...[I]t is important to realize that there is a huge difference between saying "that is good" and "I like that." The former is an objective statement. The latter is a subjective response. Most confusions about aesthetic matters come from mixing up the two kinds of judgments. Indeed, ignoring the first one, considering the objective merits, and thinking that LIKING something is that same as recognizing its beauty. We can LIKE all kinds of things— things that make us feel gooey inside, nostalgic associations, easy jolts of hedonism, things we agree with, appeals to our sinful nature (which is why Hollywood goes the way it does)— whereas discerning beauty requires knowledge of the art form and careful attention and reflection. Growing in taste involves learning to subjectively "like" what is objectively 'good. (Emphasis added)
This is what my students come in with: subjective feelings, but no developed aesthetic. Part of that is because they're young, and part is that they haven't been trained to think objectively. That makes it difficult to teach literary concepts, because their first impulse is to filter everything through their subjective tastes. A discussion of humor is met with statements expressing whether or not they think something is funny; they respond to suspense with complaints of boredom conditioned from countless movie car crashes and 22-minute sitcom conflict resolutions; they miss the point time and time again, because they're blind to technique, and sensitive only to (emotionally filtered) effect. I have to deconstruct their non-aesthetic in order to establish a new foundation built in objective universals. I try to give them the "knowledge of the art form" so that "careful attention and reflection" can happen.
It's a mental slugfest. But I usually win, unless the student is so close-minded that new ideas cannot penetrate his protective cocoon of emotional warmth. I've had students literally put their fingers in their ears rather than hear an idea that challenged some cherished, comfortable view of life. Imagine.
Beauty exits not soley in the eye of the beholder: it's a Platonic form. The standard is outside ourselves, and getting teens to venture outside their selves is the challenge.
