what is kitsch?

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can you give a definition as opposed to camp?

http://www.lili.uni-bielefeld.de/~zeitung/kitsch.jpg

― dakatin, Wednesday, 4 December 2002 08:50 (twenty-two years ago)

that chick looks like miss crabtree from "the little rascals"

sorry, no definition of kitsch -- except that i know it when i see it.

― Tad (llamasfur), Wednesday, 4 December 2002 09:07 (twenty-two years ago)

Sorry...far as I'm concerned camp is the only definition of kitsch. But that chick looks like a man....and that man looks like a woman...wait..er..maybe I have it backwards...

― B, Wednesday, 4 December 2002 09:10 (twenty-two years ago)

The above photo is camp. The reindeer I posted on the ILX Advent calendar is kitsch.

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Wednesday, 4 December 2002 09:33 (twenty-two years ago)

Milan Kundera talks about 'kitsch' meaning literally 'shitless': things with all the animal/dark aspects of real life completely washed out of them. Thus SClub7Juniors are marginally more kitsch than Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

Good defintion, and subtly different from camp. Kitsch can be sincere; camp is always ironic at some level or other.

― jon (jon), Wednesday, 4 December 2002 09:43 (twenty-two years ago)

While we're at it, what's the difference between 'camp' and 'arch'?

― jon (jon), Wednesday, 4 December 2002 09:43 (twenty-two years ago)

Kitsch is 'so bad it's good'. Camp is 'so straight it's gay'.

― Momus (Momus), Wednesday, 4 December 2002 10:04 (twenty-two years ago)

arch = so straight it's bent

― mark s (mark s), Wednesday, 4 December 2002 11:07 (twenty-two years ago)

Clement Greenberg to thread!

― rosemary (rosemary), Wednesday, 4 December 2002 14:36 (twenty-two years ago)

inmister kundera's definition fritz lang's nibelungen is not camp,it's kitsch.

but who or what is arch? is it UK or US slang?

http://www.nmnh.si.edu/naa/images/pageant.jpg

― dakatin, Wednesday, 4 December 2002 15:41 (twenty-two years ago)

Kitsch tends to be mass produced and tackless I thought.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Wednesday, 4 December 2002 15:44 (twenty-two years ago)

arch = Elizabeth Bennett
camp = Mr Collins/Lady Catherine De Bourgh
kitsch = Georgiana D'Arcy

― ArfArf, Wednesday, 4 December 2002 15:48 (twenty-two years ago)

Arch is Brit English - don't know if its US too or not, but probably: it's a proper word, not slang, but kind of hard to define. A very English quality. Morrissey is arch.

― jon (jon), Wednesday, 4 December 2002 16:53 (twenty-two years ago)

When I think of somebody being arch, I think of them arching their eyebrows. Which is quite Kenneth Williams, if you think about it. Which is also camp. But not kitsch, really.

― Madchen (Madchen), Wednesday, 4 December 2002 16:58 (twenty-two years ago)

I have heard that 'kitsch' is retro and tacky where 'camp' is retro and humorous. Also that 'kitsch' is more tasteless and less appealing camp.

― webcrack (music=crack), Thursday, 5 December 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago)

ArfArf...Austentatious!

http://austentation.tripod.com/shop/9221t.jpg

― dakatin, Thursday, 5 December 2002 11:10 (twenty-two years ago)

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