STATUS AND CULTURE How Our Desire for Social Rank Creates Taste, Identity, Art, Fashion, and Constant Change

For a theoretical treatise on what contemporary culture is and how it works, STATUS AND CULTURE proves a surprisingly entertaining listen. Narrator Daniel Henning has a knack for highlighting key terms and ideas in a conversational tone of voice. This helps him present the elements of author David Marx's "grand theory of culture" in a clear and accessible manner. According to Marx, it's not so much "status AND culture," but "status IS culture." His examples and case studies--about what we wear, what we eat and drink, what we read and view--are fun to follow. His overall message--that our tastes are determined by our desire to be seen as members of a cultural elite--never varies from start to finish. J.H. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2022]