leads me to another thought: what if our entire experience was no longer "sorted by popularity"? as in, there are no more conventional tv stations, no NYTimes bestseller list, no hollywood-centric film industry, no one knows what "third party" developers are, no opragh book club. your consumption is based solely on what you choose from vast catalogs of media and very local word of mouth. would "to kill a mockingbird" still be considered great literature? would anyone give a shit about dragonball z? could anyone stand to watch shindler's list? will kids play supra yogi bera instead of super mario world?
edit: lately been analyzing my taste for movies, books, etc. and trying to think more critically about what i'm doing. do i like this movie because heh heh there's bill murray? am i trying TOO HARD to enjoy this book because everyone says it's classic required literature? i often wonder how many undiscovered, and completely relevant artists and writers there are out there. people who have really got SHIT WORTH SAYING/DOING but just never got recognized.