Whose taste do you trust?
Have you ever read, watched, or listened to something that everyone (and their pet dog) was raving about only to find it meh, or worse...yuck?
- Planetary by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday is always touted on Reddit as a must-read comic series and I can't stand it.
- Shogun, the critically-acclaimed and award-winning TV show feels lacking in something crucial for me, despite me wanting to like it a lot given my interest in anything samurai.
- And Then There Were None* by Agatha Christie is said to be a seminal detective novel but I think its characters are disposable and uncompelling.
Okay, you get the picture.
For a long time, whenever my opinion did not match critical consensus, I used to think that there's something wrong with my taste. I have even tried to convince myself to like a piece more because of x, y, z reasons mentioned by Ms. Eloquent Critic. Because they should know better given their Refined Taste, right?
Well, it's with time that I realised that commercial success (often) and critical acclaim ( more often than you think) do not always correspond to art that will resonate with me. While they may be signals that point me in the direction of stuff that I "might* like, they do not guarantee anything.
I know it is a cliché to say that taste is subjective, but that phrase nonetheless holds some truth. My taste is shaped by a blend of my unique consumption, experiences, and circumstances. As such, it is unlikely to be shared exactly by others. And that's okay!
I've since learnt that when my opinion of a work of art goes against the crowd, I can choose to see it productively. Instead of questioning my taste and wondering what I'm lacking, I can be curious and sit with that disconnect. In this space, I might just gain some insights about what matters to me and why — regardless of what others might say.
You and I don't can always choose to trust our taste, while remaining open to expanding it.