Arts & Culture debate motions

Self-care culture refers to the growing emphasis on prioritizing one's own physical, mental, and emotional well-being. This can include healthy habits such as balanced food choices, exercise, sleep, and hygiene, as well as practices like setting personal boundaries, taking breaks from work or school, and focusing on mental health. Critics argue that self-care culture can encourage excessive focus on oneself or turn well-being into a commercial industry, while supporters believe it helps people live healthier and happier lives.

The global popularity of South Korean culture refers to how entertainment from South Korea, such as K-pop, movies, and TV shows, has become widely enjoyed around the world. This trend is often called the Hallyu or "Korean Wave." Popular works like Squid Game and Parasite have helped shape how people in other countries see South Korea, increasing interest in its culture and boosting tourism. At the same time, some argue that South Korean entertainment has adapted its style to appeal more to global (especially Western) audiences.

Social movements are organized groups that work to create social or political change. For example, Fridays for Future is a youth movement that asks governments to protect the planet and fight climate change. STOMP Out Bullying promotes kindness and stopping bullying in schools. The Malala Fund supports girls' right to go to school. Some artists also share social messages through their art. For example, Billie Eilish speaks about protecting the environment, Bong Joon-ho, Director of Parasite the film highlights social inequality and the big gap between rich and poor people in society.

Anti-snitching culture is an unwritten rule discouraging cooperation with law enforcement and authority figures

The US government has since the start of it's ICE campaign, often used songs of popular celebrities to promote it's immigration campaigns. While popular musical celebrities like SZA, Sabrina Carpenter, and MGMT have publicly condemned this action and asked the songs be taken down for either political or copyright related reasons. Other artists like Taylor Swift have remained silent nor issued any public statements on the use of their songs by the Unted States government.

*examples include beef on X (formerly Twitter), rap battles, roasts, etc.

Confidence culture places a high value on the development and expression of personal confidence. It emphasises the importance of self-assurance, self promotion, and assertiveness, framing these traits as critical to achieving individual goals.

The term "trauma plot" refers to narratives centered on personal traumatic experiences such as violence or abuse, emphasising individual suffering. Examples include novels such as A Little Life, It Ends With Us, Perks of Being a Wallfower, TV series such as Euphoria and BoJack Horseman, and songs such as Billie Eilish's "Bury A Friend".

"Zou Hun" (or Walking Marriage) is a traditional culture of the Mosuo people（摩梭人） that predominantly reside in the Yunnan and Sichuan province of China. It is a form of marriage in which the couple does not live together and only visits each other periodically, typically with the husband spending the night at the wife's residence. Women are the heads of the household, and property is passed down from mother to daughter. The man and woman continue to live with their respective families and they do not share property or have joint financial responsibilities. Children within Zou Hun culture would be raised by the mother's matrilineal family.

Red-chip art refers to art from emerging or mid-career artists whose work gains rapid popularity and high market value, often through social media, pop culture relevance, and online demand. This is in contrast to blue-chip art, denoting works by established artists with a sustained record of visibility and recognition, typically supported by traditional institutions such as galleries, dealers, and major exhibitions.

The "optimisation culture" refers to a mindset focused on maximising output for minimum input, which has become a defining feature of modern society. This is reflected in the global popularity of terms that evaluate cost-performance, such as "性价比(Xìngjiàbǐ)" in China, "가성비(Gaseongbi)" in Korea, and "コスパ (Kosupa)" in Japan. This culture of "optimisation" is applied to a wide range of situations, from mundane purchases when shopping to major life choices like careers, education, hobbies, and even relationships, framing all aspects of life as a problem of efficiency to be solved.

Cultural relativism is the view that morals must be assessed according to their cultural contexts. Examples in lawmaking include Asian Values, the legitimization of religious institutions, and adherence to sharia law.

Cut-off culture refers to the trend of individuals abruptly ending interpersonal relationships, with the justification that they are becoming harmful or toxic.

Outcast art refers to pieces that express an artist's sense of rejection, segregation or deep sense of distinction from society around them. Examples include songs like "Creep" by Radiohead and "Walk on the Wild Side" by Lou Reed, and the movies "Joker" and "Birdman".

