Trash

The concept of ‘trash’ can be applied to anti-classical and anti-realist aspects, so long as the exaggeration and excessiveness in question is not the result of some virtuoso style. On the side of expressive style, too, the external boundary of ‘trash’ must be maintained: what is excessive and uncontrolled must be constituted in such a way that it does not successfully fulfill the criteria for having created ‘authentic expression’ of a ‘vital character.’ In the cases where ‘trash’ and ‘camp’ are not used synonymously, ‘trash’ stands for ‘forms’ that are more impure and less strongly contoured—whereas ‘camp’ refers to an immoderate style that focuses on, or indeed capitulates to, exaggerated markers of gender. Still, what the two concepts have in common is that they can both be used in the artistic appreciation of certain popular artifacts (and not just in the praise of B-movies and obscure singles).