# Conclusion

###### tags: `Higher Ironies Project`

[TOC]

**Meta-** and **Post-Irony** have begun to be used in many different forms of media, from books to movies to internet memes--especially internet memes. However, many of the people using these evolved **ironies** are doing so without fully understanding what they are doing, or--indeed--why they are doing so. Knowing how these literary devices work can help us to use them more effectively and to better understand the works of art that employ them.

Art tells one a lot about the society and the time period that created it, and for better or worse, **ironic** internet memes are a form of art. By digging a bit into the circumstances surrounding the development of this new art form, we can glean some very interesting insights into our culture and where it may be headed. **Meta-Irony** is the consummation of **Post-Modernism**, the **Deconstructive** impulse taken as far as it can go. The result, as we have seen, is absurdity. And if you are inclined to accept the **Post-Modern** premise that there is no objective truth and that life is, indeed, absurd, then perhaps you are satisfied with that.

But there are signs that not everyone is similarly satisfied. **Post-Irony** represents a rejection of this **Post-Modern deconstruction** and asserts that there are some things worth being **sincere** about, even if one must first coat this **sincerity** in a layer of **irony** to truly engage with it.

Perhaps, then, the emergence of **Post-Irony** is an indication that our society is moving past **Post-Modernism** into something new. What that "something" may be is anyone's guess.

<p align="center"> <img width="750" height="350" src="https://i.imgur.com/6R4edLJ.png"> </p>

The so-called **Post-Post-Modernist** movement has no clear unified vision for the future; it is united only in its assertion that **Post-Modernism** is a dead end. Some would prefer a return to **Pre-Modernism**, others to **Modernism**, still others to something entirely new. But one thing is clear: the **Post-Modern** assumptions our society has come to take for granted are being challenged. It remains to be seen whether they will survive that challenge and, if not, what will replace them.

Additional Materials:

* **[Identifying Ironies Test](/jUik4usRQFev2PwxEbU8ug)**
* **[Appendix A: Additional Examples of Meta- and Post-Irony](/5qxsH9XYQqWcO_IwX9kpNQ)**
* **[Appendix B: Further Reading and Viewing](/FkOE60i3Q2C8VKaYGEpP2w)**