Musical racialization is the process of associating specific music genres with particular racial or ethnic groups. It often translates into racial ownership and appropriation of themes, tonality, rhythms, and even marketing of music brands, labels, and artists.

Rationalisation refers to the process of explaining or justifying an event, often to make it more understandable or palatable

Examples of media focussed on individual trauma narratives include: A Little Life (by Hanya Yanagihara), The Perks of Being a Wallflower (by Stephen Chbosky), Euphoria, BoJack Horseman, 13 Reasons Why, Billie Eilish's "Bury a Friend," and Phoebe Bridgers' "Motion Sickness." Examples of media focussed on collective or societal trauma narratives include: The Kite Runner (by Khaled Hosseini), Chernobyl, Schindler's List, Kendrick Lamar's "Alright" and Childish Gambino's "This is America." This debate is not limited to the exploration of these examples.

Museums are places where people can see and learn about history, art, science, and culture. For example, old artifacts, famous paintings, or dinosaur fossils. Right now, many museums charge an entry fee. Making museums free means anyone can visit them without paying any money.

Preferential treatment refers to the act of giving someone priority or providing them with advantages, benefits, or more favorable conditions over others, often based on specific characteristics such as race, gender, nationality, or socioeconomic status.

Celebrities are people who are widely known to the public, such as actors, singers, athletes, and influencers. Speaking out on political and social issues means using their platform to raise awareness or take a stand on topics like climate change, racism, poverty, or elections.

Celebrities: People who are very well-known by the public, usually because of their work in movies, music, sports, or social media. Political office: An official job in government, like being a mayor, president, or member of parliament, where a person has the power to make decisions and laws.

The success of the original Star Wars film (1977) had shifted filmmaking norms from creating dramatic films with a focus on realism, personal stories and irony (e.g. The Godfather, Taxi Driver) to special effects and high-energy motion pictures.

"Art that offends" is art that shocks on purpose to breaks taboos or insult strongly held beliefs to force public attention and debate. ie, AI Weiwei's middle finger photo towards Tiananmen to challenge authority and say citizens should judge power and not worship it or Andre Serrano's Piss Christ. "Art that persuades" is art that wins people over by telling clear stories, empathy and simple messages to build broad support. ie. Civil Rights photography displaying images of peaceful protesters being attacked by police dogs and fire hoses. These pictures build empathy and make the problem easy to understand, helping ordinary people and lawmakers support new protections and fairer laws.

Institutionalization of art is the formation of an industry and systems/companies to produce, distribute and regulate the world of art.

Personalised Music Summaries like Spotify Wrapped, Apple Replay and more are annual, personalized summaries of your music listening habits on music platforms. They provide insights into your top songs, artists, genres, and total listening time over the past year and this can be shared by you on your social media pages.

Record labels control music production, artist promotion, and streaming. They influence the type of music created and often favour solo artists over groups. Consolidation in the music industry refers to the merging of record labels and conglomerates. For example the "Big Three" (Universal, Sony, Warner) dominate the market, accounting for nearly 70% of the global music industry.

For the purposes of this debate, a "prohibited art" museum is a museum specially curated to display works of art that were denounced or censored by the mainstream for political, social, or religious reasons. One example is the Museum of Prohibited Art that opened in Barcelona in October 2023, which houses exhibits such as "Piss Christ" (a blood-red photograph of the crucifixion immersed in the artist's urine; Andres Serrano), "Silence" (an exhibit of 30 pairs of stiletto heels on the same number of Islamic prayer rugs; Zoulikha Bouabdellah) and "Shark" (a sculpture of a tied up, nearly- naked Saddam Hussein submerged in formaldehyde; David Cerny).

The Academy is a prestigious institution dedicated to the advancement and recognition of film. It controls which films are nominated for, and awarded Oscars (Academy Awards). Artists become members of the academy by sponsorship from two existing academy members, and this entitles them to vote for which films are nominated for, and win, Oscars. Between 300 and 1000 members are added each year. As of 2022, The Academy was 81% white.

