Pretentiousness : Why It Matters

Pretentiousness is the engine oil of culture; the essential lubricant in the development of all arts, high, low, or middle. Pretentiousness is for anyone who has braved being different, whether that’s making a stand against artistic consensus or running the gauntlet of the last bus home dressed differently from everyone else. It’s an essential ingredient in pop music and high art. Why do we choose accusations of elitism over open-mindedness? What do our anxieties about “pretending” say about us?