Art relies on convention to create aesthetic experiences. There are accepted guidelines that shape the creation and consumption of an artwork—the three-act structure and happy endings of Hollywood films, repeating choruses in pop songs, the fact that fans can sing along at a rock concert but not at a classical performance, the use of “[Catchy Phrase]: [How Something Did Something]” in the subtitles of nonfiction books. Recent Hollywood films deploy the convention of a “yellow filter” in postproduction to make footage from Central America and India look more squalid and sinister. And as we’ll
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