China has an import quota capping the number of imported foreign films to 34 a year. Films that are jointly produced with China are not subject to the import quota because China controls at least 50% of the copyright and profits/losses of the film. China is the 2nd largest film market in the world

"Ethnic Chinese" persons refer to foreign nationals of ancestral Chinese descent, but whose political identification aligns to the country they are citizens of (e.g., ethnic Chinese groups who are citizens of Malaysia). China has sought to build connections with ethnic Chinese groups outside of China. Examples include inviting ethnic Chinese individuals to China's Two Sessions parliamentary meeting, including ethnic Chinese participants at Chinese business conventions, appealing to young ethnic Chinese inviduals to learn Mandarin, and framing the 2024 Chinese New Year Gala Performance as being for "all Chinese" globally.

A starving artist is an artist who sacrifices material well-being in order to focus on their artwork. Some starving artists desire mainstream success but have difficulty doing so. These artists frequently take temporary positions such as waitering or other service industry jobs while they focus their attention on "breaking through" in their preferred field.

Niche internet micro celebrities are people online who are known to a small but often dedicated group and they represent a growing variant of the attention economy. Online fame is a consequence for a niche internet micro celebrity, never the goal. They rarely make money from their social accounts, choosing instead to post for the fun of it. They commonly gain fame on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Youtube, etc.

In business, a "start-up" refers to a business which begins from nothing and attempts to grow into something more substantial. During the start-up period, many people working for the business often work very hard for little pay. Many famous companies like Microsoft were once start-ups.

K-pop labels are involved in the training of artists, curation and production of the artist's content, and in creating a steady stream of 'trainee' artists who debut after spending time training with the label. Western labels, on the other hand, often select artists who have reached small amounts of fame, and allow for a lot more creative control over the content they produce.

Startup culture refers to the set of values, norms, practices, and behaviors commonly associated with entrepreneurial ventures and early-stage companies. It encompasses the unique atmosphere, attitudes, and working environment prevalent in startups, characterized by innovation, risk-taking, agility, and a strong emphasis on growth.

Nation-building concepts are a top-down approach used by the state to foster a cohesive sense of national identity among citizens. Examples include 1Malaysia, Bangsa Malaysia and Keluarga Malaysia. Cultural assimilation is the process of minority groups and the dominant group adopting each other's culture, becoming one melting pot of culture and fully intergrating into society. Cultural preservation is the process of minority groups maintaining their culture while living in tolerance with the dominant group.

Condorito is a popular Chilean comic book character. When a movie production about the character was made in 2017, it changed its original character to suit the sensitivities of Western cultures. The move to appropriate Condorito's culture recived negative reviews from the audience.

Virtual celebrities are digital personas or characters created using computer- generated imagery (CGI) or animation. They can engage with audiences through social media, music, fashion, and other entertainment mediums, similar to traditional celebrities. Examples include virtual influencers like Lil Miquela or animated characters like Hatsune Miku.

Opulence refers to a state of great luxury, wealth and extravagance often characterized by: -Grandeur: impressively large or elaborate scale -Excess: abundance beyond what is necessary or elaborate -Lavishness: extravagant and excessive display of wealth -Sumptuousness: rich, luxurious and indulgent qualities

""Ask Culture"" is characterized by the expectation that individuals should feel encouraged to ask for anything when they want it. ""Guess Culture"" is characterized by the expectation that individuals should only make requests of one another in instances where they can infer or assume the answer will be yes.

There has been a rise of celebrities and socially important people coming out to publicly support politicians in upcoming elections, to push for various policies, etc

Artists throughout history have created incredible works across various mediums while contending with mental health challenges. The relationship between mental illness and artistic expression is complex, and discussions often arise regarding the extent to which an artist's personal struggles should influence the appreciation of their creative achievement.

In the status quo, it has become a common scenario for famous celebrities and artists such as Musicians come in and support candidates, including but not limited to, ones running to be Presidents and/or head of states or Member of Parliament, at times.

Extreme Tourism is a type of travel that involves engaging in adventurous and thrilling activities in unique and often challenging environments. It's a way for people to push their limits, experience intense emotions, and explore remote and exciting destinations. Recently, the ante has increased with it including high octane trips to outer space or to the bottom of the ocean floor.

