5 Questions about Cultural Goods

1. What does this cultural good assume about the way the world is? What part of the world is it trying to add to, build upon, or improve upon? What existing cultural goods does it rely upon for its own existence?

2. What does this cultural good assume about the way the world should be? What values drove its creators?

3. What does this cultural good make possible?

4. What does this cultural good make impossible, or at least a lot more difficult?

5. Finally, what new cultural goods are created in response? That is, now that this good is in the world, what will people go on to create that they wouldn’t have before?

From Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling, Andy Crouch