February 18, 2007
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I’m Gonna Freaking Kill You
My generation without a doubt is the most sarcastic generation of all time. If the last generation was Generation X, then we are Generation Xaggeration. Indeed, most kids come home from school today without having engaged in much meaningful conversation at all.
As my friend Kris puts it, “I exaggerate about 10,000 times per day.” Sarcasm has become the new language almost, with explanation of the most nugatory activity now demanding drastic verbal embellishment. “I’m hungry” has become “Guys, if I don’t eat within 5 minutes, I’ll die.” “I watch that TV show too” has become “OMG, that is the greatest television show ever.” Instead of not laughing at a joke, it’s now, “That is without a doubt the worst joke I have ever heard.” And on and on and on.
It’s actually a mixture of sarcasm and exaggeration. As an exaggeration, many high schoolers will readily apply the label “The Best Thing Ever” to anything that has just been mentioned that they happen to approve of. Whether it be snowboarding, iPods, Wendy’s value menu, or a rock concert, if a high schooler hears something in conversation they like, it is likely to be immediately brandished with a tag of infinite value.
Of course, sarcasm is a form of exagerration, but still different. Sarcasm does not represent reality in almost any way. What I’m thinking of here is allusions to death and/or dying. ”My day was terrible, I want to kill myself” is not exactly an exaggeration, but still sarcasm. This person of course is upset or exhausted, but I doubt is seriously entertaining the thought of suicide. “I think that the school dug this food out of the ground outside the school and is now feeding it to us,” is also in no way representative of reality.
Saying “I hate you” sarcastically is a frequent occurence too.
Stu: Hey Fred, what did you get on your test?
Fred: I got a 98%.
Stu: I hate you!!Nowadays, it would take a dramatic monologue to actually convince a person that you hate them.
It would be a real problem if an alien visited from planet Literal, and hid in the body of a high schooler. If a person does not speak in sarcasm, or does not understand it, their entire world of communication in high school would break down.
Sue: Oh, math class was awful! I think a part of my brain died during the lecture.
Ellen: WHAT?! Hurry, to the nurse’s office!
Matt: Ugh, I am so upset right now, I’m gonna go home and kill myself.
Dan: Matt! Don’t worry man, we can get you help. Uh, just stay with me today, okay?
Matt: Um, okay.At the end of the day, the high schooler must understand the world they live in to know what happened and everything that was meant. If the high schooler does not get all the sarcasm, it could mean their death. Seriously, I’m not even joking. Like, they could die.
This widespread assault on speaking with objective meaning I do actually believe has consequences. Stephen Colbert, the pope of sarcasm, does not let his children watch his television program. He justifies this by saying that if they watched his program and then before tucking them in at night he said, “I love you,” they might start reacting, “Ahh, good one, dad!” It is hard to turn on and off an entire way of speaking. If sarcasm is the norm, how do we know when to shut it down and be serious? If we are sarcastic a majority of the time, does that not erode all meaning in our lives? Sarcasm may be a medium that can communicate certain ideas that otherwise cannot be communicated, but someday, if we really want to tell someone what we really think, we’ll have to ditch the sarcasm. Deep down, I don’t think people are sarcastic. Is there anyone who prays in sarcasm? “Dear God, thank you so much for protecting my life today. I cannot believe the recliner kicked out without me even pushing the button!” I don’t think many last words are sarcastic either. “I only wish I had lived to see Pirates of the Carribean 3…”
Anyways, this post has been longer than time itself, so I’m out.
Comments (15)
Greetings.
Good post.
There definitely seems to be a communication breakdown in out society.
Anyway, thanks for coming by.
Stop back by anytime.
~ eric
hmm, your entries are very enlightening or humorous, to say the least… you also have a very fluid/sophisticated way of writing, if that is the correct way to use those words… anyways, you have a very great talent at work here, let alone whatever else you may have not displayed within this xanga…
God bless
-eddie
Yeah, it’s not an exhaustive look at the issue.
I just felt like posting and I was having writers block.
Thanks for the return comment.
so much for leaving a sarcastic comment
Your posts are always so amazing. Where do you get the ideas for them?
Also, I agree on the whole sarcasm thing. I, unfortunatly, am on of them. I’m working on it though.
Simone =]
Hey, don’t bash the Wendy’s value menu! I happen to think it really is the best thing to happen to the world since Jesus.
