Zoe thinking about why we like the things we like

I really like seeing the way that artists work. I'm a sucker for biographies and the Art 21 shows have a formula for combining biographical journalism and art journalism into something that feels emotionally relevant. It also makes me want to make art. Watching other creative people, seeing a good piece of art or popular media, spurs my creative drive
For me, the most relevant portion of the show was the way that artists conveyed their passion. It's as if every moment of their lives lead to the clear headed dialogue about their subject of art (to be fair, this is partially the narrative strategy of Art 21). The personal background and the way these details related to their current interests I found especially intriguing. I tried to explore my own past and see if it referenced any of my current art and then I decided that I shouldn't think about my childhood without a trained psychotherapist present. So, it was neat idea but I'm gonna draw inspiration from a few other avenues. Dry, academic avenues.

Tangent Begins. I've been wondering why we like things lately. How come people like different movies, different types of books, different types of food? My current thought is that we like things that are familiar. We like the food associated with our own culture the best. We like the colors that surround us the most often- almost everyones favorite color in the US is blue and green. We like the books that we read as a child. This also relates back to my last blog post- we like noticing things that we already know imbedded in our media.
But this isn't complicated enough to explain why we like art- especially negative or scary art that is emotionally salient. Or liking things that we've never seen before. Maybe there is a reward factor involved. If we are good at something we are more likely to prefer it to something we are bad at. If we are congratulated for a behavior or interests we are more likely to prefer it to something that is considered invaluable or strange. But still,  not all the time. Sometimes we like breaking the mold and doing something ill advised.
The opinions I've read on this subject have suggested that we have an innate preference for some things over others and there is some genetic evidence to suggest natural preference. Surprisingly not in religion. The article I read most recently said that there isn't a genetic component to religiosity. Honestly I'm a little skeptical and will do more reading on the subject. Tangent Complete.