4 Levels of Art Consumption

So, I've been going through the Hulk Smash articles (at least some of them) since my enlightening discovery of his confusing blockbuster article.  In this article on the levels of art consumption, Hulk talks alot about spoilers (in various non-spoileriffic* ways), but how he groups the levels of consumption (or appreciation) are interesting to me.  Paraphrased, the given levels are:

1. Experience [art] with childlike naiveté.
2. Callused by repetition, but still seeking the experience from 1.
3. Transcended above 1 & 2; able to contextualize the emotional experience and think about why it is so (the "critic class").
4. Those who understand the craft of creating the [art].

I've always enjoyed reading, and in good stories I'm still in group 1.  I may sometimes be in group 2 (those are the biggest complainers about spoilers, according to the article), but I don't think I'm often there.

However, as a writer, where I want to be when reading a good story (fiction or "true-life", the important part is the story) is in group 4.  Group 3 is good, and a nice step toward group 4 if necessary, but if I want to create stories, I want to be one of those who understand the craft of creating the stories.  It's where I aspire to be, and when I'm in my critique groups, trying to fulfill the function of group 3 as best I can, is when I try to practice actually being in group 4.  However, I should practice on other stories, even or perhaps especially on the ones I love.  It may be hard to avoid being pulled in to the story, but if I take it slowly and work on it, hopefully I can pull it off.

It's also important to note that group 4 for writers can still be applied to movies and TV shows, since it's the story that matters, though there are obviously some techniques that don't work well on the screen, and some techniques that don't work well in novels.  It's still a source of practice for understanding the story and how it's constructed, and I should take advantage of that as well.

Finally, one of the best bits from the article, about group 2:

THEY LONG TO FEEL THE EMOTIONS THEY ONCE HAD SO EASILY AND CHERISH MOVIES THAT CAN MAKE THEM FEEL THAT WAY ONCE AGAIN. [...] BUT THERE ARE ONCE AGAIN MORE CONCERNS. LIKE THE  FACT THAT THIS IS THE LITERAL PATHOLOGY OF DRUG ADDICTION (IE, CHASING YOUR FIRST HIGH AGAIN AND AGAIN TO DIMINISHING RESULTS).

Yes, perhaps it's best to stay out of group 2 as much as possible.


*"non-spoileriffic" and "non-spoilerrific" both pass the spell check filter, but "alot" doesn't?  What computerized world do I live in?