Kitsch as a Repetitive System

Abstract

In this article, an attempt will be made to elaborate a theory of kitsch that dispenses with the traditional hierarchical framework within which kitsch is often understood. Avoiding both the populist approach of cultural studies, and the elitist approach of mass culture theorists, an argument is made for a uniquely kitsch aesthetic that employs the thematics of repetition, imitation and emulation as a distinct aesthetic style. Breaking from traditional analyses of popular conventionality in the realm of taste which aligns taste habits with class identities (such as that offered by Pierre Bourdieu), it is argued instead that the repetitive quality of kitsch addresses a general problem of modernity, that of ‘disembeddedness’, or the undermining of personal horizons of social and cosmic security (a model drawn from Anthony Giddens). The basis of this argument is drawn from a reconstruction of traditional theories of kitsch, though illustrative cases are offered.