An article in The Atlantic talked about how hipsters thrive off of Irony. Irony is a small subset of our generation’s tool for talking critiquing society. Yet they went on to remind us that an even larger crowd of our culture strive for something that many call New Sincerity. This term is a reification of all things earnest and honest. Irony is no longer detachment.
The term New Sincerity was born from a deep-rooted need for push aside the parts of society that are distracting from the more basic and essential joys of human existence. This idea has taken form in aesthetics, music, art, and literature. Today we see manifestations of this down-to-earth approach in fixtures of Pop Culture, like Wes Anderson’s films, the yoga movement, and a rebirth of old folk music that goes back to our Southern roots––a melancholic longing for a place of greener pastures and simplicity. Also, more and more people are returning to the careers and legacies of their family. Children of woodworkers are revitalizing the race and remembering what it meant to their family of woodworkers to carry on this encapsulation of their roots.
But check this out. The host of the PRI show said, "Irony and sincerity combined like Voltron, to form a new movement of astonishing power." Somehow irony and sincerity work together in a kinetic way that thrive off of people’s need to connect.
The Atlantic article said, “All across the pop culture spectrum, the emphasis on sincerity and authenticity that has arisen has made it un-ironically cool to care about spirituality, family, neighbors, the environment, and the country.”
The article also said these hipsters that are quite prolific in race around today’s social identity. they are starting to realize that their place of privilege and success is better understood from a New Sincerity approach. College educations and healthy home structures make for productive members of society. As seems to be evidenced in social media and how people speak to each other on the street, New Sincerity is this year’s biggest thing. People yearn for the tangible and the relatable. A beigecardigan meme can only hurt society.
Social media and technology in general has had a powerful effect on marrying irony and sincerity. Perhaps this is because extensive dialogue goes uninhibited and uncensored, so people are free to speak their mind at will. In this way, we have more time to play with our thoughts and ideas. They are less often put on a pedestal, and more often part of a stream of consciousness that is constantly evolving and intermingling. We can talk about spirituality with earnestness and vigor, but also we can make a relatable meme about it. We can be adamantly pro-BLM and also find it in our hearts to joke about how a group of white guys at a baseball game look hauntingly similar to a stack of white saltines. Maybe we should call this a New Irony. Or Ironic Sincerity. We’re earnest in our identity, but in a very new way.
