Pet Peeves

[D'Snowth]

Well, since this thread's been randomly bumped, here's a pet peeve of mine that's rooted in a growing mangling of terminology in today's vocabulary, and I've mentioned this before in other threads:

When a work of fiction - particular TV shows - is described as "family" entertainment, because the work is about a family. That's not accurate at all, but it goes to show you how mindsets have shifted among the entertainment industry and society in recent years. To say many of today's show like THE SIMPSONS, FAMILY GUY, MODERN FAMILY, and others are "family" shows is almost an out-and-out lie, because it's far from the truth. Shows about families are not necessarilty "family shows": family shows are shows that are suitable and acceptable for families to watch, meaning the show is free of questionable content that children as well as adults can watch as families, which the above mentioned show aren't. There actually is a term for shows about families, care of TV Tropes; such shows are called "domestic comedies", or "domcoms" for short. That's a lot more accurate and less misleading as well.

It's similar to how when I and other GenYers were kids, "DTV" refered to those Disney specials that were modeled after MTV, which set clips from classic Disney shorts and features to popular songs of previous decades, but now "DTV" refers to direct-to-video movies, which used to be called just that: direct-to-video, but we as a culture are so lazy that we always have to abbreviate any excessive verbiage that we can because we don't want to have to say complete terms.

Which also brings me to how so many negative terms are now being turned into positive terms. I think that started with Sarah Palin turning the term "rogue" into something positive to make herself look like a better and more free-thinking and indepedent person... but now, also, like the term "twerking" used to be a derogatory and somewhat racist term that refered to white girls trying to dance like black girls, but since Miley Cyrus has made twerking positive, the term twerking is now also positive. Similarly, "hack" used to refer to the act of someone illegally infiltrating/intercepting your computer and basically running havock on your hard-drive, but now it refers to little everyday fixes and tricks that help make your life easier.

It gets confusing, and it doesn't help our particular culture out at all: they say English is the hardest language in the world to learn, well no wonder - we keep inventing new words and changing meanings or old words, no wonder people never know what we';re talimgabnotu.

 

[Drtooth]

Family Guy of course uses the term satirically as the show was originally a parody of 1980's family sitcom sappiness with shades of All in the Family. Like some weird cross between Growing Pains and that series with Peter being part Archie, part overly sensitive sitcom dad. And the two weren't meant to mesh well, leading to hilarious broken parody aesops. Then the second cancellation came and the resurgence and then they just slowly started to pander to the adult swim crowd, then they recently started tackling issues they used to make fun of seriously.... it's a mess. Side note... oh NOW you do the episode where Quagmire gets convicted of Statutory. And somehow you make it more despicable than when it was played for laughs. Talk about Pet Peeves. BAD Cerberus syndrome has to be one of them, though that's the only example I can think of.

Meanwhile, The Simpsons was originally a mix between Matt's Life in [Heck] comics, 1950's sitcom families, and his own. Where as Modern Family is about just that. I wouldn't say it's not a family sitcom, just one that the younger viewers shouldn't be a part of.

Which brings me to my pet peeve... those terrible family sitcoms from the early to mid 00's. Talk about something kids shouldn't watch. I'd be aghast if anyone grew up with the notion that those were funny. Especially According to Jim, which comes off very homophobic in hindsight. The effeminate fat guy who likes things besides sports that's the buttmonkey of the show. Yeah.

 

[C to the J]

I couldn't agree with D'Snowth more. The English language is being ruined and we hardly realize it. And you know what I'm vexed about? A certain word is seldom used to describe someone who is cheery, upbeat, and in a good mood - nowadays it's being used to refer to someone who is, how you say, not attracted to the opposite sex. Isn't there a better, more suitable, and more politically correct word to fit the latter definition without making another word obsolete as a positive word? I mean, when people hear certain verses in songs from the '40s and other famous songs, including Deck the Halls and The Flintstones theme, does joyfulness come to mind? For people who watch TV-14-rated shows and not family-friendly content, probably not. They probably have never heard of words like "gaily" and "gaiety," both of which, fortunately, refer to joyfulness and are not perverted.

I just hope to high heavens future writers in the entertainment industry will think twice before depraving our country and fouling up our vocabulary.

 

[CensoredAlso]

Honestly, I think gay (as in happy) would have gone the way of the Dodo anyway, the same way we largely left behind "swell," "golly," and "keen." I'm not going to say we're more cynical now, because cynicism isn't a new invention. But I will say we're more, hmm, self conscious now. It's somehow considered embarrassing to have unabandoned joy, lol.

I mean, when people hear certain verses in songs from the '40s and other famous songs, including Deck the Halls and The Flintstones theme, does joyfulness come to mind?

Have you ever seen the Monkees Christmas episode, back in 1967? The Monkees are singing Deck the Halls, and when they get to the line you're referencing, they jokingly make a very telling gesture, lol. Then there's Cary Grant's ab lib in Bringing Up Baby in 1938. This is not a new phenomenon.

 

[Drtooth]

Yeah. I cannot hear the word "swell" and not think of the "Hello, my name is Drew Pickles" videos.

 

[Dominicboo1]

Gee, got an hour?

