Friday, May 21, 2010
The Rise of Sarcasm
Does
the prevalence of sarcasm mark our age as distinctive? Skye Jethani so argues here.
If sarcasm is on the increase, is it a good thing or a bad thing? And why is it
on the increase? According to Jethani,"Phil
Vischer, the creator of VeggieTales, gave a speech at Yale
in 2005 in which he unpacked the media values of our generation -- the slow
descent from our parents' ‘dry, cocktail party wit of Johnny Carson’ to the ‘sarcasm
and twisted humor’ of David Letterman, and the emergence of the bottom-feeder
humor that is Beavis and Butt-head and South Park. In these
shows, Vischer says, ‘we had found our voice. We were safe from the world, as
long as everything was treated as a joke.’He continues: Some folks believe
Vietnam was the source of America's modern cynicism. Others point to Watergate.
But for me and for many others in my generation, the real root, I think, is
much closer to home and much more personal. When we were very young, our
parents broke their promises. Their promises to each other, and their promises
to us. And millions of American kids in a very short period of time learned
that the world isn't a safe place; that there isn't anyone who won't let you
down; that their hearts were much too fragile to leave exposed. And sarcasm, as
CS Lewis put it, ‘builds up around a man the finest armor-plating ... that I know.’”
Sarcasm
seems
to me to be a mixed bag. It is an effective rhetorical tool in
criticizing customs, habits, institutions, and authorities. It is
funny. Jon Stewart and
Stephen Colbert are justifiably successful. But it does create an
emotional
distance – a dehumanizing “armor-plating.” As Jethani argues, it
distances us from our anger and our fear. As I read him, he believes we
cannot break through to love without directly confronting our anger and our fear. And, surely, sarcasm in private conversation throws up interpersonal barriers rather than opening the way to strengthening interpersonal ties.
cross-posted at religiousleftlaw.com
https://mirrorofjustice.blogs.com/mirrorofjustice/2010/05/the-rise-of-sarcasm.html
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You write: "And, surely, sarcasm in private conversation throws up interpersonal barriers rather than opening the way to strengthening interpersonal ties."
I would say "not so surely." As Jethani and you both point out, sarcasm can be good/funny ... and I'd argue it can even show some shared insight and hidden truth.
I agree with Jethani that it is rooted in anger and fear. It all depends on how the sarcasm is used. I'm pretty sarcastic, but often use the sarcasm against myself or directed at myself in conversation ... it shows the anger/fear that may be present in the moment, and that the other may be feeling as well, and can lead to a shared moment, an understanding. It allows the anger/fear to be confronted and spoken about, and in a palatable way (an irreverent, funny way), to expose a truth that the other person in the conversation may also feel. If used right, it's not just armor; it can help folks dig deeper to a mutual understanding. As a friend says, sometimes you have to sacrifice yourself for the joke. That goes for sarcasm: sacrifice yourself to give voice to the anger/fear, as a way of actually strengthening interpersonal ties.