Stimulus

The diagnosis of being ‘stimulating’ operates rather differently from that of being ‘standardized.’ While this former diagnosis is also frequently heard in discussions about the popular, it has a broadly better ring to it; the balance between supporters and opponents of the ‘stimulating’ in art has so far tended to be more even than it is for assessments of the ‘standardized.’ Yet still, even if there are more defenses of the ‘stimulating’ than of the standardized, a negative evaluation of ‘stimulus’ remains an integral part of the critique of the popular. The term ‘stimulating’ is typically used to describe objects, subjects, and motifs like ‘sex and crime,’ attractive people, desirable objects and places, dangerous or surprising events—as well as things, plot points, and figures that are pleasant, flattering, familiar, and likable.