| Words like pretentious, edgy, wish-fulfillment, melodramatic, and cliche are just cherries on top of arguments for people who've taken the time to muse on it, but unripened fruit for anyone else using the words without the ice cream to place it on. The latter is often from people who aren't worth talking with in the first place, the former doesn't need to happen, but I suppose does happen, because they know those words draw attention. Idealistically, I'd prefer buzzwords--words that pack enough (negative) connotation to do the heavy lifting on their own without actually carrying the argument somewhere--to not be used at all. Realistically, you need ways to get someone's attention; I remember being like that once too, much more than I am now if I still am. |
| Like I said, buzzwords aren't an issue when there's more than buzzing going around. But at that point, one doesn't need to resort to it. Comes across as little more than an attention hook (and often not in a good way). |
| Not even sure I understand what a buzzword is, but I think it just comes down to implementation. You could use them (whatever they are) as a shortcut to impact (apparently this is also a buzzword???), or a familiar jumping off point to elaborate from. So I dunno there doesn't seem to be anything bad with buzzwords themselves, but the way peeps tend to use them. Like DECONSTRUCTION is misused super often and has sort of a jokey negative stigma with many, but if it's the most appropriate word to describe what you're trying to describe, fuck it. Don't use a less apt word just because BUZZWORD. Overrated and underrated are just intrinsically shit ideas, but I don't think that has to do with how buzzy their words are. I hope this made sense. |
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| "Dolphy is a good writer" - I'm really tired of seeing that in critical discourse. A better buzz phrase: "Dolphy is a shitty writer." Ok, for reals. I agree with Dolphy though: overrated and underrated are just, ugh. 'Fanboys' and 'fangirls' need to stop as well. We're just fans??? Why put the gender label (??)? It just comes across as derogatory and a roundabout way of discriminating against a gender group that likes a particular something. Idk. Most of the time it's used without much justification too, as if the gender stereotypes just spoke for themselves. along the same vein, 'haters.' it's often used as a freebie for fans just to ignore any valid criticism. of course it's fine to watch entertainment mindlessly, but critiquing and hating r 2 different things. i don't like the word "elitist" cause it's 99% of the time used wrongly. though humorous it is. while we're at it. 'moe.' just kill it already//// Lets r@nt some more about words pls. |
| Well, fanboys and fangirls basically mean the same thing, and in my opinion, they're pretty much equally used. I wouldn't really count equal discrimination no discrimination, anyway. As for haters, I think this doesn't apply to critics, but rather to the people out there that really just want to bash a show because they hated it, giving no definite reasons. Of course, it's often misused, but it's necessary part of the web lingo. No one can really define moe, or everyone has some different definition, but it's useful for marketing! Somehow, whenever "moe" is used, we do get a sense of the show, so in some ways, the word does provide us with new information though it may not be the most elaborate description. But yeah, I agree with your opinions on "elitist." People should seriously just stop using that word. Unlike "moe," when you call someone "elitist," you're not exactly sure how they're elitist. Are they a "hater" of everything, or simply a "critic"? (Get what I did there?) Or do they only watch critically acclaimed shows, or are they just really picky about who gets to talk with them? Or are they some sub-only/dub-only fanatic? Ugh, there. That's my rant for the day. |
| But how far can that definition of elitism be taken? I'm far more likely to respect an informed opinion over an uninformed one: In this case, I would hold the opinion of a critic who is aware of their own taste and bias in higher regard than one who has a vague idea of their own taste, or (worded differently) one who judges based solely on emotional response. I don't think the idea of standards is worthless; it's when the individual gains an inflated sense of self-worth that it becomes noxious. As for buzzwords in general, I think they're useful in informal conversation. Most criticism towards buzzwords stems from the idea that they're too vague on their own, and while I'd agree, not every conversation calls for an in-depth analysis/explanation of why one liked or disliked something. The buzzword itself gives a general idea of what one's grievance is, and that's enough in light discussion. In heavy discussion, however, one should better explain the reasoning behind their likes or dislikes. |
| I'm not going at this so much from an assumption of "correctness" or validity; rather, I'm more concerned with how much thought one put into their opinion, or how much it was developed. This is why I don't have a problem with, but don't tend to put as much stock into emotional response judgements when they're standalone; I find it less likely that thought went into them. This wouldn't be a problem if everyone thought and felt the same, but thanks to differing personalities and world views, taking judgements without criteria is more likely to lead to misplaced expectations. I would agree that authenticity is more important, though. Whether the opinion itself is interesting or boring is irrelevant so long as their is some thought basis or logic behind the opinion. I don't find that this restricts freedom because there's no one definition as to what is "good" when it comes to entertainment, so different standards could be seen as equally valuable so long as there's consistency. This also eliminates the stigma of "elitism" as I'm aware of it, as it doesn't value one specific opinion or type of opinion more than another. |
Kolnikov said: Personally, I don't have problems with words, as long as the ones using it can give them proper meaning. There is just about everything wrong with every word out there. Not a single word succeeds in capturing precisely the human emotions we're trying to convey. Language is an approximate expression and is flawed in every way possible: not to mention the lack of uniformity of languages makes for shitty conflicts between social groups and enthnic groups. English in particularly is sexist because it allows for shitty renditions of popularised expressions like mailman and workmanship but not the same for, oh I don't know, the other gender? I realize it is also most ironic I'm using English words to critique the very subjects I'm bringing up Rant over~ |
| the only pure and perfect word is "meretricious" also "stellio" |
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| This is an incredible topic, and great discussion because people hate buzzwords for reasons I did not consider. I found myself recently in this circumstance when discussing fashion. I keep going back to the same words because my vocabulary is like a toddler's (this jacket is good because it has good "quality", "fabric", "fit", "silhouette") . This ties into making convincing arguments overall. I can't support my assertion very well—the most fine-grain way in which I can support them is through buzzwords—therefore I will stick to using buzzwords until I learn to communicate better. (more self-insertion: in academia when writing technical publications, i've found that new models, new algorithms, and open source code is overrated. the key to a good paper is how well the ideas are expressed.) |
nil- said: This is an incredible topic, and great discussion because people hate buzzwords for reasons I did not consider. I found myself recently in this circumstance when discussing fashion. I keep going back to the same words because my vocabulary is like a toddler's (this jacket is good because it has good "quality", "fabric", "fit", "silhouette") . This ties into making convincing arguments overall. I can't support my assertion very well—the most fine-grain way in which I can support them is through buzzwords—therefore I will stick to using buzzwords until I learn to communicate better. (more self-insertion: in academia when writing technical publications, i've found that new models, new algorithms, and open source code is overrated. the key to a good paper is how well the ideas are expressed.) I sometimes do this too. I am not all that great at turning my spiraling hot mess of thoughts into coherent ideas (especially verbally) so I sometimes tend to use buzzwords. Or I just don't know enough about the topic/object that I'm talking about to describe WHY I like it. Stealing your example nil-, I tend to describe clothes I like as "good quality," with "great fabric," and "cut nicely for my body." But I'm no expert on the construction of clothes so somebody who is familiar with it may notice faults in the construction, quality of the fabric, sewing pattern, dye, etc. Then they'd probably point these faults out using a plethora of words I couldn't even comprehend, or never even heard of, seeing as I've never sewn a day in my life (like "running whip stitch" GOD what a great name for a sewing technique). I feel like I've gotten pretty good at conveying my thoughts about media. But I still feel like I sometimes use buzzwords like fanservice, fangirl/fanboy, and my favorite 2EDGY4U. If you're using it correctly and it gets your point across, I don't see the problem. I will admit though, I'm starting to hate the term "problematic." |
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