Art

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P1 To assume that sentimentality is a by-product of an industrial society entails that the emotions attached to certain sentiments have been predetermined to the extent that people associate certain images or concepts with certain emotions. An example of this is apparent if one considers that the image of a King eating burgers composed of high cholesterol patties (e.g. Burger King Commercial) is not necessarily viewed as an image that portrays excess but rather an image that portrays contentment.

P2 Americans have been immersed in consumer culture for the mere reason that ours is a capitalist society wherein the market determines values and ideals.

P3 As Carney claims, We are trained from birth to mimic, to imitate, and to take our feelings, ideas, beliefs, and meanings from outside ourselves.This is another way of stating that American values are determined by capitalism. If the market determines our values, it follows that certain aspects of American democracy are no longer at work. Such is the case since it is possible to question if Americans are indeed free given that they are trained from birth to associate certain values with certain images. These values, on the other hand, are dictated by the market.

P4-P5 An example of this is apparent in the case of the consumerism of dissent. The Ed Hardy trend, for example, is a result of the implicit association of individuality with dissenting to the popular consumer trends. The problem with this association however is apparent if one considers that by marketing dissent, one immediately places it within a sphere wherein forms of dissent become a part of popular trends which immediately counters the aim of dissenters, that being to change the predominant views in popular culture. This is explicitly specified by Carney as he claims, We want the easy, know-nothing path to emotional and intellectual experience. Tell me who to be. Tell me what to think. Tell me how to feel. Tell me what to buy.

P6-P7 In the case of the points mentioned above (P4 to P5), an example of this can be seen in the movie, Yes Man. Although the film portrays the necessity to develop individual autonomy, the film poses a problem as it shows that individuals are far too willing to adhere to the popular beliefs in society as can be seen in the end of the film where the audience of the seminar were stripped of their clothes and hence their dignity as they adhered to tenets of their group.

P8-P9 Carney claims, Anyone who wants anything, or anyone else to give him or her values is in big trouble. You cant buy them or buy into them or you become just another consumer. He seems to imply that if one desires changes in the values portrayed in Hollywood films, there is a necessity for the American public to change their viewing habits. If the American public refuses to watch movies that dwell on ego-centered emotions then producers and directors will be forced to change the themes portrayed in Hollywood films.

P10-P16 Carney associates genuine emotion in art with genuine human empathy and fake emotion with manipulated sentimentality. In addition, he also associates fake emotion with our desire to be entertained...by high drama or a thrilling plot which emphasizes the same titillating, animalistic emotions as bad living. These associations allow us to have a clearer conception of Carneys distinctions between what he deems to be fake and real in the article. In his discussion, the tragic lover portrayed between Jack and Rose in Camerons Titanic will be considered as a fake emotion as it merely highlights the animalistic emotions he associated with Hollywood movies. Although the film does indeed elicit certain aspects of human empathy, it does so at the expense of making simple associations of love and tragedy thereby failing to account for all the aspects involved in the formation and development of a romantic relationship.

P17-P18 Although the distinction he creates between bad art and good art seems far too simplistic, what Carney merely points out is that art ought to continually challenge our views of reality. As he himself claims, All great art asks us to think and feel in fresh ways. Art, in this sense, must serve as a critical tool that forces the viewer to question his beliefs. Hollywood films fail to do this as they merely reinforce certain beliefs in society. In the case of Burtons Alice in Wonderland, for example, it merely reinforces the strict dichotomy between the good and the bad. It thereby fails to portray the intricate aspects that ought to be considered in solving moral dilemmas.

P19 It is important to note that Carneys conception of the term fake here does not necessarily imply that they are unreal in the sense that they do not exist. The concept fake here implies that these emotions are predetermined by cultural concepts and associations enabled by Hollywood films.

P20 The clarification he creates in his association of fake emotions with manipulated sentimentality is further apparent as he argues that they are fake since they reinforce our false views about ourselves.

P21 Carney himself claims, Bad movies play on our emotional weaknesses, but great ones can move us beyond these clichs or show us their limitation. Vicky Christina Barcelona, for example, enamors us since despite the complexity of the characters in the film their dysfunctional relationships with one another and even with themselves allow us to feel good about our mundane lives.

Overall, Carneys discussion emphasizes that the aesthetic quality of a movie is not determined on whether it gets Oscar Awards etc. On the other hand, its quality is determined by how it forces its viewers to question their predicaments as well as their perspectives. A good movie, one that portrays real emotions, is one which critically analyzes human experience as it forces its viewers to grapple with the complexities of everyday life.