Whimsy and Cynicism
Here’s a Medium Unified Theory about various works of art I like. That’s "Medium" as opposed to "Grand" – it unifies a bunch of things I like but far from all of them.
(Here I am, as an aside, typing in a coffeeshop and drowning out their uninteresting stereo soundtrack with the original cast recording of Merrily We Roll Along on my laptop. Hooray headphones. This musical keeps elbowing its way into a perpetual soundtrack role in my life: see also March, April, half of May, most of July, parts of August. It lost some ground while I had the Green Car because the CD player in there didn’t like my bootleg copy of it. I haven't been listening to something this obsessively since Honegger's "Joan of Arc at the Stake," back in the summer of '03. I stand by my odd musical tastes.)
Anyway, Whimsy and Cynicism. A good chunk of what I like artwise, writing-wise, movie-wise, or music-wise seems to combine these two elements. Moreover, the kind of enjoyment I get out of Whimsical-Cynical art seems to resonate with unusual sympathy to some part of my personality.
A definition of terms, or rather what exactly I mean by them here. Cynicism, I guess I’d put it, is a belief that the world in general (or your little world in particular) is frighteningly neutral to good or bad events. Note that this isn’t quite the same as "even if things are good where you are, they’re awful elsewhere and therefore things in general are awful." Things aren’t always awful; there’s always just a potential for things to go bad, wherever you are, and you can’t escape it, transcend it, or be whisked away from it by some benevolent deity.
Shorter cynicism: pessimistic, unhappy undertow.
Whimsy I guess pertains more specifically to creative products: a condition of lightheartedness, good-natured flippancy, and willingness to be unselfconsciously goofy or odd in the service of being entertaining. Note that this isn’t the same as just taking on a cute or innocent aspect: it has to be effortless and uncommercial. Inauthentic whimsy is awful stuff, manipulative, cloying; it's like corn syrup.
Shorter whimsy: unselfconscious lightness.
So, Whimsy and Cynicism together: not an obvious combination, but they don’t undermine each other or cancel out. In fact, it’s an incredibly satisfying mixture, as Whimsy replaces the dour irony that usually affixes to Cynicism, and Cynicism strips out the preciousness that often comes along with Whimsy.
George Saunders, whom we were just talking about, hits a Whimsy-Cynicism sweet spot, I think. The whimsy gives his stories an imaginative poof, and it keeps the satire from being too abrasive. David Sedaris knows how to draw from both wells, too.
"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" and any number of other Beatles songs cut their whimsy with a small but potent dose of cynicism. The first movement of Shostakovich’s Fifteenth Symphony is bitter cynicism and toyshop whimsy codependent; the last movement of Sibelius’s Fourth is dreamy whimsy with a kind of weary cynicism dragging it down.
Most of the tunes in Merrily We Roll Along are basically whimsical (unselfconscious, peppy) with cynicism leaching out just enough brightness to keep it constantly addictive.
"Little Miss Sunshine" is pretty clearly a Whimsical-Cynical movie; I’d even say something like Dr. Strangelove fits into the category, with more-whimsical-than-usual satire. Arrested Development blends enough Whimsical Cynicism into its Sitcom Cynicism to stand out from your usual TV series. The Muppet Show was fantastically whimsical, with a flavorful dash of cynicism.
Peanuts comic strips are a self-evident case.
Art is less direct since the content is more abstract, but I’d argue that Miro paintings are a kind of Whimsical-Cynical, with those perky cartoonish figures carrying a subtly disturbing surrealist kick. Maybe Calder mobiles too, in their own quiet way. Paul Klee, maybe – he draws out some kind of darker expressionism through humorous surfaces, but I don’t think it’s pessimistic enough to really be called cynical.
Anyway, that’s my Medium Unified Theory. Use it responsibly.
(Here I am, as an aside, typing in a coffeeshop and drowning out their uninteresting stereo soundtrack with the original cast recording of Merrily We Roll Along on my laptop. Hooray headphones. This musical keeps elbowing its way into a perpetual soundtrack role in my life: see also March, April, half of May, most of July, parts of August. It lost some ground while I had the Green Car because the CD player in there didn’t like my bootleg copy of it. I haven't been listening to something this obsessively since Honegger's "Joan of Arc at the Stake," back in the summer of '03. I stand by my odd musical tastes.)
Anyway, Whimsy and Cynicism. A good chunk of what I like artwise, writing-wise, movie-wise, or music-wise seems to combine these two elements. Moreover, the kind of enjoyment I get out of Whimsical-Cynical art seems to resonate with unusual sympathy to some part of my personality.
A definition of terms, or rather what exactly I mean by them here. Cynicism, I guess I’d put it, is a belief that the world in general (or your little world in particular) is frighteningly neutral to good or bad events. Note that this isn’t quite the same as "even if things are good where you are, they’re awful elsewhere and therefore things in general are awful." Things aren’t always awful; there’s always just a potential for things to go bad, wherever you are, and you can’t escape it, transcend it, or be whisked away from it by some benevolent deity.
Shorter cynicism: pessimistic, unhappy undertow.
Whimsy I guess pertains more specifically to creative products: a condition of lightheartedness, good-natured flippancy, and willingness to be unselfconsciously goofy or odd in the service of being entertaining. Note that this isn’t the same as just taking on a cute or innocent aspect: it has to be effortless and uncommercial. Inauthentic whimsy is awful stuff, manipulative, cloying; it's like corn syrup.
Shorter whimsy: unselfconscious lightness.
So, Whimsy and Cynicism together: not an obvious combination, but they don’t undermine each other or cancel out. In fact, it’s an incredibly satisfying mixture, as Whimsy replaces the dour irony that usually affixes to Cynicism, and Cynicism strips out the preciousness that often comes along with Whimsy.
George Saunders, whom we were just talking about, hits a Whimsy-Cynicism sweet spot, I think. The whimsy gives his stories an imaginative poof, and it keeps the satire from being too abrasive. David Sedaris knows how to draw from both wells, too.
"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" and any number of other Beatles songs cut their whimsy with a small but potent dose of cynicism. The first movement of Shostakovich’s Fifteenth Symphony is bitter cynicism and toyshop whimsy codependent; the last movement of Sibelius’s Fourth is dreamy whimsy with a kind of weary cynicism dragging it down.
Most of the tunes in Merrily We Roll Along are basically whimsical (unselfconscious, peppy) with cynicism leaching out just enough brightness to keep it constantly addictive.
"Little Miss Sunshine" is pretty clearly a Whimsical-Cynical movie; I’d even say something like Dr. Strangelove fits into the category, with more-whimsical-than-usual satire. Arrested Development blends enough Whimsical Cynicism into its Sitcom Cynicism to stand out from your usual TV series. The Muppet Show was fantastically whimsical, with a flavorful dash of cynicism.
Peanuts comic strips are a self-evident case.
Art is less direct since the content is more abstract, but I’d argue that Miro paintings are a kind of Whimsical-Cynical, with those perky cartoonish figures carrying a subtly disturbing surrealist kick. Maybe Calder mobiles too, in their own quiet way. Paul Klee, maybe – he draws out some kind of darker expressionism through humorous surfaces, but I don’t think it’s pessimistic enough to really be called cynical.
Anyway, that’s my Medium Unified Theory. Use it responsibly.
1 Comments:
Before I even got to your mention of Paul Klee, I had thought to my self "Paul Klee fits this bill!" But maybe you don't completely think so - I think you could find some cynicism in his use of hieroglyphic-looking lines that don't actually have a grammar or syntax (or I dunno, maybe they just look hieroglyphics to me...)
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