There is an attitude shown in some works that some art doesn't make a lot of sense and should be mocked as pretentious and elitist. It is spoken of ironically as 'True Art,' implying that it is neither true nor art.
Naturally, the characters doing the mocking are portrayed as Philistines by the artistic characters...if the artistic characters are allowed to say anything at all, that is. Philistines are not notably fair about such things.
Some categories of things which may be too subtle for these Philistines:
- It's Not Porn, It's Art
- True Art Is Ancient
- True Art Is Angsty
- True Art Is Boring
- True Art Is Incomprehensible
- Theatre Is True Acting
See also It's Popular, Now It Sucks! (aka True Art Is Not Popular); Public Medium Ignorance; No True Scotsman; and Three Chords and the Truth (True Art Is Simple/Unpolished).
