The Cult of Quirk

[hannahchan]

A friend sent me this article, asking what I thought, because she was torn between hating it and loving it.

Excerpt:

As an aesthetic principle, quirk is an embrace of the odd against the blandly mainstream. It features mannered ingenuousness, an embrace of small moments, narrative randomness, situationally amusing but not hilarious character

Comments

[fightscrime]

That is a tough one. Contrived quirk is boring. Real quirk is not. It's hard to break down the difference between them, but it's real.

[daybook]

Rushmore is my least favorite Anderson movie! I know I'm in the minority on that one.

I thought I'd hate Flight of the Conchords and Napolean Dynamite. But I actually like both. Not love, but like.

The thing that all of these things have in common isn't really quirk. I think it's a certain cringe factor. I guess they seem light and fluffy, but really, there's shame and embarrassment involved in like 90% of TAL stories, Apatow movies and tv, Arrested Development and all the others. That's why they're endearing!

It's about awkwardness, not knowing things, figuring out how the world works, trying to fit in when you obviously can't. They're anti-polished and child-like and sometimes that does get too precious, but it's better than being sentimental.

[hannahchan]

This makes much sense to me.

Also, I think Hirschorn isn't giving any credit to the natural reasons for this new aesthetic. The young creative people coming up now are the first generation to have a lot of people who were raised by freewheeling sixties types. These were people who celebrated their own quirks, so of course their kids were going to notice them and incorporate that into their own worldview. (Not saying that's the sole impetus behind today's creative movement, but I think it's worth noting.) In general, I find the piece lazy, which always annoys the piss out of me.

[grlwithcamera]

i don't know how i feel about it. all the norms at my jobs, and my students, tend to describe me as "quirky" or "artsy".

i used to get offended, as if these were brands burned into my hind. now i just pity their boring, colorless lives.

[jade]

hey, mind if i add you? you seem cool :)

[hannahchan]

Oh, thanks, please do! Just understand, if I don't friends you back, it's nothing personal--I'm just a moron who never filtered any of her friends-only posts and am trying to spare you the personal drama. Trust me, no one wants the personal drama. Not even me, really.