Carefree

I am a little bit fed up with how much people attack "mindless" music, music that doesn't have some deep emotional meaning. I appreciate carefree artforms, art that doesn't take itself too seriously. Some of the greatest moments in culture have come from people just taking a step back, relaxing, and realizing their own extremes. Most recently I have noticed it in movies, songs, and tv.

Many movies, recently, have been mocking their own genres flaws. One of the most prominent examples I can think of is "Cabin In The Woods" which mocked the horror story genre in a hilarious way, that still made sense with the plot. This has peaked in recent years with meta-comedy for action movies (Tropic Thunder), disaster movies (This is the End), cop movies (The Other Guys/21 Jump Street) and spy movies (Get Smart). I absolutely loved all of these movies. It was cool to see how they twisted and mocked their genres, while often remaining true to the tone and plot style of their genres. The Other Guys still had that twist revelatory ending of the ultimate plan after they had been banned from the job, classic cop movie.

I've seen this same trend in songs, more specifically in rap. A lot of my more favorite rap artists are the ones that criticize and mock the rap industry. I've talked about them before but Mac Lethal, Bo Burnham, and George Watsky all criticize the rap industry in many different songs. It makes it so much more interesting than just the common rap music that comes out of that industry.

When it comes to tv, it often happens in humorous shows, yet many times occurs in longer running shows. This can be absolutely hilarious when they mock themselves or their previous habits or qualities. Seth Macfarlane is really wonderful at this, and often exchanges insults between his own shows which is extremely enjoyable to watch.

More often than not, these meta-humor arts are more clever and well thought-out than run-of-the-mill art. They show a remarkable sense of self-awareness and self-acceptance. They allow the writers to explore a whole new variety of jokes on a subject that they know best, themselves. This is what makes meta-humor so enjoyable for me

George Watsky's "One Hundred Words You Could Say Instead Of Swag"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFhM1CoyP7Q