A binary portrayal of good and evil refers to depictions of a clear good and evil.

For the purposes of this debate, the "globalisation of art" refers to the significant increase in cross-border consumption of cultural products (e.g. movies, TV shows, music, etc.)

Many older animated children's films featured dark story themes that are less present in children's films today. For example,'Pocahontas' featured themes such as colonialism and murder, 'The Lion King' featured a violent on-screen murder, and the death of Bambi's mum introduced children to the concept of parental death. The debate does not have to be limited to these examples and can extend to other animated films

Graffiti art means art that has been painted on buildings, sidewalks and other infrastructure without prior permission from the owner.

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are digital assets backed by blockchain technology, representing things such as art, collectibles such as photos, videos and music, or even real estate. These assets are non-fungible, which means each token is unique and one cannot get a like-for-like replacement when they are traded. They can be verified to prove uniqueness and digital ownership of the token in the blockchain network.

'Influencer culture' refers to the advertising and celebrity culture consisting of branded images of individuals called 'influencers' who have online presences on different social media platforms.

Hollywood have been altering the films as a strategy to attract more Chinese audiences. Examples include Marvel tentpoles Black Widow, Eternals and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings from Disney, Space Jam: A New Legacy from Warner Bros., and Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Spider-Man: No Way Home from Sony.

Expositional storytelling is a method used in fiction, where the author explicitly states and portrays the meaning behind plot events and character motivations without leaving too much room for interpretation. By contrast, interpretative storytelling is when the author decides to show or write events or characters by codifying them behind a symbol or leaving them ambiguous to how the audience may interpret them.

Auteur theory refers to a means of consuming art which argues that art is completely inseparable from its creator, the idea being that the politique of the auteur along with their experiences must be understood to understand a work of art. Whereas death of the author argues that the text should be separated from the author and studied in its own independent context without the author's intention having any weightage on interpretation.

The K-Pop industry has had a history of scandals with mistreating their K-pop idols (i.e. starving them or forcing them into plastic surgery for beauty standards, prostitution, heavy training schedules). However, the recent upsurge has led to an appreciation and growing interest for Korean culture worldwide

The institutionalization of art includes but is not limited to the emphasis on formal art training in standardized curricula, the recognition of art through its placement in formal institutions (e.g. museums, galleries), and the requirement of academic credentials (e.g. university degrees in art).

In China, to 'lie flat' ('tang ping' 躺平) is to make the active choice to reject existing societal pressures to work hard, instead choosing to 'lie flat' and express a low-desire, more indifferent attitude towards life. This is gaining traction amongst Chinese youth, and is seen by some as the beginnings of a social protest movement.

Vulcan Stoic Philosophy by Saruk states that logic must be of greater influence in society and within the individual than emotion. The objective is to either control or suppress all emotion, thus rendering a purely logical being.

The Stampede Trail is a route made famous by Christopher McCandless, who walked it in April 1992. Many people now know about McCandless and how the 24-year-old idealist bailed out of his middle-class suburban life, donated his $24,000 in savings to charity, and embarked on a two-year hitchhiking odyssey that led him to Alaska and the deserted Fairbanks City Transit bus number 142, which still sits, busted and rusting, 20 miles down the Stampede Trail. For 67 days, he ate mostly squirrel, ptarmigan, and porcupine. After a few months, a moose hunter found McCandless's decomposed body in a sleeping bag inside the bus, where he had starved to death. This tragic story was told by Jon Krakauer in the January 1993 issue of Outside and later in his bestselling 1997 book, Into the Wild. The book, and a 2007 film directed by Sean Penn, helped elevate the McCandless saga to the status of modern myth. And that, in turn, has given rise to a unique and curious phenomenon in Alaska: McCandless pilgrims, inspired by his story, who are determined to see the bus for themselves. "The Magic Bus" has become a pilgrimage destination for trekkers who camp at the vehicle, some of whom have gotten into their own difficulties or even died due to the Teklanika River. They camp at the bus for days, sometimes weeks, write essays in the various logbooks stowed inside, and ponder the impact that McCandless's anti-materialist ethic, free-spirited travels, and time in the Alaskan wild has had on how they perceive the world. From almost the moment he was found, the meaning of Chris McCandless's life and lonely death has been fiercely argued. The debate falls into two camps: Krakauer's visionary seeker; a romantic figure inspired by what they see as his free-spirited idealism; or, as many Alaskans see it, an unprepared person who had fundamentally misjudged the wilderness he'd wanted so desperately to commune with.

