So I have a theory (well, two theories). Theory one is that sincerity just doesn't land anymore. You can look at the wave of WWII-style takes on Iraq (they didn't even bother with Afghanistan) that had zero lasting impact on the cultural consciousness and which presaged the pivot to fantasy comic book adventures where the US's role can be less ugly - and I think Iron Man I demonstrates that this was a deliberate pivot.
The other is that the industry is either dominated by or generates sociopaths (Weinstein, godfather of quippy dialog Joss Whedon, that guy from that very ironically detached cartoon) and they're just bringing the glibness and sarcasm they use to camouflage their absence of souls to their work.
There is a movement in literary fiction called "New Sincerity" that tries to drag media back from the post-grunge irony cliff but I haven't read many contributions to the genre.
So I have a theory (well, two theories). Theory one is that sincerity just doesn't land anymore. You can look at the wave of WWII-style takes on Iraq (they didn't even bother with Afghanistan) that had zero lasting impact on the cultural consciousness and which presaged the pivot to fantasy comic book adventures where the US's role can be less ugly - and I think Iron Man I demonstrates that this was a deliberate pivot.
The other is that the industry is either dominated by or generates sociopaths (Weinstein, godfather of quippy dialog Joss Whedon, that guy from that very ironically detached cartoon) and they're just bringing the glibness and sarcasm they use to camouflage their absence of souls to their work.
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There is a movement in literary fiction called "New Sincerity" that tries to drag media back from the post-grunge irony cliff but I haven't read many contributions to the genre.