She is a real royal lady, true patron of the arts

Hey girls, it's Friday! (or at least it was when I started writing this, and then didn't finish on time to publish)


I recently joined a group on facebook called "that awkward silence when an Arts student talks about their future prospect" - for the purposes of irony, really. That was before the figures for the arts cuts were public knowledge, so now you could say my membership is of a more bitter irony now.


On visiting that page now, though, God, those people are so annoying. The Arts students are getting all uppity about the snub, whilst non-arts students maintain a sense of smug self-righteousness when it comes to criticising the arts in general. The same mantra; good luck getting employed with that kind of bullshit degree - not even worth the paper its printed on. Blahblahblah arts is stupid.


It's OK, the opinions of ignorant individuals doesn't bother me. I know that the arts industry as it stands in Britain is one the fastest growing, a mass employer, and that we're envied by many countries worldwide for our arts scene. This can be credited to a culture of established accessibility; art is no longer considered as high-brow as it once was, and within education bodies the concept of "creative-thinking" is very much encouraged. It's incredible - to have so much culture absolutely bursting within our tiny isles - it's not only an economical plus, it's a social one too. If we as a society are exposed to arts - and that is arts in all forms, from literature to film making to philosophy and beyond - we learn to express ourselves and communicate ideas in an entirely fulfilling means of conversation. Arts is popular for a reason; its the fibre of life - its everywhere, as it should be. 


What's not OK, is the government's policies on the arts. In recent weeks we've seen a 30% cut of arts funding in England (though only 15% should apply to frontline services) and in Somerset county council the decision has been made to cut funding for the arts by 100% (incidentally, funding for the arts in Somerset only took up 0.004% of the budget - that's how dispensable it was seen from the offset). In Scotland we are facing similar cuts - though the means by which this will be carried out has yet to be decided by the SNP. Essentially, this is going to cause a lot of restrictions on the industry - including those who view it. This holds great potential to see a return to the old, elitist structures of culture - where those who are currently interested in the arts remain there (if they can afford to, financially and in regard to their future prospects, that is), whilst nothing is done to encourage those who are not involved in arts to engage in them. You'll see this through the maintenance of crown jewels such as Opera Houses and the Royal Shakespeare Company, but you can forget any fundings for non-yearly festivals or radical new project ideas. Oh the Conservatives, they just love their hierarchies.


I'm not saying the arts should have priority. I definitely, definitely agree that in face of a smoothly running NHS or a thriving arts scene, the NHS should always have the preference. What I'm saying about this is that the manner in which these cuts are being implicated - so fast and so brutally- is going to have dire consequences to not only economic growth, but is going to undermine the happiness of the nation during times where the nation's spirit is going to be in desperate need of lifting.


What is more frustrating, however, is the fact that the Conservatives' cuts (I say Conservative here because Clegg's backbone has been entirely indistinguishable since he entered the Coaltion) are so blatantly driven by ideology, but the policies of which highlight so many contradictions its sickening. I've always thought this of the Conservative ideology, that it's founded on contradictions that ultimately lead to its failing. What we need to understand about Conservative ideology is that they believe in upholding tradition - the very name denotes this fact, "to conserve". These traditions are preserved through symbols; for example, red phone boxes, the royal family, London cabs - such things maintain a sense of Britishness through their symbolic status to our country. And the reason Conservatives are so obsessed by the concept of the nuclear family? Of course, it's the oldest tradition there is. 


But tell me, because I really want to know, how exactly do you maintain a person's ability to read such symbols, that are inherent to the success of this ideology, when you take away the means by which these symbols are read? If you try to steer people away from the arts, further emphasis must be placed on non-arts subjects in order to encourage potential candidates to favour these areas instead. But symbolism is learned through a creative process - and traditions are abstract in nature; most traditions are merely signfiers of greater concepts. How can you maintain them if you undermine the creative process, if you remove the way in which applying symbolic meaning to life is learned?


Aside from that, symbolism is important to learn not just in respect to the success of this archaic, bullshit ideology, but also to life as it is right now. Take away the arts, then you take away a world-view. Can we really only see the world through facts and figures? I don't know about you guys, but the reason I read books and watch films because of a distinct need to make sense of the world through metaphorical means, through a process that conveys ideas that are often too big to comprehend as a whole - and without those books and films that shaped my childood, that got me through adolescence and continue to offer me an entirely new world-view even now, I can't even think about what a narrow-minded individual I'd be. And that is just two outlets the arts provide. We are surrounded by design; we love to play computer games and watch brilliant TV programmes and buy snazzy, edgy furniture. We as a nation are at the forefront of the arts, we're internationally acclaimed for our talent and - let's not be too modest - our brilliance. And it just makes me so very sad to think that our government is going to dismantle this within five years or more (i really, really hope it's only five though).


I think this is where I draw distinct preferences between the Conservative ideology and the Liberalist ideology; Labour at least strove to provide opportunity for all those willing to take it. The Conservatives, meanwhile, are preoccupied with providing opportunities to those who can afford the expenses of them. On other fronts I'm still making up my mind.


Either way I'm certain; take away the arts from the wider public, then take out the nation from imagination.