The Life of George Washington" (1934) is a San Francisco school mural painted by Victor Arnautoff; it was one of countless artworks created by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) initiative under President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration to visualize a new roadmap toward national excellence under the adage, "Search for a usable American past." Now, 85 years after its creation, administrators at the school where the painting resides have decided that there is nothing "usable" in Arnautoff's images. George Washington High School has decided to paint over the 1,600-square-foot mural.The city's school board voted unanimously to approve the repaint. Why? Because of its blunt retelling of history. Across 13 frescos, the painter renders an unvarnished portrait of Washington as a slave owner who incentivized settlers and troops to destroy Native American populations and land. One landscape includes a pack of soldiers painted in greyscale walking by the fallen corpse of an Indigenous person.Reactions to this gruesome scene have been mixed. Opponents of the mural have described it as a symbol of racial animus. In voting for its destruction, the school described their decision as a form of reparations for historic racial injustices against African Americans and Native Americans. While they recognize the need to keep history complicated, the anti-muralists also see the Arnautoff painting as a decontextualized daily problem for marginalized students and staff. The Reflection and Action Working Group, a committee of activists, students, artists, and others put together by the district, concluded in February that Arnautoff's work "glorifies slavery, genocide, colonization, white supremacy, oppression, etc." Black people and Native Americans in the school district have asked for the mural's removal as a way to address continuing racial inequality.But according to a report by the New York Times, many other students favor the fresco. One student wrote, "The fresco shows us exactly how brutal colonization and genocide really were and are. The fresco is a warning and reminder of the fallibility of our hallowed leaders." Art historians and alumni have also come to the painting's defense, saying that it must be preserved as an example of WPA art and a frank representation of how cruel early America's leading figures could be.

"Ain't I a Woman?" is a speech, delivered extemporaneously, by Sojourner Truth, (1797–1883), born into slavery in New York State. Sometime after gaining her freedom in 1827, she became a well-known anti-slavery speaker. Her speech was delivered at the Women's Convention in Akron, Ohio, on May 29, 1851. If there is a canon of African-American women's rhetoric, Sojourner Truth's speech "Ain't I a Woman?" is a central text in that collection. It was an aptly chosen name, as illustrated by her speech, in which she at once refutes the prevailing myth that women are weaker than men while challenging social definitions of womanhood—which relies upon ideas about white women's femininity and purity. Most people are familiar with the 1863 popular version of Sojourner Truth's famous, "Ain't I a woman" speech but they have no idea that this popular version, while based off of Sojourner's original 1851 speech, is not Sojourner's speech and is vastly different from Sojourner's original 1851 speech. This popular but inaccurate version was written and published in 1863, (12 years after Sojourner gave the "Ain't I a woman" speech), by a white abolitionist named Frances Dana Barker Gage. Curiously, Gage chose to represent Sojourner speaking in a stereotypical 'southern black slave accent', rather than in Sojourner's distinct upper New York State low-Dutch accent. In an issue of the Kalamazoo Daily Telegraph, an article states that Truth prided herself on "fairly correct English, which is in all senses a foreign tongue to her. . . . People who report her often exaggerate her expressions, putting in to her mouth the most marked southern dialect." For comparison, this is an excerpt from the text: "That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me!" Gage's version: "Dat man ober dar say dat women needs to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have de best place eberywhar. Nobody eber helps me into carriages or ober mud-puddles, or gives me any best place. - And ar'n't I a woman? Look at me. Look at my arm. I have plowed and planted and gathered into barns, and no man could head me."

Call me by your Name (2017) is a coming-of-age romantic drama film often deemed to be pathbreaking in terms of representative for the queer community in mainstream media. During the time of filming the two romantic leads, Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer were 19 and 29 respectively. Malcolm and Marie (2021 Netflix) is a critically acclaimed romantic drama which was widely appreciated for its portrayal of romance in toxic relationships. During the time of filming the romantic leads Zendaya andJohn David Washington were 24 and 36 respectively.

