad thing? Hell, no. It's great that so many people are able to support themselves and contribute whatever they can (however mediocre) to the Arts. We should celebrate this fact and just look harder for the great bits.

[BurtWorm]

45. Even television stuff I like that you mention

doesn't seem up to snuff compared with novels of the past. I don't think I'm being a snob about this. I think corporate control of the arts has had a corrupting effect on them.

[ermoore]

46. Yeah, that's true.

But I'm not sure it's a fair comparison. I know that any movie that is based on a novel that I liked is going to leave me disappointed. Just like a painting (or graphic novel) of, say, Crime and Punishment isn't going to be a great as the novel, but it would also have other admirable elements that the novel didn't have. It's comparing apples and oranges. I think you need to look at television as a completely seperate medium from the novel, just as you wouldn't compare Picasso with Oscar Wilde.

That being said, corporate control certainly does have some negative effect on tv and movies, but on the other hand without it there would be far, far less. I think it's more than an even trade. And also there are a growing number of independent films and tv (well, if HBO is independent).

[BurtWorm]

50. Could just be that I'm so depressed by last Tuesday

everything looks really grim. I'm finding the whole country complicit in what happened, fair or not, and that includes its culture makers.

[omnithrope]

38. Mars missions.

Pathfinder, etc.

[Paxdora]

41. Yeah - Dubya's

big fat swelled empty head! It is truly great to contemplate...

[slackmaster]

44. Give us time - We're not even three years into it yet

:dunce:

[offcenter]

49. Next great innovation

Photovoltaic solar cells based on organic photosynthetic chemicals, not silicon.

Invented in 20th century & Graetzel is Swiss, but ...
could reduce cost of solar power from $4 to $0.20 per watt

http://www.powerlight.com/newsletters/news_issue/3/newsletter_industry.htm