Leavis was influenced by Matthew Arnold, the two shared the belief that culture is the pinnacle of society and the interest of an educated minority. The premise behind Leavism is that “culture has always been in minority keeping”: The ability of people to benefit from the best human experience of the past is dependent on the minority; They protect the most precious and perishable elements of culture. Leavis is nostalgic to times where authority is non questionable, he argues that mass civilisation and mass culture creates anarchy and rebelliousness; collapse of traditional authority and the rise of mass democracy. Leavism refuses all types of popular culture such as popular fiction, romantic fiction, cinema and advertisements, for example, he sees that some films encourage people to think responsibly and he refuses this idea because from his point of view, we should all just follow the rules. Another example is advertisements to leavis, it’s a cultural disease that lower life standers through degrading language and emotional life,
Source:
Cultural theory and popular culture: an introduction by John Storey (2018)
- Chapter two (sections on Arnold and Leavis)
