The Big Picture: Dumping Irony

[emeraldrafael]

"life is short, like what you like,"
Meanwhile bob never misses the chance to rip the nineties but glorify the 80s like they were a decade of gods gift to man...

I don't see how these contradict each other.

I guess they're really not, I just think its funny bob is pushing so hard to say you can enjoy something thats awful (or people view as awful) but has that hate for the nineties. I get why he does, I just think its funny in its own way.

 

[Dirty Apple]

Hello everyone, my name is Dirty Apple and I loved the snot out of FireWalker when I was a kid. For years it maintained its spot in my warm childhood memories without a smudge on its record. Until the day I watched it as an adult. I can't think of any movie that produced more snorts of derision or entire head moving eye rolls. That being said, it's still kind of enjoyable for what it is. So, while I'm in no rush to watch it again, it still has special significance for me. Not because I enjoy it "ironically," but rather because it's a true display how far my tastes have evolved and matured.

 

[ACman]

No, Norris is not "a nice guy". He is notoriously bat shit hyper-religious crazy. He has publicly stated that he literally believes that the POTUS is the antichrist. Yea, he's one of THOSE people.

I was going to say,... I'm sure Chuck Norris is a nice guy, to other white evangelical Christians and appropriately assimilated black, hispanic, Arab, Asian or or otherwise differently brown or Asianic people who know their place in Church.

As long as everybody is a Republican, a paid member of the NRA and a member of Teaparty Movement chapter that is aligned with Mike Huckabee, Chuck will not come to kick your ass.... By kicking your ass I mean making creepy political videos involving walking around his home talking about 'God' and 'Murica' with his similarly creepy wife.

 

[RTR]

Whenever I hear "irony", I think back to Futurama:

So "Irony": Expressing things other than the literal intent.

Use of Irony: "If I get married, I would Rather Marry this you you know I hate, than anyone else."

Meaning: "You think I hate him, but I don't, and I'm already married to him."

...

Wait... Then what the heck is an Ironic punishment?

OOOH I know! It's Poetic Justice!

Then... Should We be saying that things we like despite having stupid ass parts we don't make it "Enjoying it Poetically"?

Urgh... that feels dirty to say...

In any case... I don't deal with literal Irony too much. I'm more into Situational Irony or as some would call it "Expectational Irony"... When doing something like setting out to make the worst musical possible ends with people loving the ever living heck out of it.

Or when you Write a song about the very thing you hate from the hated's perspective and somehow the song comes out like a pretty catchy Pop song... And normally you hate pop songs but this one you actually like for some reason you can't explain.

My use of situational Irony works... Somehow... For me... In that sometimes I hate what something stands for... Yet I still enjoy it because "F***! It's somehow Catchy! Why is a song about something so stupid so good?!"

...But On the other hand, while I find it "Ironic" that I like something, I don't actually find myself to be enjoying something "Ironically". Because when I like something... I really do like it... I'm just honestly surprised I like it... And continue to be surprised I like it even after enjoying it for a while.

It's Like Listening to Ke$ha when you hate the Drinking and Partying Lifestyle. It's a pretty good sounding set of songs... BUT WHY ON EARTH DO THEY HAVE TO BE SONGS ABOUT DRINKING AND PARTYING AND GETTING SENSUAL WITH SOMEONE?!

Its Ironic... But its not?

RAGHGHGHGHGA!!!

I HATE IRONY! ITS CONFUSING!

 

[DoctorImpossible]

Believe it or not I've recently noticed this phenomena of people "enjoying things ironically" and how that doesn't square with the definition of the word as I've always known it, and 'irony' as it's generally defined has always been a difficult one for me to grasp. Like, I know what it meant, but I could never explain it to someone if asked.

Anyway.

I also largely agree about Chuck Norris but I cannot forgive the exclusion of Silent Rage.

"Martial Arts master vs.... superhuman killing machine!"

 

[Farther than stars]

I completely agreed with the whole damn thing. Well... there is one minor thing. It's not just crimes about which we should feel guilty. Crimes are simply codifications of what is deemed so amoral by society that the perpetrator deserves to be punished for them. But there are actions that don't have a formal punishment but do deserve a social backlash. Actions like 'cheating on your partner' or 'lying' may not be illegal, but I would argue that the existence of guilt to restrain ourselves from these actions has a social function.
So, in conclusion, I wouldn't say that crimes are the only thing about which you should feel guilty, but any action that hurts someone else and where you had the choice not to take that action (with varying degrees of guilt based on how much of a choice you had).

P.S. But this nuance is not really applicable in this situation anyway, so you might as well forget about it.

 

[Flunk]

I never realized that they made an animated version of Walker: Texas Ranger.

 

[MB202]

Seriously though, I fail to understand how so many people are unable to detect sarcasm and joking in general, even on the internet. It's pretty obvious, if you are aware of the context, and have some basic social/communication skills..

That's funny, because I can't see how so many people can tell who's being serious or not. Seriously, not that I can't tell sarcasm or obvious joking at all, but sometimes people say something, and I have know idea if they're just fucking with me or if they really mean it, and no context is given for their behavior.

Also, having autism/aspergers, I guess my social skills are a bit... lacking.

 

[Giest4life]

I see Bob's point, even though I don't think I am guilty of it, despite the fact that I only recently came out as an anime fan to my brother.

 

[Edguy]

Also, having autism/aspergers, I guess my social skills are a bit... lacking.

I'm not really familiar with the specific symptoms of either of those, but that sounds a much more valid reason than most

 

[Cpt. Slow]

Well, the remark about 'like what you like' is a slippery slope to say the least. So I can has a cheezburger? like the Hangover part III? Or should I like Star Trek: Into Darkness also? Because when someone who reviews films for a living torpedoes his own line of work, then why bother watching film/game reviews. It's all 'like what you like'. And I'm going to kill myself for putting like and ST:ID in one sentence.

 

[Novuake]

Bronies understand liking something because you ENJOY it, screw irony and SMILE!!!

 

[Howling Din]

That dictionary definition of irony sounds like the definition of sarcasm.

 

[Valkrex]

Bronies understand liking something because you ENJOY it, screw irony and SMILE!!!

Damn straight.

/)

 

[man-man]

Does this mean I can't call it ironic that I hate the "Drink and Party Culture" and yet still enjoy a bit of the music that sings about it?

...Or that It's annoying that a lot of music sounds the same now, but I listen to some of it anyways, because "hey, doesn't mean its not catchy"?

Should I just call it what is is? A "Guilty Pleasure"?

I think the fully spelled-out (and irony-free) way of describing it would be "I know this thing has flaws, but despite that I still genuinely like it". If you do actually feel guilt, then yeah it'd be a guilty pleasure, but part of Bob's point (as I understood it) is that there's really no reason to feel guilty about enjoying something unless you're hurting someone in the process.

"Drunken partying is stupid and annoying, but that doesn't stop songs about it being good music"

"A lot of music at the moment is overly homogenous; it'd be nice if there were more variety but the formula still works sometimes"

That kind of thing.

 

[TheOrb]

I routinely enjoy nostalgia trips every once in a while, but I've never had to justify it, let alone say I was enjoying it "ironically".
I'd just say "I know it's stupid, but I don't care".