Chapotraphouse

What repulses me is that these social identity things are actually intrinsic to our psychology and are pretty much what healthy humans do naturally, but while the impulse is natural, the mechanics and focal points around which groups form is, I think, mostly inorganic and the product of marketing and consumer culture.

Not to just boil it down to a low brow critique of the "consoomer" but it feels like I'm seeing people being exploited for their money but are paying with their minds and sense of self and belonging.

Mind you, this pursuit of social identity is, in my opinion, orthogonal to a genuine pursuit of a love of art. Possibly antithetical. So this consumption of media commodities (encouraged by capitalism and exploiting the social identity drive) is actually wearing the skin and appropriating the symbols of art appreciation, but it's a obviously not the authentic thing.