Highbrow/Lowbrow: The Emergence of Cultural Hierarchy in America (The William E. Massey Sr. Lectures in the History of American Civilization) Reprint Edition

After hearing it referenced by professors and peers for what seemed like years, I finally read it. I'm so glad that this book lived up to my expectations.

Levine explores the shifts from a shared, perhaps 'popular' culture, to one of heirarchy at the end of the 1800s. Chapters focus on Shakespeare's popularity, theater and opera, symphonic music, and museums.

I feel like this book could be read by academics and laymen alike (how dare I use that term!) because of Levine's writing style. He isn't Foucault-flowery or long-winded. Plus his arguments are nicely supported with loads of interesting (if not also amusing) sources of evidence.

Probably Levine's best books. The first chapter is my favorite in that it discusses the late 19th Century and how everyone (poor and rich) knew their Shakespeare. It was played in theaters as well as bars and halls. Easy to read and follow. Discovered it in grad school for American history.

Satisfied customer. Thank you.

This was just soooo good. A good insight into American arts history, revealing the roots of many of the problems we deal with today.

In "Highbrow/Lowbrow: The Emergence of Cultural Hierarchy in America", Lawrence W. Levine writes, “The idea that Americans, long after they declared their political independence, retained a colonial mentality in matters of culture and intellect is a shrewd perception that deserves serious consideration” (pg. 2). Levine argues, “Because the primary categories of culture have been the products of ideologies which were always subject to modifications and transformations, the perimeters of our cultural divisions have been permeable and shifting rather than fixed and immutable” (pg. 8). He further argues, “In the nineteenth century, especially in the first half, Americans, in addition to whatever specific cultures they were part of, shared a public culture less hierarchically organized, less fragmented into relatively rigid adjectival boxes than their descendants were to experience a century later” (pg. 9).
Levine argues that wealthy, established men viewed the dawn of the nineteenth century “with a sense of loss, looming disorder and chaos” due to their fears of losing cultural authority in an increasingly democratic society (pg. 173). Levine writes, “In an industrializing, urbanizing nation absorbing millions of immigrants from alien cultures and experiencing an almost incomprehensible degree of structural change and spatial mobility, with anonymous institutions becoming ever larger and more central and with populations shifting from the countryside and small town to the city, from city to city, and from one urban neighborhood to another, the sense of anarchic change, of looming chaos, of fragmentation, which seemed to imperil the very basis of the traditional order, was not confined to a handful of aristocrats” (pg. 176). He continues that immigration and new groups threatened the established order. According to Levine, “These worlds of strangers did not remain contained; they spilled over into the public spaces that characterized nineteenth-century America and that included theaters, music halls, opera houses, museums, parks, fairs, and the rich public cultural life that took place daily on the streets of American cities. This is precisely where the threat lay and the response of the elites was a tripartite one: to retreat into their own private spaces whenever possible; to transform public spaces by rules, systems of taste, and canons of behavior of their own choosing; and, finally, to convert the strangers so that their modes of behavior and cultural predilections emulated those of the elites” (pg. 177).
Turning to those who promoted high culture, Levine writes, “The desire of the promoters of the new high culture to convert audiences into a collection of people reacting individually rather than collectively, was increasingly realized by the twentieth century. This was achieved partly by fragmenting and segregating audiences so that it was more and more difficult in the twentieth century to find the equivalent of the nineteenth-century theater audience that could serve as a microcosm of the entire society” (pg. 195). Order played a key role in this transformation. Levine writes, “If order was a necessary prerequisite for culture it was also one of culture’s salutary by-products. If without order there could be no pure culture, it was equally true that without culture there could be no meaningful order” (pg. 206). He continues, “True art required standards and authority of a kind that was difficult to find in a country with America’s leveling, practical tendencies” (pg. 215).
Levine concludes, “The blurring of cultural classifications has been accompanied by the efforts of producers and performers of drama, symphonic and operatic music, and other forms of high culture, to reach out to their audiences in ways not known since the nineteenth century” (pg. 245).

Spanning over one hundred and fifty years, Lawrence W. Levine's Highbrow/Lowbrow: The Emergence of Cultural Hierarchy in America, charts the development of culture beginning in the late eighteenth century to the early twentieth century. In Highbrow/Lowbrow, Levine tells the reader through various examples how the United States began with forms of culture celebrated by most of the countryside's population through the years where cultural classes developed and finally to the point where some cultural subjects nearly died off. Through narrow fields of entertainment, he is able to define what was and was not popular culture; how various forms of cultural entertainment were performed and watched or listened to by the general public; and how several key people in the late nineteenth century helped preserve art forms that still exist today. Three distinct areas are covered in the book's three chapters: Chapter One, "William Shakespeare in America" focuses on the popularity and decline of the performance of Shakespeare's works; Chapter Two, "The Sacralization of Culture" highlights the development and developing highbrow status of symphonies and orchestras; and Chapter Three, "Order, Hierarchy and Culture" describes how culture evolved from entertainment for many to culture for few. Lastly, an epilogue from the author briefly expands on culture today versus culture in the past century.

