I used to think that talk about more sophisticated forms of art providing "higher forms of pleasure" was mere pretentious, but meditation has shifted my view here by making me more conscious of how of things affect my experience.
Art can do two things. It can provide immediate pleasure. This is all that "disposable " entertainment provides. Alternatively, it can shape the way you can make sense of the world.
One way it can do this is by providing you with a greater sense of purpose, that allows you to push through obstacles with less suffering. As an example, let's suppose you watch an inspirational story about someone who grinds at work (such as the Pursuit of Happiness). Perhaps before you watch it, when you're at work, every few minutes you think, "I hate my job, life is suffering, someone please shoot me". Perhaps after that your work becomes meaningful and you no longer are pulled down by such thoughts.
Another example: there is a scene in American Beauty where Rick Fitts calls a scene with a plastic bag floating "the most beautiful thing in the world". We can imagine that this teaches someone to appreciate beauty in the everyday, beauty they would have previously overlooked.
Over a longer period of time, you'd expect to increase your utility more by watching something that positively transforms the way that you experience the world than something that just provides immediate pleasure.
Now, I'm not saying that none of this talk of higher and lower pleasures is pretentiousness, but I think there's something there. And it's easy to underestimate the value of these "higher pleasures" as the effect of these is less obvious than that immediate enjoyment.
Given how art is produced, I do not think there necessarily needs to be such a strong divide. Can't think of a form of art that cannot combine High and Low pleasures in one continuous piece, with even a small modicum of effort from the artist, because peppering a High Pleasure piece with a dash of Low Pleasure is not particularly difficult. The reverse is harder, but doable as well. Some examples of such combinations:
an epic fantasy/sci-fi movie that lures the viewer in through Low Pleasure gratification of cool special effects and action sequences, but builds up to High Pleasure of philosophical introspection (DUNE is a good example, but Gladiator is possibly better)
A dance performance that combines the Low Pleasure of the sheer eroticism (or even straight up pornography) of a fit human body with the High Pleasure of watching an outstandingly complex display of emotion through movement
a painting of a battle, that on the surface simply titillates through a blatant display of interesting violence, but also inspires deeper feelings of patriotism, moral introspection, and the awe at the depth of history and the indomitable nature of the human spirit.
I feel like there is a tendency to rather snobbishly assume that Respectable Art should be entirely devoid of Low Pleasures, and thus remain an acquired taste that only the patient, relatively idle, and well educated can get into. As if it was supposed to be hard to like at first, to dissuade "casuals" and thus gatekeep it for the snobs.
I used to think that talk about more sophisticated forms of art providing "higher forms of pleasure" was mere pretentious, but meditation has shifted my view here by making me more conscious of how of things affect my experience.
Art can do two things. It can provide immediate pleasure. This is all that "disposable " entertainment provides. Alternatively, it can shape the way you can make sense of the world.
One way it can do this is by providing you with a greater sense of purpose, that allows you to push through obstacles with less suffering. As an example, let's suppose you watch an inspirational story about someone who grinds at work (such as the Pursuit of Happiness). Perhaps before you watch it, when you're at work, every few minutes you think, "I hate my job, life is suffering, someone please shoot me". Perhaps after that your work becomes meaningful and you no longer are pulled down by such thoughts.
Another example: there is a scene in American Beauty where Rick Fitts calls a scene with a plastic bag floating "the most beautiful thing in the world". We can imagine that this teaches someone to appreciate beauty in the everyday, beauty they would have previously overlooked.
Over a longer period of time, you'd expect to increase your utility more by watching something that positively transforms the way that you experience the world than something that just provides immediate pleasure.
Now, I'm not saying that none of this talk of higher and lower pleasures is pretentiousness, but I think there's something there. And it's easy to underestimate the value of these "higher pleasures" as the effect of these is less obvious than that immediate enjoyment.
(This post is in response to the Astral Codex Ten post Friendly And Hostile Analogies For Taste).