Allesfresser im Kinosaal? Distinktion durch kulturelle Vielfalt in Deutschland

Abstract

In the description of cultural change in postindustrial societies sociologists refer increasingly to the thesis of the development of cultural omnivores, first introduced by Richard A. Peterson in the United States. The central idea of the concept is, that an exclusive orientation towards high-brow culture has lost its social function, e. g. in the educational system or on the labor market, and is increasingly replaced by a preference for cultural variety, that in addition to classical culture also includes elements of popular culture. In this article, firstly, three different interpretations of this phenomenon are introduced, secondly, the previous empirical evidence concerning the transferability of this concept to Germany is critically discussed and thirdly, a new empirical analyses on the basis of an audience survey of moviegoers is presented. Although there are theoretical reasons to expect strong support for the omnivore thesis in the field of movies, the actual results provide only weak evidence for the applicability of the concept in Germany.