"William Shakespeare in America" chronicles the rise and fall of the performance of Shakespearean plays in the United States from after the Revolutionary War until the end of the nineteenth century. Dramatic performances of Shakespeare were not the norm for the most part, but "...burlesques and parodies...constituted a prominent form of entertainment..." throughout the country. His plays were so popular that they constituted a large portion of theater presented throughout the early-to-mid nineteenth century with the most popular actors and actresses from Europe and America performing. These performances were not limited to the big cities of the eastern seaboard either; they were even performed in small cities throughout the Midwest and western states, like Mud Springs, Cherokee Flat and Rattlesnake in California and mine towns like Silver City, Dayton and Carson City. They were shown with a simple formula: Shakespeare was shown with "...afterpieces and divertissements that surrounded his plays...." Also, the draw to see these plays was strong "...because the people wanted to see great actors who in turn insisted on performing Shakespeare to demonstrate their abilities...." Another point of interest that Levine describes is that plays were seldom true Shakespearean works. Oftentimes the plays were ad-libbed or modified to satisfy the crowd, or the title and content slightly changed to bring about other meanings. For example, a version of Richard III was revised "...by cutting one-third of the lines, eliminating half of the characters, [and] adding scenes from other Shakespearean plays...." However, those who were the self-appointed guardians of high-end theater towards the end of the century, converted Shakespeare "...from a popular playwright whose dramas were the property of those who flocked to see them, into a sacred author who had to be protected from ignorant audiences...."

Next, in "The Sacralization of Culture," Levine does an excellent job of describing how many of the most popular opera houses and symphony orchestras in America were formed. Two big names in the music industry of the day, John Philip Sousa, who is known for his patriotic marches and Henry Lee Higginson, who formed the Boston Symphony Orchestra, are just two of the many cultural revolutionaries Levine discusses in the text. Sousa appealed to the masses, saying that the public would come to appreciate "`high class'" music more if it was interlaced with popular tunes. By contrast, Higginson believed that it was sacrilege to play anything other than classical music in its original form and pandered to the more cultured of society. Even though Higginson made great strides for musicians like paying salaries and starting pensions, he held so strongly to his beliefs for pure music that he operated the symphony at a loss and needed benefactors to keep it afloat. Throughout the chapter, similar subjects are also addressed, such as who should and should not enter museums, what they should wear and how they should conduct themselves once inside.

In "Order, Hierarchy, and Culture," Levine explains how attending events like plays and concerts evolved from "Whispering, talking, laughing, coughing...sneaking snacks, [and] spitting tobacco..." to a "...general success in disciplining and training audiences..." in more respectful behavior. Moreover, museum staffs were dedicated to developing the manners and behaviors of their patrons. One example was the ejecting of a plumber who not only wore his work clothes to the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art but visited the museum directly from work. The museum did not want patrons who smelled bad or who had oil and grease stains on their clothes. This policing was not limited to events held indoors. New York's Central Park had so many regulations as to where one could sit, for example, that it was almost not enjoyable to spend any time there. This effort to raise the cultural standards was intended to raise the cultural awareness of society at large.

The epilogue concludes the text stating that isolating certain cultural themes, like opera for example, has diminished its importance overall. Allan Bloom, the author of The Closing of the American Mind, is quoted as saying, "Classical music...is [now] `dead among the young'...."

As was said earlier, Highbrow/Lowbrow: The Emergence of Cultural Hierarchy in America does an excellent job of describing the rise and fall of Shakespearean drama in America and further gives an excellent portrayal of the development of opera and orchestral music. Additionally, the chapter dealing with the education and development of the viewing and listening public emphasizes how several art forms fell out of vogue with the general public, being labeled too highbrow for many. Although written in 1988, the reader can easily see parallels to today with the popularity of certain art forms like hip-hop music. The stereotypes still exist which classify those who enjoy that form of entertainment as lowbrow. In contrast, those who attend the symphony are seen as a higher social class. It is unfortunate that the highbrow intellectuals of the late nineteenth century were allowed to classify people and their entertainment tastes to such an extreme. Because of their beliefs, opera, classical music, and Shakespearean plays will never be exposed to many in America who would benefit by and truly enjoy them.