Arts & International Affairs: Volume 2, Number 2 | Page 52

Most Tajiks do not like challenging their tastes; most of them do not understand
contemporary art nor do they have a desire to grasp its meaning. What is
beautiful, proper, and good for Tajiks: going to pop concerts rather than
opera, ballet, or drama. They watch light concerts or other type of musical
performances on TV rather than live concerts of classical Shashmakom or
traditional Falak music. Theaters, museums, opera, and ballet used to be
prestigious because they propagated Soviet ideological culture. Since the
end of the Soviet era, some say that Tajik culture has become “‘lower”’ while
others claim that we are finding our own roots and preferences that suffered
under the Soviet-imposed changes to Tajik traditional culture.
Tajik state government has a heavy burden, since almost all art institutions
depend on its funding. From one perspective, it is appropriate for the state
government to take control of the situation and watch over repertoires,
programs, and similar creative choices. On the other hand, it is only due
to governmental support that many cultural institutions survive that would
otherwise disappear as a consequence of lack of artistic imagination,
bravery, and entrepreneurial skills. So, the government imposes its own
values on Tajik people via television and state-sponsored arts. However, due
to globalization there is also a tendency for underground cultures such as
hip-hop, jazz, fusion, and other types of arts to emerge as well. Ultimately, to
declare what is high and what is low in Tajik culture depends very much on
where one stands.
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