Be Sincere In An Increasingly Insincere World
A couple of months ago I watched a video titled Sincerity: Hollywood’s Forgotten Currency by The Cozy Kino Show. It opened my eyes to just how far we’ve fallen as a society when it comes to mainstream storytelling… and its effect elsewhere.
The problem with modern storytelling isn’t that we have no good stories to tell. It’s that the stories we’re telling have been stripped of something crucial. Something we never should have lost.
Despite all of the advancements in technology over the last 20 years that allow for unbelievable special effects, we’ve lost the core element of storytelling that has been present throughout history; sincerity.
This lack of sincerity might not be initially obvious to you. It wasn’t to me either at first.
But if you compare the majority of modern, blockbuster movies with something like Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, Chris Nolan’s Inception, or Peter Jackson’s iconic The Lord of the Rings, the problem will be painfully visible. They undeniably make you feel something. They extract genuine emotion through sincere storytelling. They stand out because that is rare nowadays.
One of the most popular examples of a mainstream movie franchise that lacks heart, soul, and passion is Disney’s Marvel universe. They’ve taken superheroes, figures that should be seen as strong, courageous, and respected and turned them into a source for cheap laughs from the viewer. Another is the Fast & Furious movies. What started out sincere, deteriorated into… a meme.
It’s just a a few jokes… why is that a problem? Comedies have been around forever. People have been laughing since the start of time.
Comedies are meant to be funny and are an art of storytelling in their own right. What is so presently wrong with every movie trying to be funny, though, is that the “humor” is being placed somewhere it doesn’t belong. In a comedy, making people laugh is the goal and having a good story is secondary to the jokes. But when you’re telling a serious story, you cheapen it by trying to force a laugh. It make us, the viewers, take the movie and the story being told less seriously.
Movies nowadays don’t just shy away from earnest emotion, they make you feel silly for even feeling real emotion while watching it. Because every time you invest yourself in it with an open heart, it’s taken advantage of. The Cozy Kino Show likens this to constantly having the rug pulled out from underneath you. At some point, you catch on, expect it, and it suddenly means nothing at all. They prioritize trying to make the audience laugh over respecting the story they are responsible for. And every witty, sort-of-funny quip that gets thrown in, takes something bigger away from the entirety of the story. Because if we can’t take it seriously, we won’t.
Unfortunately, the effects of this deterioration in storytelling aren’t just cinematic. Every TV commercial seems as though they’re competing for the Who Can Get Most Laughs award. Politicians and celebrities also seem to be gaining popularity and allegiance based on if they’re funny or not. I even notice myself frequently feeling the need to “cut the tension” when telling a story by inserting a joke or making light of something. We’re all gunning for a laugh.
The lack of sincerity is a sickness and it is spreading.
But the cure is simple.
Decide to take yourself seriously. Don’t allow yourself to be a continuous victim of insincerity. If it isn’t funny, don’t laugh. Set your standards higher than what’s accepted. When someone is being real with you, be real with them too. Be earnest. Don’t just allow vulnerability: embrace it. If you’re surrounded by insincerity, be the example of what sincerity looks like. Take courage and choose to be sincere in an increasingly insincere world.
This post was entirely inspired by this video. I highly recommend watching it.
Thanks for reading.
