meta-commentary
Art about art
Meta-commentary is commentary about commentary itself—remarks that step back from the subject to discuss how it's being discussed.
A film critic might offer meta-commentary on the state of film criticism.
In conversation, That's a lot of meta-commentary for a Monday morning acknowledges that the discussion has drifted from substance to process.
The prefix meta- signals this self-referential quality.
Alluding to itself
- authorial intrusionWriter commenting within narrative
- narrative voiceWho speaks the story
- fourth wallInvisible stage-audience barrier
- unreliable narratorStoryteller whose credibility wavers
postmodern · footnotes · Nabokov · Borges · digression · aside · framing device · metafiction
Conscious of own existence
- ironicExpressing contrary meaning
- tongue-in-cheekHumorously not meant literally
- winkingBrief one-eyed closure
- lampshadingAcknowledging a flaw deliberately
acknowledging · calling out · observational · deadpan · breaking character · aside · snark · satirical
Methodical study of parts
- interpretationAssigned meaning
- critiqueDetailed evaluative analysis
- subtextImplicit meaning beneath words
- deconstructionAnalysis exposing self-contradiction
reading · examination · reflection · observation · Derrida · hermeneutics · close reading · annotation
Hidden from public view
- director's cutFilmmaker's intended version
- making-ofBehind-the-scenes production documentary
- voice-overOff-screen spoken commentary
- annotationsExplanatory additions to documents
reaction video · film analysis · breakdown · deconstruction · Easter eggs · deleted scenes · outtakes · showrunner
Work valuing notion over form
- appropriationUnauthorized claiming or allocation
- BanksyAnonymous political street artist
- installationProcess of putting in
- performance artEmbodied creative expression
Duchamp · Warhol · self-portrait · artist statement · retrospective · documentation · reflexive · intentionality
self-referential
Alluding to itself
- authorial intrusionWriter commenting within narrative
- narrative voiceWho speaks the story
- fourth wallInvisible stage-audience barrier
unreliable narrator · postmodern · footnotes · Nabokov · Borges · digression · aside · framing device · metafiction · self-conscious
self-aware
Conscious of own existence
- ironicExpressing contrary meaning
- tongue-in-cheekHumorously not meant literally
- winkingBrief one-eyed closure
lampshading · acknowledging · calling out · observational · deadpan · breaking character · aside · snark · satirical · self-deprecating
analysis
Methodical study of parts
- interpretationAssigned meaning
- critiqueDetailed evaluative analysis
- subtextImplicit meaning beneath words
deconstruction · reading · examination · reflection · observation · Derrida · hermeneutics · close reading · annotation · exegesis
behind-the-scenes
Hidden from public view
- director's cutFilmmaker's intended version
- making-ofBehind-the-scenes production documentary
- voice-overOff-screen spoken commentary
annotations · reaction video · film analysis · breakdown · deconstruction · Easter eggs · deleted scenes · outtakes · showrunner · post-credits
conceptual art
Work valuing notion over form
- appropriationUnauthorized claiming or allocation
- BanksyAnonymous political street artist
- installationProcess of putting in
Duchamp · performance art · Warhol · self-portrait · artist statement · retrospective · documentation · reflexive · intentionality · Magritte
- Self-referenceself-reference, self-referential, recursion, recursive, infinite regress
meta, commentary, comment, comments, commented, commenting, commenter, commenters, commentate