I think that Arnold takes an elitist view of culture in this book so I do not think that his vision is valid.  Arnold argues that culture consists only of the "best which has been thought and said."  This, to me, is a very exclusive vision of culture.  It says that there are certain things that are better than everything else and only they consitute true culture.

I cannot agree with this.  I think that there are various forms of cultural expression (pop music, movies, etc) today that might not be loved by cultural critics but which are, nevertheless, a real part of culture.