Elitism

elitism

1 : leadership or rule by an elite
2 : the selectivity of the elite; especially : SNOBBERY *elitism in choosing new members*
3 : consciousness of being or belonging to an elite
–elit£ist \-*l*-tist\ noun or adjective

Elitism is believing that you're better than everyone else. I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing. I do think that most people who believe it are wrong.

No matter how fast you drive on the road, there's always someone else that's driving faster.

That's not true. Someone has the fastest car.

Well it sure as hell ain't anybody on here.

I drive better than almost everyone else on the road, including most of you.

I dare you to try and pass me on the road.

what does that mean?

elitism is obviously a touchy subject, cus it (in my opinion) is a consequence of human nature and design.. I'm pretty sure that the concept of "God" as it has become to be known in the judaic/christian/islamic world is something that was entierly fabricated by human-kind, so in terms of law (which stems from religion) and society, we all expect someone to lead us.. we expect them to lead us cus we feel they are better than us, and fit to represent in the place of us.
So I'm not much for the "Creation" theory of human existence, but if it was so then elitism exists in the very god who created us cus he's clearly better than us... whatever i dont believe in god, sooo.. even in evolution, we are genetically predisposed to follow a leader, or be a leader (whether it be a tribe leader or a president). Being a leader is a covetted position, and people will be jealous of this leader no matter if they chose them or not to be so. Most people would WANT to be president. EVERYBODY would love to have millions of dollars. So, people in a position of leadership have to emphasize their place on top, and in doing so they must portray themselves as being better than the rest... obviously...

So elitism is a human thing.. it is a result of our cultures, societies, religions, , minds, whatever..
It exists from having a kid older than you in school, to believing in god, or even working for a "boss". Even your president is an elitist... and a very naughty one at that if I should say so myself....

I know what elitism is, but I'm sure as hell not sharing it with any of you proles.

I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with elitism. I think it gets to be a problem when those that feel they are elite appoint themselves as arbiters of who else can be elite. Those that are elite should ENCOURAGE others to better themselves, rather than say "you're not good enough". Conversely, those who don't feel that they are elitists, should try to better themselves rather than just be content in their ignorance and brush off elitists as contentious know-it-alls.

Dictionary.com defines elitism as "the belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as in intellect, social status, or financial resources."

I believe this and understand it's a necessary part of society. However, I'm not well-endowed. This fact and many others are reasons why I'm not elite. Though I hope to be some day.

And how would you know?

My thoughts exactly, Matt.

EDIT: I realize that my user text has ironically become somewhat relevant to this thread.

I have a feeling we have some very successful people on these boards. At least many seem to possess a higher than average intelligence.

Research.

Save that kind of talk for an attention seeking thread in the Sex forum.

You've been researching our cars?

Who would want to draw attention to that? Elitist.

"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."

The hard truth is that what may be acceptable in elite film circles may not be acceptable on a public Movie Message Board, that tastes which pose only innocent plot issues as the property of a minority become corrupting when they become more established. Taste is context, and the context has changed.

ha i thought it was funny

Funnily enough, I was actually going to put: "As I learned in six grade" in front of mine, but I thought it might be too obvious.

But isn't that more of a reflection on your self-esteem rather than the attitude of others?

Thanks, Nada. I was just being a goof and I think Devin knew that. I wasn't insulted by what he wrote. I have spoken to him many times outside of this mb and I'm fairly certain we are on good terms.

Nada, do you know what a dilettante is?

Insofar as elitism implies unsubstantiated or goofy claims of superiority, it's generally wrong and/or funny — see classic rock wonks, CEO's, and certain practitioners of monotheistic faith. Insofar as eltism is a general extension of greater knowledge, practice, or skill, it's perfectly acceptable; and, as Devin notes, this sort of position is often attacked with straw man assertions that it's the equivalent to unsubstantiated elitism — see: the Olive Garden thread.

Really, it's all in how well reality validates your sense of personal superiority.

It seems I'm just not a very good smart-ass. I'll leave that to Slater and Matchstick from now on. : )

That's really not saying much concerning me. I drive bad enough that I decided to just stop driving. Just not a skill that comes naturally.

Elitism is probably the most pointless thing to bitch about on a forum and it's one of those words that gets abused and overused, like nazi and pretentious. Everyone is guilty of being an elitist to a certain extent. There's some group of people that everyone looks down on and thinks they are superior to is some way. At the same time, there is always someone who's feeling the same way about you. Anything from education, social status, political and religious views, upbringing, geographical positioning to just plain old difference in opinion leads to these views. There's people who I think are shit for one reason or another and people who feel the same way about me. Who's right and wrong are all in the eye of the beholder. I honestly don't think these feelings are necessarily bad. We all have our views, our goals, our personal beliefs and what our standards are for what we want to be. Someone who represents the opposite of what you believe in is going to be someone that you feel is less than you. If seeing that person makes you strive towards your goal a little more and being a better person, then hooray for being elitist. Just the way life works. We may all bitch when we're on the receiving end of it, but we're all guilty of it to some extent.
Anyone who's comfortable in their own skin and is being the person that they honestly want to be, shouldn't give a shit which side they're on.
So.....what I'm trying to say is basically a dumbed down version of what Adam Warren said.

