(Edit to say that this is in response to the culture and aesthetics article)

I take there to be a number of different things we want out of an piece of cultural production.

• Expression of universal aspects of human nature, emotions.

• Sensory stimuli (why old horror movies aren't scary, older movies have longer shots, and Michael Bay has a career).

• Shared cultural experience- (we like to consume works that are already cultural embedded, we want to share in something nearly everyone experiences- this is why it is worth reading Homer, seeing Star Wars and listening to the Beatles).

• Capturing the spirit of the times (we like it when works express what is unique in us, works that capture our sense of place and time, how we're different from our parents, etc. this is why punk music wouldn't have worked in the 18th century, why we have shows like the Wire, and why Rambo's motivations are really confusing for people born after 1980 who never took a modern history course.).

Your argument seems to turn on saying that whatever piece of culture you're consuming now you could be equally satisfied with something older. This seems to be the case with regard to the first criterion but once one admits the second and the fourth new production is essential.