One determinant of the success of Indian movies is the date in which the movie releases. Producers' councils allot dates to movies by assessing the film's market potential, and typically, the best dates—holidays, long weekends, vacations, festivals—go to the movies with the biggest star actors that are typically highly commercial films that lack in substantive.

*A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from or oppose those of mainstream society

Both Afro-futurism and Afro-pessimism refer to approaches in exploring African experiences through different cultural aesthetics. Afro-futurism reimagines the future via a black lens, voiding white supremacist thought and the structures that violently oppressed Black communities. Afro-futurism evaluates the past and future to create better conditions for the present generation of Black people through the use of advanced technology, often presented through art, music, and literature. An example of Afro-futurist literature is Wakanda (Marvel) and Beyonce's Lemonade (2016).Alternatively, Afro-pessimism is a lens of interpretation that accounts for, and focuses on the ongoing effects of racism, colonialism, and historical processes of enslavement including the trans-Atlantic slave trade and their impact on structural conditions as well as the personal, subjective, and lived experience and embodied reality of African Americans. An example of Afro-pessimism literature is Twelve Years A Slave

Blaxploitation movies refer to groups of films that feature black actors in lead roles and center around African diasporas overcoming oppressive, antagonistic and generally white authority figures aided by lackeys selling out the community for their personal gain. The term "blaxploitation" was coined by parts of the community in the early 70s as criticism for the images of African Americans depicted in the genre, and the typically white filmmakers at the helm of production. Prominent films of this genre range from "Watermelon Man" and "Blacula" from the 1970s to more recent films like "Django Unchained" and "BlacKkKlansman" from the 2000s which involve messages of empowerment. The genre became less popular in the 80s after it received criticisms for its "unpolished nature" and controversial themes heavily involving drugs and violence but has since then made a more popular comeback.

Opulence means great wealth or luxuriousness

The Dome of Cologne is a UNESCO-World Heritage site that attracts significant tourism and funding related to its heritage status. Funding is used for the (necessary and significant) upkeep of the Dome, as well as infrastructure and social projects. The archdioscese of Cologne (one of the most powerful and wealthy archdiosceses in the Catholic Church) has given buildings they own to the city under the requirement the Dome's status be upheld. UNESCO sites are required to be easily visible, and consequently, Cologne is limited in expanding the city and had to issue a ban on high rise buildings. Cologne is one of the largest cities in Germany, has Germany's largest university, and outpaced demand has caused rent prices to quickly increase.

Dangai Dramas refers to Chinese TV dramas adapted from danmei literature - a genre of web literature that centers on male-male romantic relationships, typically created by women and targetted towards a female audience. When adapted to TV, because of the presence of censorship, those TV shows often depict a "bromance" between the two male characters intentionally construed with homoromantic / homoerotic subtexts

Black players in the England football team have been subjected to a storm of online racist abuse by English fans who were unhappy about their defeat in the final of Euro 2020. Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, and Bukayo Saka, were the targets of the abuse after they missed spot-kicks in a penalty shootout with Italy which settled the final's results after the game finished as a 1-1 draw. In international football, the most lucrative accolade is the FIFA World Cup, hosted every 4 years, followed by regional tournaments such as the Euros and Copa America.

Many countries around the world provide funding targeted to Indigenous art and artists so that they can both preserve and develop Indigenous culture. These financial supports can take the form of bursaries, grants, program funding, or direct financial support of the artist. However, Indigenous artists working in more contemporary music, art, theatre, etc. complain that they're overlooked in funding allocations in favour of artisans who create works of art seen as more "traditionally/stereotypically Indigenous.

Cynicism is an attitude characterized by a general distrust of others and their motives.

A Rembrandt held at the University of Pretoria was recently found to be a forgery. The painting had been owned by 14 different buyers and described as "surely authentic" in a volume of Dutch paintings of the 17th century.

Hungary's parliament last week outlawed the portrayal of content featuring gay or transgender people. Similarly, the Hays Code in 1930s India outlawed the portrayal of LGBTQ characters except as villains.

