post-ironic
Irony come full-circle
Post-ironic describes a stance that moves through irony and out the other side, arriving at sincerity.
Where irony maintains detachment and mocks earnestness, post-ironic expression embraces genuine feeling while remaining aware of how uncool that might seem.
Someone who post-ironically loves a cheesy pop song actually loves it—not as a joke, but having passed through the joke to real affection: He started wearing the Hawaiian shirt ironically, but now it's post-ironic—he genuinely thinks he looks good.
Imitative artistic tribute
- bricolageConstruction from available materials
- remix cultureTransforming existing media creatively
- détournementSubversive recontextualization of media
- recuperationGradual return to health
simulacra · hyperreality · intertextuality · appropriation · sampling · quotation marks · scare quotes · air quotes
Ironic eighties nostalgia genre
- cottagecoreRural domesticity aesthetic
- normcoreIntentionally ordinary dressing
- dark academiaAesthetic romanticizing scholarly Gothic elegance
- tweeAffectedly dainty or quaint
hyperpop · lo-fi · glitchcore · retro futurism · liminal spaces · dreamcore · weirdcore
Expressionless, especially for humor
- absurdistBeliever in cosmic meaninglessness
- shitpostingDeliberate online absurdity
- wholesome memesPositive viral image humor
- dankDisagreeably cold and wet
cringe · based · unhinged · cursed · blessed · blursed · Eric Andre
Self-aware or transcendent
- fourth-wallConceptual stage boundary
- lampshadingAcknowledging a flaw deliberately
- genre-savvyAware of narrative patterns
- self-referentialAlluding to itself
winking · knowing · reflexive · self-conscious · acknowledgment · deliberate · intentional · calculated
pastiche
Imitative artistic tribute
- bricolageConstruction from available materials
- remix cultureTransforming existing media creatively
- détournementSubversive recontextualization of media
recuperation · simulacra · hyperreality · intertextuality · appropriation · sampling · quotation marks · scare quotes · air quotes · derivative
vaporwave
Ironic eighties nostalgia genre
- cottagecoreRural domesticity aesthetic
- normcoreIntentionally ordinary dressing
- dark academiaAesthetic romanticizing scholarly Gothic elegance
twee · hyperpop · lo-fi · glitchcore · retro futurism · liminal spaces · dreamcore · weirdcore
deadpan
Expressionless, especially for humor
- absurdistBeliever in cosmic meaninglessness
- shitpostingDeliberate online absurdity
- wholesome memesPositive viral image humor
dank · cringe · based · unhinged · cursed · blessed · blursed · Eric Andre
oscillation
Repeated back-and-forth movement
- post-truthFeelings trump facts
meta
Self-aware or transcendent
- fourth-wallConceptual stage boundary
- lampshadingAcknowledging a flaw deliberately
- genre-savvyAware of narrative patterns
self-referential · winking · knowing · reflexive · self-conscious · acknowledgment · deliberate · intentional · calculated · performed
post-ironicunaware
Lacking knowledge of something
innocent · naive · unselfconscious · unironically · straight
post-ironicguarded
Wary and restrained
aloof · blasé · disengaged · disaffected · cool