Genre freedom created cultural stagnation because all combinations felt exhausted
Evidence
But the total freedom of genre ironically engendered a profound sense of stagnancy. Pioneering Black artists had already blended nearly every genre that could be blended. The omnivore monoculture felt complete. By including every possible style, there were no more obvious future avenues for unexpected experimentation or exploration. And with poptimism long discouraging younger artists from pursuing strange, subversive sounds, the culture industry had few exciting subcultures from which to steal. — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 631
Categorization
Category: Causal Relationships
- DEFINE: This is the core mechanism of Marx’s ‘omnivore monoculture’ — the complete flattening that leaves no room for subcultural novelty.
- DEEPTHINKING: The paradox that maximum freedom of form yields maximum stagnation — counterintuitive and central to the whole thesis.