Culture of Complaint: The Fraying of America (1992)

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by Robert Hughes



Robert Hughes took aim at the American people's preoccupation with victimhood, the battleground of multiculturalism, and the mediocrity of modern art in this collection of three essays expanded from speeches previously given.

 

Robert Hughes


I basically agree with him, but the first two sections of this book read like the ramblings of a grouchy old man, albeit a very well-educated one.

 

"Complaint Culture" (Portuguese)


It comes alive in the final section, in which Hughes laments that Americans have come to see art as something therapeutic and that the intention to heal or offer solace has come to be of more value than the technical merits of the piece.

 

"The Complaining Culture" (Dutch)


This section also includes a very interesting and entertaining account of the furor over the work of Robert Mapplethorpe.



"The Culture of Whining: The Saga of Political Correctness" (Italian)

"The Culture of the Complaint: North American Brawls" (Spanish)


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