Some notes on exaggeration and sarcasm. I don’t think the hyperbole issue is really a problem. So what if I declare 30,000 different things the best thing ever in a 12-minute span of time? Maybe I just have extremely dynamic opinions or something. Also, sarcasm is awesome. See, I communicate sarcastically most of the time, so I can actually communicate very precisely by stating the exact opposite of what I mean. It’s also easier to make points when you use humor; keeps people from getting frustrated or mad.
Sure, it makes four-year-olds cry when I’m blatantly sarcastic around them. Since I haven’t made Timothy cry with sarcasm, I’ll use his name for a hypothetical.
Timothy: “The door won’t open! Oh, you pull it…”
Me: “Good one, genius.”
Timothy: “AAAAHHHHHHH!!! Caleb called me ‘genius!’”
Apparently they don’t really know what the words mean, but they can tell I’m not being nice. Haha.
There’s also the not-joking-but-I’ll-say-it-like-I-am thing, which I use frequently. Like this morning, my friend said something about Mormonism, and I said something like, “Yeah, but we actually believe the Bible here. Oops, did I say that out loud?”
So yeah, sarcasm is pretty much the best thing ever. Except Jesus and the Wendy’s value menu, of course. Hmm…maybe this is why America’s values are so messed up; we don’t really know where thing’s fit, ’cause they’re all either the best or worst things ever. Haha.
hi, Hope said I should probably read this. I’m pretty sure I will be sarcastic/dramatic all of my days. Oh dear!
oh my goodness i really laughed when you wrote about praying sarcastically! : ) how funny.
I enjoyed this post seeing as I’m fluent in sarcasm. However, out of everything said, my favorite line was by far the last one about POTC 3. A classic.
I’ll see you at 2.35 in the morning when 2nd period begins.
That was horrible and I’m ashamed that I have ever called myself sarcastic.
haha.sweet
heyy
so i havent seen you in like 10 years, but i just thought id say hi. =]
well get back to me if you can.
ill talk to you later?
Sarah*
I was reading a Randy Alcorn book recently (The Ishbane Conspiracy – good one) and it also noted several similar pooints. Teenagers have misconstrued the English language so pathetically that words no longer mean anything. A person could be standing there saying they’d like to die and no one believes them. The problem comes when they quite literally mean each word they say and yet no one believes them.
Take away the value of a word, take away the value of a life. Amazing how it works.
It also, of course, makes the teenage species seem extremely unintelligent. When you’ve already got the whole world assuming you’re dumb, the last thing you need to do is give them more ammunition against you.
I vote for respecting the English language.
Brilliant…and steal-worthy! I’ll attribute you, but I have to post this. It’s great. If that’s a problem, let me know and I’ll pull it down.
i think people are trying to effectively communicate how much they like something, the motive being a good one, that they want to be understood by others and it’s frustrating when they aren’t, and they use exaggeration to try to do that so they can secure the other person understanding them. but really, “that’s, like, the best thing ever!” and “that’s ridiculous,” etc, are annoying because they aren’t true and they carry no meaning. i guess maybe it’s more of a challenge to communicate strong emotions than we think or want to think (me included).
i suppose most people take that kind of thing as exaggeration but i tend to believe the literal words someone is saying unless i’m positive they’re kidding. so it doesn’t help me when someone calls me a jerk or says that they hate me. it’s annoying. makes me want to…kick baby animals or something (you can be positive this time that i’m kidding).
it’s really just a defense, a way to keep talking, cause if you’re uncomfortable with yourself, then you’re uncomfortable with silence, with not having something extravagant or profound to say, with not having the best story or extreme emotions. at least for me. maybe for some people it’s something different, like a lack of vocabulary or the way they truly feel. but i do it so i will have something to say, and because i’m hoping to invoke a response that will make me feel like what i said was worth something because somewhere in me i believe that that tells me that i’m worth something. so i exaggerate and talk words that really carry no meaning, and people fake-insult (tho’ i always wonder if it’s fake or not; where would they get the idea for the insult about me if they hadn’t thought it before) and live feeling uncomfortable being silent or emotionless or “amazing”-experienceless or worthless because they think their worth comes from the other people’s approval or liking of them.
i (i almost wrote “definitely” but really do i need to? it’s just the same thing.) agree that this is generation xaggeration.
thanks!