# Post-Irony

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

[TOC]

## Post-Irony Defined
Like **[Meta-Irony](/CiYW-9KJQNOvIXv_HbnVlg)**, **Post-Irony** is an attempt to answer two questions:
* How can one be **subversive** in an age when **traditional irony** is the norm?
* What remains when **deconstruction** is, itself, **deconstructed?**

**Meta-Irony** answered these questions as follows, respectively:
* By rejecting the notion of having any **sincere** message whatsoever.
* Lol nothing (total agnosticism).

But **Post-Irony,** while it addresses the same questions, poses very different answers:
* In an age of **traditional irony,** one can be **subversive** by *actually being **sincere***, and thereby defying the expectations of **traditional irony**
* Once **deconstruction** has been **deconstructed,** then the **deconstructive** impulse need not weigh on people any further; **sincerity** can return.

This is **Post-Irony**: a form of irony that **subverts** the expectation that **traditional irony** will be used by *actually conveying* an original **sincere** point that **traditional irony** has previously **subverted**. It accomplishes this by using language or situations that *appear* to be **traditionally ironic**, thereby setting the expectation that the **sincere** object of this language or situation is going to be mocked, but then proceeds to **subvert** that expectation by actually conveying the original **sincere** thing, whatever it happens to be.

Consider the following example by [the artist Sharpwriter on Deviantart.com](https://www.deviantart.com/sharpwriter/gallery):


This image is not simply **sincere**. Obviously, it portrays Abraham Lincoln in a situation well removed from anything that ever happened in reality. It *appears* to be using the mocking, over-the-top sort of exaggeration that is typical of **traditional irony**, such as in [*Tensions Mount*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8nrdiQqFAs&t) or [*Charlie the Unicorn*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsGYh8AacgY).

***However***, this image does have a **sincere message**, and that message is *not simply the opposite of the message the image appears to be conveying*.

This is important: **traditional irony** contains a **sincere message**, but that **sincere message** is the opposite of the message the **traditional irony** appears to have on a surface level. On a surface level, the message of [*Tensions Mount*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8nrdiQqFAs) seems to be that North Korea actually nuked all of Asia, and this should be taken as a source of mild concern. The true, **sincere** message of [*Tensions Mount*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8nrdiQqFAs) is the opposite of this: people ought to take the threats of aggressive nations much *more* seriously, even when the damage they threaten to do is far *less* than the murder of 4 billion people.

But here, in the above image of Honest Abe, the **sincere** message seems to be: "Abraham Lincoln was a kick-ass dude." And this is not the *opposite* of the message that the image *appears* to be parodying with the over-the-top image of Abraham Lincoln riding a grizzly bear and wielding a modern assault rifle; ***it is the same message***. The image looks, at first glance, as though its intention is to parody the idea that Abraham Lincoln was a kick-ass dude, but in reality that is precisely the **sincere** message it intends to convey. This image ***parodies its own sincere message, but sticks to it***.

### Self-Parody and the Rise of "Based"

**Post-Irony** accepts the fact that everything sincere *will* inevitably be mocked, and embraces it. By ***mocking its own sincere point***, yet sticking to it, it defangs **deconstruction** and **subverts** the expectation of **traditional irony**.

<p align="center"> <img width="450" height="450" src="https://i.imgur.com/hUekQfV.png"> </p>

*(Courtesy of r/Libertarianmemes---this meme parodies the Libertarian tendency to prefer freedom over all else by portraying "Dangerous Liberty" as crack cocaine, but it was posted by a Libertarian on a Libertarian subreddit. It is therefore a self-parody and **Post-Ironic**)*

One may reasonably ask: why use **Post-Irony** to convey a **sincere** point when one could just convey the **sincere** point? But the answer in the internet age is fairly obvious: mere **sincerity** is very often not a viable way of transmitting **sincere** messages. Indeed, [the most likely response of the internet to **sincerity** is to label it **cringe** and disregard it.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-81BSn9qPXA)

**Post-Irony** knows this, and is not afraid of being labeled **cringe.**

<p align="center"> <img width="600" height="325" src="https://i.imgur.com/IgbiA0M_d.jpg?maxwidth=520&shape=thumb&fidelity=high"> </p>

The rise of the term **based** as an antonym to **cringe** on the internet is heavily related to **Post-Irony.** When one says something **"based,"** one is saying something one knows full well will be criticized and **deconstructed,** and yet says what it **sincerely** has to say.

<p align="center"> <img width="600" height="325" src="https://i.imgur.com/4mybSUC_d.jpg?maxwidth=520&shape=thumb&fidelity=high"> </p>

**Post-Irony,** then, is an attempt to convey **sincerity** in a world that will not accept **sincerity** on its own terms. Even if one is not particularly worried about being labeled **cringe** or having one's beliefs **deconstructed,** it is a simple truth that the internet is highly unlikely to truly engage with a simply **sincere** message. If one merely says ones **sincere** beliefs, without any **irony** in the way one presents one's message, that message is very unlikely to be recieved.

But if one coats one's **sincere** beliefs in a layer of **irony**--thereby communicating in the language of the day--then one is far less likely to have one's ideas dismissed out-of-hand as **cringe.** Then maybe, just maybe, those whose first instinct is to **deconstruct** using **traditional irony** will actually be able to hear and engage with the **sincere** ideas that the **Post-Irony** is attempting to convey.

