No, this is not my effort at pulling a Clerks 2 Randal style take back of words with offensive undertones. Rather, this is a simple walk down memory lane with words I used to hold in such high regard and delivered as often as the circumstances of life would allow - or require. That's all for naught now, though. To try and use them only brings up acid flashbacks to the entertainment tied mindset of those nearest to me. Of course the real bitch is that I'm working with a limited vocabulary already. The entertainment industry has done me no favors in that regard. On the plus side, I did learn the word cozen this year, so I'm only down four now. Off we go!
Twilight
What you used to mean: A picturesque moment at the end of the day, full of a color and beauty unmatched by the tireless movement of the world around you.
What you mean now: Hours of agitation as my passing reference to the finality of a day somehow sparks a two hour debate on the merits of sparkling vampires, hairless werewolves, and vacuous shells trying to pass off as living beings.
Winner
What you used to mean: One who has overcome great odds through competition or personal setbacks to find themselves a champion.
What you mean now: A life spiraling out of control as crazed drunkards and conspiracy hounds worship a god born anew... oh, and spending inordinate amounts of money to keep a couple of pornstars handy so that one can brag about sexual binges as everyone around them keeps asking "whatever happened to Denise Richards?"
What you used to mean: A nightmare of a mathematics class that stimulates as much as it frustrates, but provides a challenge worthy of conquering for those technological inclined.
What you mean now: A collection of philosophical gibberish masked in technological gibberish, stretched across two thin strips of unnecessary, and doused in the overwhelming smell of 'should have just let the first one be' syndrome.
What you used to mean: A (questionably pretentious) individual who aspired to create something new and fresh in the world. Well, OK - that's a gross romanticism of them but I get at least one!
What you mean now: Any moron who wants to be famous, but not be considered a reality TV star. Especially if you're a mediocre or awful singer. Don't ask me why, but watch a young 'hip' singer give an interview; they obsess over calling themselves artists. Hell, even VH1 counted them down as they 100 greatest 'artists' of all time. It's like somehow they feel being labeled exactly what they do undermines what they do. What the hell is wrong with you people? You don't see the people who make ring pops (proper art in my book) out there begging to be associated with the likes of Da Vinci, Michelangelo, or van Gogh for their work. Hell, I wouldn't even mind the occasional artist label every now and then, what you do is an art after all. But don't try and hide behind it under the pretense that it makes you superior to all the other singer/songwriters/musicians out there. You know, all nine hundred million of them. Many of whom are a whole lot better than you.
What you used to mean: The real, living world full of a broad spectrum of people with a wide encompassing array of opinions, beliefs, ideologies, and aspirations. The good and the bad, reality is where they all existed.
What you mean now: A group of idiots packed together like sardines in a can as the world watches on, like a band of rabid dogs. Each dog desperately waiting for one of the idiotic sardines to open their mouth and perform such insult to thought that even those who would fail to remember their name during an intelligence test weep for the lost cause of civilization.
Alright, so that's a bit of a morbid contextualization of how these words have morphed into the modern world. On the plus side, now whenever I use these words I get to recycle the same rants over and over again as people look on in despair. Hey, fair is fair. You want me to recycle, you've got to accept all the consequences of it!
So, any words you favor that have been morphed by the social zeitgeist of the entertainment community?
15 better thoughts:
Amen. If you ever get around to a "five crappy words coined by the entertainment industry" entry, I'd like to submit bromance for consideration.
A strong list with some compelling arguments. Even though it's massively overrated, especially among pseudo-intellectuals, I'm not sure I'd knock Matrix for its themes.
Also, I'm not one of the masses who decry Twilight as vacuous and the death of entertainment.
But I'm 100% with you on Winner, Artist and Reality. They've lost so much meaning now.
Ha..ha.. good one, Uni. I so agree w/ the word twilight. I used to love that word but now I'd think twice before I use it as I don't want to be reminded of sparkling vampires!!
What a creative idea for a post! I'm on board with your selections!
Whenever I hear the word "twilight" I immediately want to look for a sharp object nearest to me so that I can gouge my eyes out.
And of course Charlie Sheen deserves half-credit for ruining the word "winning."
Micheangelo? Mad for ring pops. He would've been proud of such an association. Don't give up hope.
@Alan I hear you on that. Though I might be more inclined to do "Five Celebrity Romance names that make me wish I were deaf and blind" - top of the list, Bennifer.
@cinema It's not the theme that kills the words, it's the association. I'm not saying I think Twilight is the death of the entertainment. I'm just tired of the scenario where every time I use the word, I get immediately called up to testify on my opinion of the books/movies - as if the two can't be exclusive even part of the time.
@Ruth Thanks. To this day nobody can give me a straight answer on why they sparkle... at least them burning in the daylight made sense given their origin.
@rachel no need to go quite so self-afflicting, but I understand where you're coming from. The sad thing is, I didn't even hate the first Twilight movie all that much.
@Rich Well, Charlie Sheen is one of the rare cases on this list where one individual has undermined an entire word.
@Simon They say if you stare at the Sistine Chapel long enough you begin to see that it's really just an intricately designed ring pop homage. Hopefully I haven't just given Dan Brown an idea for another book....
Oh my God. Eyes are opened here 0.o
Some other suggestions: "Subversive", "Hilarious", "Star"
Oh this post is perfection. The worse one has got to be "reality," since all of those shows are anything but!
So funny and so true.
Haha, what a brilliant idea for a post. Seriously, the word Twilight is just a way of triggering off several groans. And since my English teacher is obsessed with the books and movies, she finds a way to stick that word in every example she does.
I've never hated a beautiful word so much.
I don't know about the entertainment industry, but I can think of two phrases that your political system have ruined for me for a while...
"Maverick" and "Tea Party"
@Max 'Star' was definitely a hefty contender for the list, along with 'Celebrity.' I also thought about doing 'Boy/Girl' as a tandem peace for all the obsessive "it's my boy/girl" talk used by the likes of E! and writers trying to hip up their dialogue.
@Colleen Just got to make sure people don't grow up thinking those lifestyles are perfectly acceptable.
@John Thanks
@Stevee I once had a teacher who was a Deadhead for many years, she would relate everything to that. Not saying the Grateful Dead are as bad as Twilight, but you've got to draw the line when you start comparing social injustice to how good your seats were at the Grateful Dead concert.
@Mad I'll never be able to look at James Garner and Mel Gibson the same ever again.
This!
I hate that now in my philosophy classes at uni, when even remotely touching on ontology or Descartes or whatever the matrix is mentioned, not as a matrix but 'as in the film MATRIX the world might just be an illusion' .. it angers me. The philosophy professors are trying to be hip and 'on the scene'-
Sweet idea indeed, 'varn. Would love to see this as a regular feature, if you could maintain it.
It's not quite ruined, but the word SOCIAL is getting there for me.
Post a Comment