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Book Synopsis

What is pretentiousness? Why do we despise it? And more controversially: why is it vital to a thriving culture? In this brilliant, passionate essay, Dan Fox argues that it has always been an essential mechanism of the arts, from the most wildly successful pop music and fashion through to the most recondite avenues of literature and the visual arts. Pretentiousness: Why it Matters unpacks the uses and abuses of the term, tracing its connections to theatre, politics and class, advocating critical imagination over knee-jerk accusations of elitism or simple fear of the new and the different. This book is a timely defence of pretentiousness as a necessity for innovation and diversity in our culture.

Pretentiousness

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    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Wed 17 Jun 2026.

    A Paperback by Dan Fox

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      Publisher: Fitzcarraldo Editions
      Publication Date: 1/17/2024
      ISBN13: 9781804270936, 978-1804270936
      ISBN10: 1804270938
      Also in:
      Non Fiction Biography Essays

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      What is pretentiousness? Why do we despise it? And more controversially: why is it vital to a thriving culture? In this brilliant, passionate essay, Dan Fox argues that it has always been an essential mechanism of the arts, from the most wildly successful pop music and fashion through to the most recondite avenues of literature and the visual arts. Pretentiousness: Why it Matters unpacks the uses and abuses of the term, tracing its connections to theatre, politics and class, advocating critical imagination over knee-jerk accusations of elitism or simple fear of the new and the different. This book is a timely defence of pretentiousness as a necessity for innovation and diversity in our culture.

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