My response to the above post.

BOOBIES!

I think elitism is the conscious/unconscious practice of unnecessarily stratifying certain things and people as being unworthy of your respect and attention, and even worse I think it swings back the other way some times. I think elitism is as subjective as any other value judgement, and it is fairly conditional. Any kind of mindset that reinforces someone's sense of intellectual self-satisfaction, I think it goes a long way towards stifling discussion. It makes it easy to out of hand, matter of factly dismiss whole levels of human experience. And I probably do it more than I realize, especially about comics.

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, an what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.




He shoots...he scores!!!!

Elitism is not necessarily a bad thing, as previously stated we should all strive to better ourselves its part of the human spirit. But like with everything there are some people that take things to far and use it as an excuse to look down on others.

Side note: I used to get referred to as "our resident film expert" in the pub quiz team I'm a member of and I loved the title. Until I came here and I realised that there are people that know far more than I will ever know about films. Its cool to get a wake up call like that once in a while, new although they still call me that I remind them that I got the question about the last 5 Oscar wining films wrong and that I don’t know everything.

(you should probably note I am talking about cinema elitism here)

I have, and almost certainly will always, viewed Elitism as something of a joke really. The intellectual equivalent of two jocks flexing their pecks for attention, but instead of well oiled pectoid muscles, elitists simple defer back to German expressionism.

It has always amused me to see the people force themselves to watch ‘classic’ films to fit in with elitist social constructs. A person more than happy to spend his days viewing blockbusters forcing himself to watch Fritz Lang, Greg Araki, Bergman, and Fellini.

An amusing anecdote to this can be a story from when I was but six years old, back in 1991. I was sat watching Labyrinth with two of my mother’s friends. When the movie got to the final scenes one of them said something about liking the Escher reference. The other simply sneered and called him a fool for making such a simplistic analogy. Thus started a 30 minute conversation where the film Labyrinth became archetypal examples of german expressionism, Italian neo-realism, 70s animated subversion and ended with one of them equating Labyrinth as a companion piece to La Dolce Vita (don’t ask me how).

I recognised the name, having seen it with my mother a few times and said “Oh the one with the big fish”.

And too this day I still get heckled by them for equating La Dolce Vita to a big fish. One of my favourites harangues being when they were watching a film and I asked if it was “The Seventh Seal” to which they replied “Yeah the one with death” before laughing their heads off.

In my view Elitism is something that is created by people who either doubt their intelligence or have very little. They define themselves by their own personal tastes and place that onto a pedestal.

Actually, it's generally used by others to describe the people you mention above, normally once the debate has run the course and those who feel insecure about their opinions feel they haven't "won", as if that's the whole point. The people you mention above rarely use the word.

I'm not elitist, I just generally despise the close minded and idoitic.

'elitism' - as it gets used on the net is usually a term of derision by the ignorant to attack those who show up their ignorance. it is the geek equivalent of 'brainiac'.

now there are people who will use their knowledge as a weapon or as some kind of proof of superiority. these people are arseholes and are very similar behaviour-wise to the arseholes who use the term 'elitist'.
Both are close minded. Both think the world can only function at their level. This is, possibly, very ironic.

There is a chance, though, that the Internet is really only suited to tribalistic name calling instead of actual communication, in which case i own the roads you motherfuckers drive on, pay up bitches.

p.s. 2046 is fucking boring.

Peasant.

Nesciant.

I finished a 1,000 piece "Where's Waldo?: Land of the Waldos" puzzle once.

Elite? You bet your wort wort wort I am.

Nescient.

I have twice the hit points and armor of a comparable mob of my level.

You bet your bolt of mageweave cloth that I'm an Elite.

I changed the adjective into a noun by changing the 'e' to an 'a'. A standard formulation.

Pedant.

I think the only time I am ever truly elitist is in regards to UserNames as I think that having a username that is a straight rip or just references an existing media product is a little humdrum

We have a winner.

FUCK ALL THOSE ASSHOLES PAYING TO WATCH MEET THE FOCKERS

That's elitism, because:

a) It implies that all those people are stupid for watching something you don't like

b) It judges the film as something it is not (i.e. a challenging and fresh new piece of cinema) rahter than a broad comedy and

c) It maintains the position that all the people who payed to see that didn't pay to see, say, Eternal Sunshine.

or this

I love comedies about Borad.

Umm, Trident? Red dot?.
No, sorry. i haven't a clue.
You>Me

Sorry.
Should I bend over or kneel?

Fixed. Although now I'm really curious about what a comedy about borad would be like.

There goes my weekend...