People around them say that they like reading, listening, watching classics, but do they attach importance to this word? How to understand: a classic is a phenomenon or a trend of the times? What does this word mean in various fields of art?
What dictionaries say
Many dictionaries decide in different ways that there is a classic - the definition is extensive.
In a narrow sense, they speak of classics, trying to emphasize the role of ancient literature in the formation of not only subsequent literary experiments of this time, but also the whole variety of styles in modern times.
Classic - what is it? This is a question addressed by more than one definition. There are many different versions of what it is in a broad sense. So, some dictionaries indicate that the classics are the works of the great classics. Others write that this is exemplary literature, music, cinema, which, no doubt, are a masterpiece of national art.
There are so many definitions that without a precise description of the classics in different types of art, a good “picture” cannot be obtained.
Classics in literature
As we have already indicated above, ancient ancient literature can be considered a classic , from which all modern literature has grown, whether it be Harry Potter or 50 Shades of Gray. But if we take the definition in a broad sense, we will undoubtedly add to the number of great classics A.S. Pushkin, L.N. Tolstoy, F.M. Dostoevsky. In the USA it will be M. Twain, T. Dreiser. In Europe - V. Hugo, F. Schiller and others - there are a huge number of them for each country. It is necessary to take into account when we say “classic” that such a phenomenon is unique for any state, and in the USA they are unlikely to reverence Pushkin, and in Madagascar they most likely will not appreciate Twain.
At the same time, there are classics who completely transformed the literature of not one country, but many states. So, W. Shakespeare is a playwright, under whose influence the dramaturgy of the whole world is still developing, because his works are a worldwide classic.
Another thing is that to call a classic a work that has appeared recently is very difficult. It is unlikely that Harry Potter can be considered a classic of children's literature, although even now everyone understands the fundamental importance of the appearance of this work for the development of this direction. It will take some time for this or that author to be added to the list of great ones.
Kinoklassika
The meaning of the word “classic” in film culture is somewhat different. Naturally, there is no and cannot be any orientation towards antiquity, but modern directors are guided by the brightest examples of films that have become cinema legends. Just the same pioneers of one direction or another, the best films of the past are classics, although the term has migrated to them from literature and music.
So, for the national cinema, the classic is “The Irony of Fate” (without continuing), “Ivan Vasilievich is changing his profession”, “Plasticine Crow” and “Well, wait a minute!”. But in America, these are films with Charlie Chaplin, Hitchcock's Psycho, Tom and Jerry. As in literature, the classics of what is solved through the prism of a particular state.
Music: Classics and Neoclassics
It is logical that the classics of music, like literature, relied on previous eras, and mainly on antiquity. So, before, many musicians were guided by samples that reached them from the depths of time. However, over time, the creators, one way or another, depart from the norms and rules established by the early authors, and begin to create as they please. The highest, most striking examples of music, resulting in the result, belong to the section "Classics". What is neoclassic is another matter.
Rather, it will be said that neoclassicists are continuers of traditions. However, an erroneous, but still popular term is gaining strength, defining this musical style to a mixture of classics with elements of other styles: electro, rock, etc. This term is also applied to music from films of such famous composers as Hanz Zimmer, Max Richter and so forth
Classics and painting
If the classics of music have not yet lost their connection with the “Viennese classics” and ancient experiments, then painting has long been operating with this term for exemplary works of certain styles.
Moreover, it does not matter whether it is a portrait or a still life, impressionism or classicism, if the work was painted by a well-known artist with a big name, it will immediately be called a classic. The commercial side also influences - painting lovers are more likely to buy the advertised “classics” than the shocking futuristic “masterpiece”, unless they consider it fashionable.
At the same time, the classics of music are less susceptible to all kinds of futuristic attacks, although they have acquired a lot of new things since the last ancient poet. But if painting, even by those who can’t stand it, is still visually perceived as “painted well,” then music lovers do not always perceive classics.
It is impossible to overestimate the significance of classics. This is what forms modern literature, music, cinema, painting. This is the power of the geniuses of art, which helps the talents of our time to move on.