NFT (Non-Fungible Token) is a part of the Ethereum blockchain used to sell "ownership certification" of a digital art. The digital art itself may be available for free download on the internet, but there's only one copy of "authentic" art certified by the NFT. You can re-sell NFT but its' ownership will transfer to the new owner (not multiplied). Artists retain ownership of NFTs and receive a percentage of future sales of the NFT. You can upload any kind of art (music, AI, drawing, etc.) to NFT with virtually no requirements or checks. NFT works on a first come first serve basis

Aesthetisation is a depiction of something as being artistically beautiful, represented in an idealised or refined manner

Exceptionalist narratives are ones in which a nation proclaims itself to be unique from and superior to other countries based on some set of characteristics or values. For example, Canadian exceptionalism is based on the idea that Canada is more multicultural and immigrant-friendly than others, and American exceptionalism is rooted in individual rights and liberty.

Indigenous languages often do not have a specific word for art. Instead, Indigenous cultures view art as a part of everything we do in community, a part of all language, and as something that cannot be reduced to a singular concept

Stoicism is a philosophy that values self-improvement. The Stoics believe that the universe is uncontrollable but individuals have control over how we approach life. Stoicism's four cardinal virtues are: practical wisdom; temperance, self-restraint and control over our emotions; justice; and courage. Online forums (eg TheDailyStoic) and self-help books have recently led to a resurgence in the popularity of Stoic ideals. As a practical philosophy, it provides a collection of life hacks for overcoming anxiety, meditations for curbing anger, and exercises for finding stillness and calm. Stoicism has been further popularised by famous figures like Warren Buffett, Jim Mattis, Tom Hiddleston and Anna Kendrick.)

Libertinism is a lifestyle charactarized by lack of restraints in relation to self indulgence, especially when involving sexual promiscuity, and views pleasure as the only metric. Its origins go back to the 17th century. Libertine erotic art explores sexuality when not restrained by religion, morality or the law. It is praised for shedding a light on the human psyche, and condoned for giving a voice and a form for its darkest aspects. Some libertine art has been, and some still is, banned in multiple states.

K-pop record labels differ from Western labels in several different ways. K-pop labels are involved in the training of artists, curation and production of the artist's content, and in creating a steady stream of 'trainee' artists who debut after spending time training with the label. Western labels, on the other hand, often select artists who have reached small amounts of fame, and allow for a lot more creative control over the content they produce. Typically Western labels take a smaller share

2. One determinant of success for Indian movies is their release dates. Producers' councils allot dates to movies by assessing the film's market potential, and typically, the best dates—holidays, long weekends, vacations, festivals—go to the movies with the biggest star actors that are typically highly commercial films that lack substantive.

Pro wrestling is a form of sports entertainment which features written storylines and fictional personalities for the sole purpose of entertaining its audience. Its wrestlers portray either heroic or villanous personalities separate from their real identities. Rivalries and matches are written in accordance with their fictional personalities.

Collaborative-fiction projects are fictional worlds created by a group of authors who share creative control of a story. Basic rules of the universe are established, but beyond that anything written by an author becomes canon (i.e. 'a legitimate part of the universe'). Anybody can join the author community if they wish to do so.

There has been a trend of recent superhero films being R-Rated/18+, e.g. Logan, Deadpool, Joker.

Philanthrocapitalism is based on the idea that capitalist models are the best way to create economic and social progress. Under philanthrocapitalism, charities are run as business models that employ market-based solutions to problems. The focus is on entrepreneurship, efficiency and quantified costs and benefits. Most philanthrocapitalist organizations are funded and run by the extremely wealthy.

For the purpose of this debate, "humble culture" refers to a culture where people are encouraged (either by others; or themselves; or both) to actively refrain from publicly showing/revealing their successes, possessions and achievements.

