When did 'Snark' infect the gestalt of a generation? This slight way of handling any issue, be it major or inconsequential has pervaded our consciousness to such an extent, that I believe it's single handedly responsible for the decimation of original and fresh perspective in our society. By snidely dismissing any kind of real attempts at art and elevating reality shows, celebrity worship and bubblegum pop, all for some hipster concept that it's 'fun' and 'fun' is where it's at, 'snark' has effectively snuffed out the last spark of our collective humanity.
I believe writers like Chuck Klosterman, Chuck Palahniuk, Neal Pollock and the Onion collective have done more damage to serious commentary in our society than Joseph Goebbels did in Nazi Germany. Bold statement? Surely, but I'm prone to hyperbole so bear with me.
Where did it all stem from? I believe it's just abject defeatism. A toxic nihilism.
The Reagan era produced a generation of people who felt dirty. Sex was dirty, greed was good, integrity and purity were for losers. So how did we react? We made light of it. It was a slow process. At first, we stood in the headlights of what the media portrayed as an impending Armageddon of AIDS, nuclear war, and economic catastrophe. Slowly but surely though, we eventually came to the realization that we were still alive and began the business of transmuting these emotions into a strange dismissiveness.
Personally I've always found this reaction untenable. All my life I have been categorized as an aggressive, overbearing asshole, all because I espouse my ideas and opinions with the manic panic of a man shouting for help at the bottom of an abandoned well. I can't accept what goes on around me and just shrug my shoulders and fix my countenance with a permanent smirk. I need to stand for things, I need to fight for my ideals.
Take a look at the differences between Mad Magazine and The Onion. It's obvious that the Onion has stolen from Mad wholesale, however they've taken out all the whimsy and silliness to produce a sort of hopeless, kind of petty, uber hip rag completely devoid of any of the actual artistry that went into those original Mad magazines.
Where is Roger Kaputnik when you need him most?
Snark is everywhere. You can hear it in the nasal whine of most of today's indie music, you can feel it in the ad campaigns (by the by, god do I loathe those Dunkin' Donuts commercials..),and you certainly feel it in the political process.
Underlying all this I believe is a definitive disingenuousness. Perhaps the uber hipsters of today feel they have collected together to actually form a new kind of status quo, however, they've in point of fact become the new convention.
I can really only hope for an eventual backlash, or at the very least a new direction, maybe even an underground. A movement dedicated to substance, and clarity of purpose and thought. Perhaps one day we might even be able to collectively release all this negative psychological baggage that's caused us to wrap ourselves up in this sarcastic armor to begin with. The truth is, it really hasn't served us well. I think it's time for something real.. Something genuine.
Ehh.. At least I think so anyway..
In case you missed it....The Zeitgeisty Chronicles archived.
My first kiss...a remembrance of thing past
Feel the paste in you face - The FACIAL file
Talk dirty to me!!
I abstain! The fear to fuck
The unvarnished TRUTH about dating on the internet.
BITE ME!!!
Pontifications on the bangin' of ass - The ANAL file
The brass ring