Daily Article

Contemporary Fiction. Fri, Apr 18th, 2008 at 1:10 am

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Just one today. 

Scott Tobias of The Onion AV Club reviews Harold and Maude—thirty years after it came out.  This statement caught my eye, and inspired me to share the article:

As I said, the film is the birth of modern indie quirk, full of elements and attitudes that have become cliché: Heroes who are more whimsical conceits than real-life, flesh-and-blood creations; an offbeat and slightly twee pop soundtrack (here by Cat Stevens); authority figures painted as stiff, clueless, and completely devoid of humanity; and some vague leftist political references thrown in for good measure…. For me, the litmus test for quirkfests is whether there’s some genuine insight and depth of feeling behind all that willful eccentricity.

An interesting point, which begs the question: Why quirkiness?  I love Wes Anderson’s films very much, listen to Devendra Banhart, Johanna Newsome, Vetiver, read Salinger and Chip Kidd [everything’s connected], but why?  Why not jocularity?  Why not stoicism? 

What do you all think of this “quirkiness”?  Did it arise out of the post-Vietnam era only to become apropos again, thirty years later?  Is it true, as the author alludes, that we cannot find this type of sincerity anymore?

[Note the author says “twee,” then three of the responders follow.  Stickiness, anyone?]

One Response to “Daily Article”

  1. Okie says:
    April 19, 2008 at 6:10 pm

    I can see a link between “quirkiness” and satire. Take Vonnegut’s Breakfast of Champions: do his drawings serve a purpose in his satire? I think so.

    I also think that if you remove underlying meanings to his humor, quirkiness is all that remains.

    Also: quirkiness is more subtle than other forms of humor. It can be more intelligent like wit, and it also can be a wee bit elitist, or at least cliquish — which allows us to laugh at the world with our friends.

    Throwin’ some ideas out there.