<p align="center"> <img width="500" height="600" src="https://i.imgur.com/Q1DNOYE.png"> </p>

*Gregory "Jreg" Guevara, B.A. in Post-Truth and PhD in Mental Illness (Not really though)*

## Post-Irony as Humor

Of course, as with **Meta-Irony**, one should not over-intellectualize every meme. Very often, the purpose of **Post-Irony** may simply be to be funny. After all, like **Meta-Irony,** **Post-Irony** is a new way to tell jokes in a time when **traditionally ironic** jokes have grown stale.

<p align="center"> <img width="500" height="500" src="https://i.imgur.com/PmrG7Ij_d.jpg?maxwidth=520&shape=thumb&fidelity=high"> </p>

However, even when **Post-Irony** is being used for humor, it still conveys *some* actual message or point. And indeed, these **sincere** points can even be rather heartfelt.

<p align="center"> <img width="500" height="400" src="https://i.imgur.com/i5GwK4S_d.jpg?maxwidth=520&shape=thumb&fidelity=high"> </p>

There are even cases in which **Post-Irony** is used to **subvert traditional irony** in a very literal sense: by actually taking a **traditionally ironic** meme or image and changing it so that it conveys a new **sincere** message.

<p align="center"> <img width="700" height="400" src="https://i.imgur.com/G2GEUPD.jpg"> </p>

The original, **[traditionally ironic](/jsglmXe9SvKVl4f2HI7JJA)** version of this meme had a **sincere** message that there is not actually any real difference between "us" and "them." But this **subversion** of that original meme rejects that message and asserts that, in fact, there *is* something different between the two sides. "Our" side actually *is* **based,** and wholesome, and epic compared to the **cringe,** and soy, and basic "them."

Whatever one thinks of this message conveyed by this new, **Post-Ironic** meme, it *is* **sincere,** and unlike the **traditionally ironic** version of the meme that preceeded it, its **sincere** message *is*, in fact, precisely the same as the message the meme *appears* to have--although, by using **ironic** internet terms like **based** and **cringe** and by using comically exaggerated charicatures to prove its point, it coats this **sincere** message in a layer of irony.

## Post-Irony as Deflection

There is a darker side to using **Post-Irony** in this way, which is that one can use it as a deflection from a genuinely evil argument that one is trying to make.

By coating one's **sincere** beliefs with a layer of irony, one can convey one's **sincere** belief in a way that is less likely to trigger a negative, **deconstructive** response because the **Post-Irony** gives the **sincere** belief an appearance of **self-deconstruction**. But this effect is true even when the **sincere** point is genuinely abhorrent, and worthy of the **deconstructive** scrutiny that it would ordinarily recieve.

For example, saying “Hitler was low-key kinda **based”** is less likely to trigger a negative response than saying “Hitler did nothing wrong,” but the **sincere** point in either case still an evil one. And **Post-Irony** is used this way in some social circles, particularly online. In these cases, the **Post-Irony** serves not only to make the **sincere** beliefs more palatable, but also to give those employing **Post-Irony** an out if they ever *were* held to account for their beliefs. If that were to happen, the person using **Post-Irony** could simply *claim* that they had actually been using **traditional irony,** and that their **sincere** point was, in fact, the opposite of what it appeared to be.


**Post-Irony** may also be used in this way--as a deflection from what one really believes, just in case that belief is ever recieved poorly--in cases where one simply lacks confidence in one's own **sincere** beliefs, even when those beliefs do not include anything so obviously evil as support for Hitler. Because the internet is not only a **deconstructive** place but also one in which the rules about what is considered acceptable are ever-changing and almost always vague, people may decide to test the waters by using **Post-Irony** to convey their beliefs, and then to gauge the reaction. If the reaction is negative and critical, the person has the excuse that he was simply being **traditionally ironic**--indeed, he may even convince himself that this is true.

## Post-Irony as Reconstruction

However, **Post-Irony** can also come from a place of confidence in a belief that is not evil. Philosophically, **Post-Irony** may also reflect a rejection of **Post-Modernism.** Some who use **Post-Irony** do so because they believe that **Post-Modern Deconstructionism** is a dead end, and they wish to turn back towards **sincere** belief in something--to try to build, instead of tearing down.

**Traditional irony** reflected the **Post-Modern deconstructive** impulse. **Meta-Irony** took this impulse to its extreme: the **deconstruction** of **deconstruction** itself. But **Post-Irony** rejects both. **Post-Irony** attempts to **reconstruct** belief in something sincere. To put it another way: ***Post-Irony** is the return to **sincerity** through **irony.***

<p align="center"> <img width="690" height="450" src="https://i.imgur.com/wX05Asx.png"> </p>

This does not mean that **Post-Irony** is unchanged by its journey through **irony** to return to **sincerity.** **Post-Irony** and simple **sincerity** are different things. But while it is not the same thing as mere **sincerity**, **Post-Irony** *does* posit that there are **sincere** things worth engaging with, a rejection of the **Post-Modern**, **deconstructive** impulse. For this reason, **Post-Irony** is sometimes seen as associated with the **Post-Post-Modernist** movement, which rejects **Post-Modernism** as a dead-end philosophy and seeks to build something new.

I will discuss the **Post-Post Modernist** movement, and where we may be headed from here, in the conclusion.

Next Chapter: **[Conclusion](/8e9z08sPS6q1Sm_arCKdbw)**