Rant of the week: Cultural aspirations

There is something that can be said for people who are comfortable enough within themselves to take real pride in their cultural influences.

One of the most interesting things about living in a multi-racial, multi-faith Britain is the different foods, music and entertainment we are exposed to.

However, it seems that there are some who are almost ashamed of their likes and dislikes, who aspire to attain a "high-culture".

And conversely some interests are frowned as "low-culture", and it is these things that some will try and distance themselves from for fear of ridicule.

When did it become so important to have a passion for the theatre and foreign movies, when what you really want to do is watch a big budget blockbuster.

Why has it become fashionable to deny a liking for mainstream pop music, or rap and garage, and pretend to like more underground, off-the-wall music?

Is it necessary to fake an interest in fine wine and foreign cheese, when all you really want is a bit of English mature cheddar and a can of Carlsberg?

Are you opinions less valid because you read The Daily Mirror rather than The Guardian?

And who decides which cultural influences are more valid than others? Should I really like Shakespeare more than Tarantino because I am told to? Or should I just admit that Pulp Fiction is better than Othello and not care what people think?

To me it seems odd that some people are so intent at being 'classy' that they seem to disregard their true cultural habits, to become something their not.

When in reality perhaps we should just be content in liking what we like and not what we are told we should like.