David Foster Wallace - The Problem with Irony

the problem is i think post-modernism has to a large extent run its course David Foster Wallace is known for being one of the most influential writers in recent history before taking his own life in 2008 he decried the negative effects post-modernism had on his generation post-modernism is a very wide-ranging term used to analyze our world that emerged in the nineteen fifties and sixties it rejected the grand narratives that exists in modernism things like there's one true God history is progress and peace on earth in postmodern thought there is no scientific philosophical or religious truth which will explain everything for everybody it lacks that optimism instead everything is understood on a micro level knowledge and truth are contextual and constructed reality only comes into existence through our interpretations of what the world needs to us individually thus post-modernism is characterized by self-referential ality such as a character who knows their character in a novel or film by moral relativism and by cynicism and irony with that in mind here's Wallace again that the problem though is now is that a lot of the sticks of post-modernism irony cynicism irreverence are now part of whatever it is that's enervating in the culture itself right Wallace's biggest concern was with the dominant cultural force of television which he believed had become too saturated with these postmodern characteristics TVs response to dumb and overly sentimental sitcoms was ironing TV shows began criticizing themselves for being dumb TV shows can't be happening we have to see this movie dude is great about the isn't that good anyway and then what are you talking about love carrots in film and animation up crabby it's hard to criticize a show that criticizes itself first shows became more self-referential and self-deprecating in short they took nothing seriously and there's a problem with this in Wallace's mind irony has no redemptive qualities in and of itself it can point out problems and deconstruct things but it offers no solution it's like a rebel to throwing a tyrant only to become a better tyrant take for example seinfeld ironic critique of the sitcom every character is very human problems are laid bare but they're presented as unsolvable whereas earlier more sugary sitcoms might offer a solution through family friends or hobbies seinfeld gives you nothing that's not a redeeming formula it's a cynical one family guys use of irony is slightly different but no more redeeming it makes ironic connections to history celebrity stereotypes you name it he cares more about the number of connections that can make rather than providing any lessons or challenging any principles with them it simply uses irony to reassure us of our knowledge of cultural discourse you've got saturday night lives deconstruction of cynicism arrested development superficial relationships it's always sunny is irredeemable characters and in Wallace's time all of these shows the ironic mode shows up in advertising all the time here 20 ads making fun of themselves for being ads hello I'm an actor I've been paid eight thousand dollars to tell you how great nor net is compared to other banks to Wallace TVs unabashed self-deprecation and deconstruction of our culture the idea that everything is fabricated was corrosive to the soul hip cynical transcendence of sentiment is really some kind of fear of being really human he thought we'd find a solution in shifting televisions overall tone away from one of cynical irony to one of sincerity and no doubt this terminal shift is occurring in some spheres of pop culture and has been for the last decade it's due in part to david foster wallace himself and likely to a general cultural shift away from cynicism in general it's interesting to see how this total shift has affected TV comedies some of comedies greatest tools are characteristically post so how these combined with sincerity to change American humor it all starts in $MONTH 2006 with the office then in $MONTH 2009 the tonal shift towards sincerity continued with community modern family and Parks and Recreation they all have similarities to the postmodern predecessors but instead of the blank parody of family guide the superficiality of arrested development or the cynicism of seinfeld they have a heart they have redeeming characters who have a sincere yearning for meaning and human connection the office is full of redemptive people looking for human affirmation any ironing the show is balanced with Ernest sentimentality take for example Jim and Pam's romantic chemistry their connection relies on a hyper awareness and mutual ironic detachment from the office it's not just irony for irony sake it has that addition of a sincere human relationship attached to it indeed rarely does the show use irony at the expense of a character ever in one episode a recently dumped and he tries to talk jimmy out of being with Pam and Jim response to him ironically so scared all right things are going on and you're coming out with almost no knowledge of course adjuster opinion on this Andy Reid's Jim's ironic comment as sincere and for the rest of the day believes he's genuinely taking on all of jim's emotional troubles even though Jim's perfectly happy with his relationship at the end of the episode one of andy's co-workers reveals the joke i think Jim is messing with you but instead of judging or belittling Andy for the postmodern crime of being naive in the face of irony Jim uses the occasion to teach Andy a sincere lesson that's not that Apple you and angela is a bummer and I know that you don't think you're going to find someone else but you will I promise you you will Jim's ironic stance ends with in delivering a sentiment upholding American romantic ideals much like the office community balances it's pop culture references and ironic moments with characters who sincerely desire human connection the title of the show tells us this out right it's about how and why we come together and form communities with other people and even when it parodies and deconstructs tvtropes like the jock it so in an uplifting way turning the all-star quarterback into one of the most caring people on the show and despite its frequent cynicism community tells us that no matter how isolated and alone you may think you are we need other people around us in order to function it doesn't matter if it's a bunch of outcasts they can still come together through their shared similarities in the ways they conflict with each other as well the show at its core believes in common human dignity and communal integrity it's a sincere anti nihilistic message you won't get from these shows then there's parks and recreation which contains very few postmodern characteristics you won't find the show making fun of itself there's no meta humor it avoids a cynical tone entirely ultimately it's a show about good people trying to do good things Leslie Knope and Ron Swanson have an entirely different idea of civic duty you have the hope and naiveté of government and body then Leslie and the pessimism and deconstruction of government embodied in wrong this relationship is right for a sort of seinfeld and resentment and cynicism but rotten Leslie have a mutual respect for each other and they have a good friendship both are awesome both are flawed and the show constantly goes back and forth between them without taking the side Andy and April are very similar both are great but one is ultra sincere and the other cynical we see every characters ideology but never fully embrace or discredit their stance sure the show is about bureaucratic conflict but it's also about how disparate people in a town connect the show's overall tone that cynical thinking isn't the smartest or coolest makes a dramatic shift away from post-modernism this wave of earnestness and TV comedy shows no sign of slowing down part of the reason jon stewart was successful for so long was that he had an unwavering sincerity behind the irony in the daily shell two of his major successors understand that balance the best shows of our age aren't finding the humor in the gaps that have developed between people they find the humor in the absurd and awkward attempts by people trying to bridge those gaps they want to show us that humans can have real connections and sincerity for each other it's not impossible it's just really fucking hard postmodern thought with its deconstruction of every thing in its emphasis on individual interpretation leads us down a road of narcissism cynicism and detachment to fix it we need not appeal to something as abstract or dangerous as the grand narratives of modernism to feel less lonely it's perhaps this non-ideological pursuit of getting along of striving to have strong communal integrity valuing others for their human dignity unabashedly enjoying the things we find to be awesome and as David Foster Wallace would say making it ok to be unavoidably sentimental and naive and grown and generally pathetic that might help us find a greater sense of meaning and optimism in our lives these shows tell us that strict adherence to cynicism isn't all that smart or cool and that perhaps we learn more about what it means to be human by embracing life and the different people around us everyone thank you so much for watching I had an absolute blast making that video I don't always make videos like that i like to make comedy content as well but i try to keep the quality as high as possible on my channel and if that is something you would like to support i have a patreon page where you can go and pledged three dollars or one dollar really any amount helps me create more content i would really like to make videos full-time so any support I'm very appreciative for and yeah come back next Thursday for another video

Channel: Will Schoder

Views: 1,783,441

Keywords: david foster wallace, postmodernism, sincerity, irony, parks and rec, the office, community, tribalism, modernism, seinfeld, critique, sitcom, new sincerity, infinite jest, e unibus pluram

Id: 2doZROwdte4

Length: 9min 54sec (594 seconds)

Published: Thu Oct 06 2016