1. Bigots. Of any kind...
2. Moral Guardians who say just because something has sex, or violence, or swearing mean it must be banned! Because, apparently, taking personal responsibility and just not watching such things is out of the question...
3. People who use poor grammar (yeah, that annoyance works both ways. I'm one of those "snobby grammarphiles." Deal with it ).
4. (The next few will be geeks/fans/fandoms who give geeks/fans/fandoms a bad name): Rabid fans who jump down your throat if you dislike or criticize (no, those are NOT one and the same) the object of their fandom.
5. Rabid haters who foam at the mouth at any mention of the object of their hatedom (I see a lot of brony-haters who do this).
6. Draco in Leather Pants fans (not just fan-girls, because I've seen male fans do this, too, and female characters get this treatment). Just because you find a villain hot or intriguing doesn't make them a good/sympathetic character.
7. Ron the Death Eater haters. Conversely, just because you dislike a character doesn't make them evil (and I've noticed that quite a few people who partake in this also partake in #6, which does smack of hypocrisy).
8. Opinion myopia. People need to get over the mindset that everyone in the world is obligated to agree with them about movies, TV shows, books, and media in general.
9. The word "hipster" used as an insult. It's really getting old, and it's often just a word used to snark-shame people for having opinions that aren't popular (yeah, how dare they? What do they think, this is a free country or something?). And the thing is, the word never used to be an insult. Yeah, as you can see, people jumping down other people's throats for their opinions really bugs me.
10. Having wet pants. Happens a lot in the winter...
11. People who drive like idiots. No, that's not the right phrasing....it's more...people who drive like the world is all about them.

The only Dracos I don't mind are ones that eventually redeem themselves (Luke Castellan for example), but I HATE ALL Ron the Death Eaters. I stop reading at that point....

 

[charlietheowl]

Language evolves over time and words gain different meaning, it's just a natural thing. The word "awful" used to mean something that inspired awe, now it means something terrible or unpleasant. So there's nothing wrong or unprecedented with gay having a different meaning now as opposed to in 1906.

The changing of word meanings is good for language, it keeps it evolving and allows the people who speak it to take ownership of it. Language should be continually changing as the years go by, it's not a locked-in system where everything has to stay the same.

 

[Dominicboo1]

Language evolves over time and words gain different meaning, it's just a natural thing. The word "awful" used to mean something that inspired awe, now it means something terrible or unpleasant. So there's nothing wrong or unprecedented with gay having a different meaning now as opposed to in 1906.

The changing of word meanings is good for language, it keeps it evolving and allows the people who speak it to take ownership of it. Language should be continually changing as the years go by, it's not a locked-in system where everything has to stay the same.

Besides "gay" in itself isn't a perverted term. It just is TREATED as such, so that's why it's seen so negatively.

 

[Drtooth]

I'd say that the main thing is gay just flows off the tongue better than "homosexual," which sounds like simultaneously spitting, slurping, and choking. Not only that, but the term is so incredibly condescending in tone (and it's often used that way) that it sounds way more like a slur than actual slurs. Like that certain word that sounds like the "N" word that was considered okay to use during the 60's. You know, Spanish for Black.

Gay is essentially the least offensive sounding description as far as words go. At least it meant happy at one point. Considering that and "homosexual" (and to an extent, "same sex") are the only 2 that aren't slurs or used as such, that's essentially the go to word.

But yeah. If language didn't change and evolve, we'd have clunky, cumbersome, archaic lexicon to deal with. Stuff that sounds incredibly awkward that make you sound like Mr. Burns when you say it. Spelling too. Like I said in another thread "Donut" used to be "Doughnut." And yes. Some donuts are made of dough, but others are made of batter. And at the risk of sounding like a bad Seinfeld impersonation, wouldn't they be called "batternuts?" The full dough in doughnut makes it look like duggoh-nut, where as the donut we got from the word "donuts" fitting better on a box is just friendlier and accessible. Like, I'm gonna go get me a box of donuts. Not Oh my, I'm making a conscious decision to merrily stroll by the faire grounds for a piping hot doughnut from the doughnut vendor. Huzzah!

 

[D'Snowth]

I mean, when people hear certain verses in songs from the '40s and other famous songs, including Deck the Halls and The Flintstones theme, does joyfulness come to mind? For people who watch TV-14-rated shows and not family-friendly content, probably not. They probably have never heard of words like "gaily" and "gaiety," both of which, fortunately, refer to joyfulness and are not perverted.

That's probably why around the 80s or so, they slightly modified the Flintstones theme song by saying, "Great ol' time," instead of, "Gay ol' time."

As for you latter statement, I must confess there's an episode of BEWITCHED that makes me snicker, because Endora huffs, "I can't stand all this gaiety!" before popping out . . . and Uncle Arthur is in the scene, which as we all know, Paul Lynde wasn't exactly in the closet, but some apparently weren't exactly aware that he was loud and proud. That and Agnes Moorehead was always rumored to be a closeted lesbian too, even though she was an uber-conservative Fundamentalist Christian and the daughter of a minister (but then again, Katy Perry is also the daughter of a preacher, and some call her lifestyle into question).

Honestly, I think gay (as in happy) would have gone the way of the Dodo anyway, the same way we largely left behind "swell," "golly," and "keen."

Um, I still say "keen."

The changing of word meanings is good for language, it keeps it evolving and allows the people who speak it to take ownership of it. Language should be continually changing as the years go by, it's not a locked-in system where everything has to stay the same.

I completely disagree. Languages are hard enough to learn, especially when you try to learn a second language, but they say this is the exact reason why certain languages - especially the English language - are so hard to learn because we keep changing the meaning of certain words while constantly inventing new slang terms all the time. I really see need to "own" a language.