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I agree to an extent on this subject and I think intellectual laziness is largely to blame. It's just easier to appreciate mediocrity - you don't have to actually think about it to have a positive response to it and you don't have to be bothered with having a lasting response that colors your perceptions and makes you rethink what you thought you knew.
Most things are mediocre therefore is it simpler to relate to - 'I like this song because it sounds a lot like that other song I used to like;' 'this piece of art is beautiful because it represents a scene or a thing that I can easily comprehend'; 'I like this tv show because it portrays fragments of 'reality' with edits and sound effects that are telling me how to respond to it.'
But the cultural Noah's Ark is there. It's always been there for people who want to hop on board. It's in museums and libraries and record shops and even Netflix and Amazon. Even for those of us (like me) who live in a cultural wasteland - you just have to get off your ass and go find it.
But, it's always been that way to some extent. Mainstream human entertainment in general is not often known for its cultural ascendancy. There is just such a preponderance of crap around now - it is overwhelming sometimes.
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Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce
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