James O'Brien furiously slams those who label cultural activities "posh"
11 November 2022, 14:55 | Updated: 11 November 2022, 14:57
James O'Brien is furious at those who make enjoying the arts 'elitist'
In an impassioned rant about the "magic of art and culture", James O'Brien airs his fury at those who paint the arts as being solely the preserve of the upper classes.
James O'Brien has unleashed his hatred of those who depict cultural pursuits such as enjoying a play, a poem, or attending the opera as being reserved for the "posh" or the "middle classes".
"This idea that the arts are posh is a national tragedy," said James. "And this idea that there is something "posh" about culture really upsets me."
"The liberating nature of a beautiful piece of art, music, a painting on canvas, a poem or a book is so immensely important for your mental health," James added.
James' impassioned rant came amid his announcement that the English National Opera (ENO) has been given a days' notice of a decision to cut its 12.8 million pound annual grant to zero unless it moves from the nation's Capital to Manchester.
The opera house has been given 17 million pounds of aid to encourage the move, to assist with moving costs, and to finance the drafting up of a new business plan.
"They have been told that unless they move out of London they won't get any money at all," said James.
"It's an astonishing intervention by Arts Council England."
The decision to migrate the ENO followed a report that the English National Opera and other similar organisations have derived "enormous" amounts of their funding from public subsidies.
James went on to highlight that the ENO's big move from London to The North is symbolic of the fact that many people believe that only the upper classes have a penchant for the arts. Otherwise, public subsidies would no longer be needed to support such artistic institutions.
Slashing the ENO's funding and moving its base away from the Capital could lead to a less accessible opera house. The implications on its employees could be equally destructive.
"The powerful argument here is that only "posh" people go to the opera and therefore why should it be receiving public subsidy," said James.
"That becomes contestable or controversial when you bring that class-based observation into things, why has [culture] become emblematic of something that is linked to social class?"
While James noted that "the migration of some cultural services away from the capital has been beneficial", he sums up that the ENO's particular move illustrates a clash between class and culture.
James quickly deduced that the funding model of the English National Opera isn't what grips him about this story, and that its "distant whiff of Nadine Dorries and her legacy as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport" is its real talking point.
In his emotional monologue, James drew a parallel between Nadine Dorries and her famous blunders and shutdowns on the subjects that she didn't understand and how individuals who haven't experienced the arts could be quick to label it classist and out of touch.
"Like a lot of inverted snobs, Nadine Dorries had a habit of being very condescending about the things that she didn't quite understand," said James.
"You don't find genuinely working class people [disliking the arts], it comes from people like Nadine Dorries who try to portray self-improvement and aspiration as being patronising."
James then drew on Ms Dorries' stint during the EU referendum and her support of the Vote Leave campaign.
"Like all Brexiteers, she's quite destructive, they like breaking things, denting or damaging things that they don't appreciate or understand."
The subject ignited a special fury within James who reminisced on own upbringing, his early encounters with the arts, and his grandfather.
"If my own maternal grandfather was still alive, he would tell you stories of cultural enrichment," James shared.
"[The arts] can offer the simple ability to step outside your own brain," said James.
"It is meditative, the ability to step outside of the daily grind is a thing of absolute beauty."
In his takedown of those who try to retain cultural pursuits as the "preserve of the wealthy", James argued that the expense of attending the opera isn't why people may hold the opinion that the opera is elitist, explaining that opera tickets can sometimes resemble the cinema tickets in price.
