Does enjoying something "ironically" make sense to you?

[Ninmecu]

It's like enjoying something in a way it's not meant to be enjoyed. So, like, the people who made The Room, for example, were trying to make a serious drama. If you enjoy it as a terrible but enjoyable movie, you're still getting enjoyment out of it, but not in the spirit its creators intended. Hence, you're enjoying it ironically. I guess. That's the way I've always rationalized it, anyway. Maybe I'm bad at explaining it.

My thoughts exactly.

I have for example enjoyed some pretty horrible movies and books because I enjoyed analysing WHY they failed.

But I also think many people use the phrase to hide the fact that they are ashamed to enjoy things they 'aren't supposed' to.
For example, I quite unironically enjoy many cartoons, like Phineas and Ferb.

...Every time I read your post it's in your avatars voice. It immediately removes any and all dramatic impact on everything you say. Just felt the need to point that out.

As for enjoying things "ironically" I've never understood the term, however I've never understood several terms. Being Aspie kinda does that to me, like "Jumbo Shrimp" or "The Bees Knees", they just...tickle me the wrong way. As for "The Room", I don't care what Tommy Wiseau claims, theres no way in hell they were seriously trying to act dramatically, you can't make something that hillarious unintentionally, he had to have some glimmer of insight that said "Ok I have to market this as a serious dramatic affair, otherwise it won't be nearly as funny."

 

[MCerberus]

Well the two seasons of Frisky Dingo I really liked in something that approaches irony. The show was a mess of injokes, different writers intentionally going different directions, and general badness.

But I loved it. It had a sort of charm in the madness.

 

[Vegosiux]

People do misuse ironic all the time. So maybe that's ironic in of itself?

Exactly. Irony is a heavily misused word to the point where many don't know how to properly apply it. Really, irony is sarcasm. People are sarcastic all the time, but don't realize they're using verbal irony.

Irony is when reality does pretty much the exact opposite of what you'd expect; or expressing an idea in a manner that sounds like the pretty much exact opposite of what it says (which can be done sarcastically, too). Sarcasm is more like a precision strike at something with added verbal sharpness. Sometimes it overlaps with irony, sometimes not, and it's often passive-aggressive, but not always ironic (if you're well known as being a sarcastic one, it's hard to sell irony because everyone already has already figured you out).

As for "Ironically enjoying" something? Yeah, that's when you enjoy something for the reasons pretty much the exact opposite to what the author expected you to enjoy.

If you enjoy Twilight because of how ridiculous it is, you're enjoying it ironically. And if you enjoy Hangover because it sheds light on deep and firmly rooted societal issues, you're also enjoying it ironically.

 

[LobsterFeng]

I really enjoy Dragon Ball Z even though I realize it's terrible. I don't know if that means I like it ironically though it just sort of gets a nostalgia pass that still holds up.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

As a kid I remember watching lots of stuff even then I knew wasn't very good (DBZ, Ranma, Pokemon), but I wouldn't say I was getting an "ironic kick" out of it. I don't know how seriously these shows were trying to take themselves.

 

[Lieju]

...Every time I read your post it's in your avatars voice. It immediately removes any and all dramatic impact on everything you say. Just felt the need to point that out.

Then I have succesfully replicated what listening to me talk in real life is like.

 

[Ninmecu]

...Every time I read your post it's in your avatars voice. It immediately removes any and all dramatic impact on everything you say. Just felt the need to point that out.

Then I have succesfully replicated what listening to me talk in real life is like.

That sounds absolutely horrifying. Are all the inflections accurate also? The fact that you're easily distracted and your arch nemesis is a platypus, the one creature that can't be explained by logic alone?

 

[Vegosiux]

As a kid I remember watching lots of stuff even then I knew wasn't very good (DBZ, Ranma, Pokemon), but I wouldn't say I was getting an "ironic kick" out of it. I don't know how seriously these shows were trying to take themselves.