Cancel Culture refers to the popular practice of withdrawing support for (cancelling) public figure and companies after they have done or said something objectionable or offensive. Cancel Culture is generally discussed as being performed on social media. Example: JK Rowling has been cancelled after passing horrible comments regarding Transgender people

Counterfeit culture is a culture which supports and normalizes the act of small vendors selling counterfeit items, and people purchasing them. This includes but is not limited to, fashion products, technology, and beauty products

Musicians performing under anonymous personas are musicians that choose not to publicly reveal their real identities. Some, such as Daft Punk and Marshmello, choose to conceal their identity by way of physical objects that obscure identifiable traits, while others such as Yorushika are entirely anonymous to the public, publishing music under an animated persona and opting out of live, in-person performances.

Poptimism is the belief that pop music is as worthy of professional analysis and interest as other genres of music (jazz, rock, classical) that have historically received such attention. Over the past two decades, music criticism has trended increasingly towards an embrace of poptimism. Examples of the prominence of poptimism include Rolling Stone (a historically rock focused magazine) naming Red by Taylor Swift the fourth best album of the entire 2010s.

The gothic art theme, for the purposes of this debate, encompass motifs and elements of a macabre nature often about suffering in the human existence and a nihilistic outlook on life

A non-fungible token (NFT) is a special type of cryptographic token which represents something unique. Non-fungible tokens are used to create verifiable digital scarcity, as well as digital ownership, and the possibility of asset interpolarity across multiple platforms. NFTs has been primarily applied to media/art pieces because of its ability to provide proof of authenticity and ownership of digital art that has otherwise had to contend with the potential for mass reproduction and unauthorised distribution of art through the internet. (e.g. The original Nyan Cat picture selling for 600k USD, a clio of Lebron James dunking sold for 400k USD)

Decriminalisation is the removal of criminal penalties for certain acts. While the act is still classified as illegal, and there may be civil penalties such as fines, criminal sentencings or jailtime will no longer be applied.

For the purpose of this debate "touching fish" refers to the rising Chinese Gen Z workplace trend and philosophy of taking the chance to "slack off", when others are already hard at work. "Touching fish" is not uncommon among older generations of China but was generally not as widespread as it is today among Generation Zs. The term takes after a Chinese proverb that says, "muddy waters make it easy to catch fish" which means the more convoluted a situation, the easier it is for opportunistic behaviour.

Professional art critics are often individuals who have made careers out of evaluating art. Many are experts within their respective fields and share their thoughts through journalism, magazines, art blogs, etc. Some examples include prominent Youtubers who review music or film critics who review movies.

Instapoetry are poems that are commonly written in short and free verse format posted on Instagram or any social media platforms. Topics may include but are not limited to romance, sex, self-help, and friendship.

Indigenous people in isolation refer to pre-agricultural tribes that have no regular contact with industrial society. There are estimated to be about 100 distinct groups of indigenous people in isolation on the planet.

Kayfabe refers to the convention in professional wrestling of presenting the staged performances as authentic and genuine. This often involved blurring the line between fiction and reality, with audience members seeing the characters as wrestlers' actual personalities, and they were treated as such outside of the ring. This convention has lessened in the modern era with most people knowing the people behind the characters, as well as the intricacies of what goes on behind the scenes.

Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic, philosophy of science and philosophy of history that explores the developing intersection of African diaspora culture with technology. The core idea behind Afrofuturism is to explicitly imagine technology and futures coded in African diaspora culture and aesthetics as a response to mainstream imagining of futures which excludes typically excludes this. Afro futurism has historically been exclusively produced by African diaspora creators..

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee is a specialized facet of the UNESCO who designates Cultural Heritage Sites (e.g. The Taj Mahal, The Pyramids of Gyza, The Maoi Statues) and Natural Heritage Sites (e.g. The Great Barrier Reef, The Serengeti National Park) as World Heritage Sites if the location is deemed to have "outstanding universal value" that "transcends national boundaries." World Heritage Sites are granted legal protections by the United Nations in addition to any previously existing protections granted by the National Government.

The producer of the James Bond films, Barbara Broccoli, has recently revealed to Total Film magazine that the next "reimagined" James Bond does not have to be a white man, but has ruled out the possibility of a woman taking over the role of the super spy

Yin and Yang are inseparable conjoined twins. Yin committed a terrible crime. Yang tried to stop him to no avail.

Pandering is (including but not limited to) oscar movie submission, making exclusive comeback concert on USA, frequent collaboration with western industry.