Cliches are very unappreciated in today's culture. They are considered to have less power in literature, film, and art. No one wants to hear the same story again and again, copy-and-pasted with only new names for the characters. And don't you dare write about a cliche in your college essays; it's a sure way to make yourself sound uninteresting, wallflower-esque -- basically unwantable. But what about when I feel that a cliche describes my feelings perfectly? What happens when hearing that hit pop song (despite not being my genre at all) evokes an eerie sense of deja vu? Does that feeling no longer have power because it's been expressed countless times before? Did Frankl's dependence on his wife's love alone lack power because of the lack of depth in his needs?
While I agree that we have to push ourselves to find new depths beyond the cliche, especially in the way we express ourselves through mediums like words and pictures, sometimes cliches actually are accurate descriptions no matter how worn out the concept is. And it's not fair to only allow cliches in such extreme cases as Frankl's; in fact, what applies in the extreme cases should be insight into everyday life. One of the reasons that people reject cliches is that they are not original, that they do not reflect the unique characteristics of each individual. For that reason it's necessary to not solely rely on cliches. However, cliches do reflect an undeniable shared human experience. It's okay to grapple for deeper comparisons than cliches most of the time, but I think that ever once in a while it is okay to embrace them and to thus embrace the aspects of life that connect us to each other.
I completely agree Megan! Although it is important that we each be unique, I think that is inevitable. Why put such an emphasis on something that is obviously true for all of us? It seems unfair that universities or society demand we express our individuality when we all share so many similarities as well. Then again, the similarities construct a single standard which develops into the very social constructs we've studied. I'm rambling now, but I agree. Sometimes clichés are nice.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you. I, personally, catch myself using cliches to describe my feelings often, but I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing. I feel like they serve as a basis for the person I'm talking to to relate to. Like, if I say, "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse," people will be able to relate to that feeling because they've most likely been in that situation before and used those words to describe it. Cliches can be very powerful in that way.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that cliches get a bad rap in the real world, but i don't think every cliche in a movie needs to be examined. How many movies still use the line "it's a little too quiet."? That was deconstructed in the movie Airplane and that was from 1980 yet it's still used today. That's the very definition of a cliche, and yet if you examined it on a deeper level I doubt you would find any deeper meaning.
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