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“That is so meta” and “how ironic”

My husband and I will drive around aimlessly and have debates about random topics. We are weird. A conversation about the definition of words came up. The word sociopath and psychopath materialized. My husband said that the word is overused and people casually use it such as‚ “that guy is a complete psychopath.” I have a strong will and I inserted my two cents. I think it means‚ “a psychopath is a killer or somebody who goes on a rampage and murders people.” I also determined it is the character in American Psycho who is a narcissist and a serial killer.  By someone saying a guy they do not like at their work is a psychopath is farfetched if you look at it from my definition. To me words can be misconstrued and people can use them in different ways. Also‚ do they know what the word means before they say it to describe a person. I obviously did not and had to look the word up in the dictionary. I got the definiton from all the crime movies and true life documentaries I have watched. This is hard for me because I want everything to be in black and white. I want one definition for the word and it has to mean that across the board. I am always thinking of new topics to blog about and I ask my husband on occasion to give me a few examples. Sometimes I do not like the answers he gives. I usually roll my eyes and do the topic that I had in my back pocket. For some reason I took the bate of looking up the meaning of two words that he decided on. Meta and Ironic.

First off I have never heard of the word meta. Only metaphysics and I have never studied physics or even remotely wanted to. Math in college for me was a panic attack everyday. Why would I want to look up metaphysics and secondly do a blog post on the word meta if that is the only reference I have ever had to the word. I was pleasantly surprised. Meta can in fact have multiple meanings. Meta came up in google as “(of a creative work) referring to itself or to the conventions of its genre; self-referential.” One‚ I did not know what self referential meant. You caught me red handed. I typed it in and the definition that came up was “making reference to itself or oneself.” Again‚ I was confused and searched for more answers.  Then I looked it up in urban dictionary because I need examples in a sentence for me to understand. “So I just saw this film about these people making a movie‚ and the movie they were making was about the film industry…”

“Dude‚ that’s so meta. Stop before my brain explodes.” What I have gathered is if I am writing about writing that is meta. When I typed what does meta mean it took me to Reddit. Everybody had a different answer for what meta is. Then I saw that some movies can be meta such as Inception.One person wrote the movie is a dream within a dream.” Then another person shared‚ “So actually‚ it’s not really ‘like those inception stuff’. Inception is an idea of recursion‚ of things or ideas repeating through itself‚ which isn’t necessarily meta. I don’t know why this bothers me so much‚ but since that movie everyone has just been going on and putting -ception after everything where it doesn’t really fit.” My mind was blown after this because meta can mean multiple things and people argue about if a movie is meta or not. Again‚ coming back to the chat in the car with my husband. I can see how people get confused on how to use certain words. Especially when this word meta came from metaphysics and now can be used in slang as “that is so meta dude.” Or there is meta story‚ meta data‚ meta gaming‚ meta movies‚ and the list goes on.

I typed in the word ironic and where it originated from. Wikipedia popped up. It said‚ “  Irony (from Ancient Greek εἰρωνεία (eirōneía)‚ meaning “dissimulation‚ feigned ignorance”[1])‚ in its broadest sense‚ is a rhetorical device‚ literary technique‚ or event in which what appears‚ on the surface‚ to be the case‚ differs radically from what is actually the case. Irony May be divided into categories such as verbal‚ dramatic‚ and situational.” To me irony means when someone makes a bad joke and it is not funny. Then‚ a person would say‚ “look at this guy‚ he thinks he is a comedian.” It is the opposite of what the person is. Which is not funny. when I typed in the definition in google it came up with using or characterized by irony. It has synonyms such as sarcastic‚ sardonic‚ cynical‚ mocking‚ caustic‚ and wry. To me it seems ironic is the same thing as being a smart ass. That is how a lot of jokes are. For example‚ “ look at this guy‚ he thinks he is the hulk.” It is a tiny man dressed in tight workout gear trying to pick up a dumbbell that is bigger then his head. Alanis Morissette got criticized for her song “Ironic” because critics said a mass of the verses in the song where coincidental and not ironic. Such as the lyric‚ “It’s like rain on your wedding day.” Which to me isn’t ironic either but I can see how people can get words confused such as meta and ironic. Especially if they do not know what they mean. I love words and learning the meaning of them. I don’t want to be the friend who annoys somebody because I say that is “so ironic” all the time‚ doesn’t understand what it means‚ and in return people crazy with it.

I have come to the realization that words are not in black and white. The word meta has changed over the years and now has become a term used in movies or slang such as “that is so meta dude.” I am not going to lie. It frustrates me because I want one answer. If you think about it that is not life. There is never just one answer. Or the answers change over the years or evolve into something new. I just have to roll with the punches and try and use words correctly. I will be ok. I am not going to lose sleep over it. 

Have you heard of the word meta? Do you think words are overused and people can misconstrue them?

The pictures are not mine and I found them on the internet.