In an era ruled by materialism and unstable geopolitics, art must be restored to the center of public education.
Camille PagliaRead
Popular culture is the new Babylon, into which so much art and intellect now flow. It is our imperial sex theater, supreme temple of the western eye. We live in the age of idols. The pagan past, never dead, flames again in our mystic hierarchies of stardom.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that contemporary popular culture resembles ancient Babylon as a hub for creativity and intellect.
Camille Paglia's quote reflects on the nature of modern popular culture, equating it to the ancient civilization of Babylon, which was a center of art, thought, and excess. She emphasizes that our current society is characterized by idolization and a revival of pagan themes, suggesting that the values of ancient cultures continue to influence our art and experiences today, highlighting the complexities of fame and cultural power in the modern age.
Themes
Popular CultureBabylonArtIntellectIdols
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on modern art, one could use this quote to illustrate the merging of past and present cultural forms.
More from Camille Paglia
All quotes βEvery month, it is woman's fate to face the abyss of time and being, the abyss which is herself.
Camille PagliaRead
Serial or sex murder, like fetishism, is a perversion of male intelligence. It is a criminal abstraction, masculine in its deranged egotism and orderliness. It is the asocial equivalent of philosophy, mathematics, and music. There is no female Mozart because there is no female Jack the Ripper.
Camille PagliaRead
The male orientation of classical Athens was inseparable from its genius. Athens became great not despite but because of its misogyny.
Camille PagliaRead
We should teach general ethics to both men and women, but sexual relationships themselves must not be policed. Sex, like the city streets, would be risk-free only in totalitarian regimes.
Camille PagliaRead
In the real world, very smart people fail and mediocre people rise. Part of what makes people fail or succeed are skills that have nothing to do with IQ. Also, the idea that intelligence can be gauged by an IQ test is erroneous.
Camille PagliaRead
Similar quotes
Bad actors try to cry, and good actors try not to. Bad actors try to laugh, and good actors try not to.
Martin LandauRead
I believe that architecture, as anything else in life, is evolutionary. Ideas evolve; they don't come from outer space and crash into the drawing board.
Bjarke IngelsRead
Art must be in touch with nature - and wherever that touch is gone, Art degenerates - yet it must be above nature.
Swami VivekanandaRead
A poet's work is to name the unnamable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it going to sleep.
Salman RushdieRead
Painting is the frozen evidence of a performance.
Chuck CloseRead
'Brown Girl Dreaming' was a book I had a lot of doubts about - mainly, would this story be meaningful to anyone besides me? My editor, Nancy Paulsen, kept assuring me, but there were moments when I was in a really sad place with the story for so many reasons. It wasn't an easy book to write - emotionally, physically, or creatively.
Jacqueline WoodsonRead