Re: Highbrow, lowbrow, middlebrow
Posted by ESC on May 21, 2003 In Reply to: Re: Highbrow, lowbrow, middlebrow
posted by bob on May 21, 2003
: : : Hi! Can you please explain the origin and meaning of the
word "lowbrow?" Thank you, Sax
: : HIGHBROW/LOWBROW - "Dr. Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1828), founder
of the 'science' of phrenology, gave support to the old folk notion
that people with big foreheads have more brains." The theory, later
discredited, "led to the expression 'highbrow' for an intellectual,
which is first recorded in 1875.New York Sun reporter Will Irvin
popularized 'highbrow,' and its opposite 'lowbrow' in 1902, basing
his creation on the wrongful notion that people with high foreheads
have bigger brains and are more intelligent and intellectual than
those with low foreheads. At first the term was complimentary, but
'highbrow' came to be at best a neutral word .Life magazine coined
the term 'middlebrow' in the mid-1940s." From "Encyclopedia of Word
and Phrase Origins" by Robert Hendrickson (Facts on File, New York,
1997).
: Calling some activity or entertainment or cultural event by one
of these three terms is very chancy these days. There is no general
agreement or clear dividing line to
: clarify where (for example) middlebrow begins and ends. Unless
you are willing to stand your ground against verbal attack, it's
best to avoid the classifications. (But hey, being reckless, I'll
give you a quick self-test: was your favorite film of the past year
Adaptation, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, or Jackass? They are high,
middle, low.)
What if you went to see Adaptation but didn't really like it?
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