I think it's more like...it's irony when you enjoy something because it sucks, not despite it.

 

[Lieju]

...Every time I read your post it's in your avatars voice. It immediately removes any and all dramatic impact on everything you say. Just felt the need to point that out.

Then I have succesfully replicated what listening to me talk in real life is like.

That sounds absolutely horrifying. Are all the inflections accurate also? The fact that you're easily distracted and your arch nemesis is a platypus, the one creature that can't be explained by logic alone?

Well I have a horrid Finnish accent. (And a horrid Tampere-accent in Finnish)

I'm more of a mad scientist rather than evil, though. (And no-one wants to be my nemesis.)

 

[Olas]

It's like enjoying something in a way it's not meant to be enjoyed. So, like, the people who made The Room, for example, were trying to make a serious drama. If you enjoy it as a terrible but enjoyable movie, you're still getting enjoyment out of it, but not in the spirit its creators intended. Hence, you're enjoying it ironically. I guess. That's the way I've always rationalized it, anyway. Maybe I'm bad at explaining it.

I think that's just strait up enjoying it. You can enjoy something for reasons other than it being objectively 'good'.

I agree with you OP, enjoying something ironically doesn't make any sense. You can wear a shirt ironically, say something ironically, do something ironically, but you can't enjoy something ironically.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

As a kid I remember watching lots of stuff even then I knew wasn't very good (DBZ, Ranma, Pokemon), but I wouldn't say I was getting an "ironic kick" out of it. I don't know how seriously these shows were trying to take themselves.

I think it's more like...it's irony when you enjoy something because it sucks, not despite it.

In that case sure, I think all of us have it in ourselves to enjoy something ironically, if only as a defense mechanism against something unbearably bad. Or if you like Mystery Science Theater 3000.

 

[Vegosiux]

As a kid I remember watching lots of stuff even then I knew wasn't very good (DBZ, Ranma, Pokemon), but I wouldn't say I was getting an "ironic kick" out of it. I don't know how seriously these shows were trying to take themselves.

I think it's more like...it's irony when you enjoy something because it sucks, not despite it.

In that case sure, I think all of us have it in ourselves to enjoy something ironically, if only as a defense mechanism against something unbearably bad. Or if you like Mystery Science Theater 3000.

I watched that Santa vs. the Devil thing. It left me baffled and utterly confused as to what I just watched. I don't actually remember a moment of it, but I do remember watching it twice.

 

[briankoontz]

Let me know what you think. Could be that I'm just getting older than I thought and I misunderstood or just plain missed something.

People who enjoy making fun of things value things that are best-suited to being made fun of. Artist Robert Crumb for example valued 1950s denial and fastidious ignorance for his ability to make fun of it.

A certain cultural exhaustion, the belief that culture does not produce things of value, has caused people to shift from celebrating culture to making fun of it. They consider that more productive than ignoring culture altogether, perhaps believing that in a media-saturated world ignoring it is not an option.

 

[Relish in Chaos]

I don?t get it either. I like Power Rangers, despite its shallow plot and stock one-dimensional characters and god-awful acting and cheaply reused animation, but it?s just so bombastic and nostalgic that I don?t care about that and watch it for the awesome. It?s a bad show, but it appeals to the child within me. Same goes for Dragon Ball Z (well, minus the long standing-around; I can do without that, but the actual fights, yes).

As for my brother, he likes the Final Destination films (for different reason than I do; I genuinely do find them to be good popcorn flicks with a fair amount of suspense the first time around) because he finds the over-the-top death scenes hilarious.

Liking something because it?s bad either means you?re trying too hard to be a quirky little hipster or whatever (because there?s no-one to laugh at how ?IRONIC!? you?re being if you?re just watching My Little Pony at home), or you?re just genuinely masochistic. No-one should be ashamed for liking something, unless it?s illegal and immoral like killing puppies or something. But for something like entertainment media?no-one under the age of 13 should give a damn what others think about their hobbies.