I first started thinking about the concept of catharsis during the peak of Eminem's popularity. As a young kid brought up under decent values, my first reaction to songs like "97 Bonnie and Clyde" and "Guilty Conscience" was offense and disgust. Somewhere along the line, I started really enjoying his music, including the more shocking narratives of murder, mayhem, and general sociopathism. Had I been desensitized? Probably. But there was more to it than that. I was able to live in the moment of these songs, singing along with them and allowing them to transport me into scenes of cruelty and insanity. But then exiting those scenes when the song was done. And feeling better for having gotten some hidden dark emotions out of my system through the song. Catharsis.From the world's most reliable source of information comes this definition of catharsis: "Catharsis is a Greek word meaning 'cleansing', 'purging', or 'clarification.'" I've always thought of the term in the Eminem context described above, i.e. expressing or symbolically acting out on some hidden emotion. Something that would be destructive if left repressed, building pressure and power like seltzer in a bottle, and then exploding unexpectedly all at once. Creating or experiencing certain anti-social works of art, or maybe even a drunken and shouty night on the town, might be a constructive way to release these emotions and desires in a controlled environment, so that they don't later explode into something truly destructive.
Of course, this can't always prove true. Undoubtedly, there are many instances where destructive or hateful music only serves to shake that metaphorical seltzer bottle and build the anger and the pressure, leading to a bigger and more destructive eventual explosion. This isn't so much a "sociopathic art is always good," as much as it is a musing on one potential good that can be wrought.
And actually, the Eminem example above makes a different point than the one I intended to write about. My recent thoughts on catharsis have been inspired by the "Tea Party" movements in modern American politics. Is it possible that these outlashes of political anger and racial hatred, are an inevitable and even healthy phase in the evolution of our society. Are we simply witnessing the steam pouring out of the pressure valve? It makes sense that a diverse society facing an abrupt change (e.g. the first black president, the transition from boom economic times to recession) will experience more pressure than it can naturally absorb, and will need to release some of the frustration, anger, and consternation caused by that pressure, if it is not to explode.My prediction is that the "Tea Party" protests will be a footnote to history, something that warrants a paragraph or two in future American textbooks, perhaps accompanied by a little photo of some white folks in silly American Revolution-style hats. The whole thing is too silly and too unfocused to evolve into any kind of cohesive and durable political movement. The inability of the "movement's" members to articulate any cohesive or comprehensible agenda illustrates its purely cathartic nature. It really is an Eminem-style acting out of the deep-seeded prejudices and anxieties of a certain portion of the American demographic. Its something natural that has to happen, to purge those anxieties until the tea-partiers get it mostly out of their system, and can move on to things they actually care about.
Of course, the same caveat applies to the Tea Party example as applies to the Eminem example. Just as there are some who will let the angry rap lyrics simply build up the anger inside them, there will be some who continue to obsess over the anger preached by tea-partiers, risking some act of violence and/or hatred that goes beyond the symbolic. But that's a risk that can never be eliminated. The inevitable and occasional steam-burn from the steam coming out of the pressure valve is better than the massive explosion risked if you refuse to let the pressure valve open. This is, by the by, the notion that underpins the entire concept of the First Amendment and freedom of speech. Better to let the hatred come out in speech and protests, and force them to compete in the marketplace of ideas, rather than suppress them. Repression leads to explosion.
