Novara Media Novara FM: Why Posh People Have Bad Taste w/ Nathalie Olah
Nov 16, 2023
Writer and critic Nathalie Olah discusses the politics of taste and its impact on self-image and belonging. Topics include minimalism, posh people's indifference to style, the evolving meaning of the hoodie, and our right to enjoy supermarket pizza.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Taste Naturalises Inequality
- Taste functions as a mechanism that naturalises inequality by signalling cultural capital and deservingness.
- Visual technologies and market pressures amplify superficial judgments, undermining meritocratic claims.
Pamela Anderson In The Video Shop
- Nathalie Olah recalls being mesmerised by a Pamela Anderson poster in a video shop as an early lesson in taste.
- That spectacle felt intoxicating against a background that demanded repression to succeed.
Small Differences Become Big Status
- The ‘narcissism of small differences’ shows how tiny signifiers become markers of status within professional cultures.
- Minute aesthetic distinctions function as gatekeeping tools rather than meaningful differences.