Pretentiousness and how it has completely lost its meaning

Pretentiousness is something that we have become increasingly occupied with in the circles that I live in. We do not like pretentiousness; putting on an act to seem more 'cultured' or smarter than you really are is something that we turn our noses up at (some are arguably elitist about their lack of pretentiousness). This is all well and good. I tend to dislike people who act as if they are 'all that and more'. That's what pretentiousness is. It's pretense. It's when you put on a face that isn't your own to try and impress others. 

The problem is that it has become something of a witch hunt. I know it is not limited solely to my group of friends, either. I know quite a few people who go out of their way to point out what they think is pretentious and talk about how much they hate pretentious people (which is, in its own way, pretentious). Admittedly, people who act totally ostentatious can drive me up the wall, but the problem is now this obsession with pretentiousness is doing something rather more than just what it appears to be on the surface. 

The word is used to describe things that have only the barest connections to pretentiousness. In everyday language, it's not much more than a generic insult used on anything that seems smart. It has all but lost its meaning. It's become a buzz word, something that everybody uses to the point where it becomes meaningless jargon. It's disgusting to see it bandied about, especially with regards to things that are genuinely good. It may be empty, but it can destroy reputations and be used to humiliate the best of us.

Let me return to yesterday's post about language. The entire point of the post was to encourage people to explore their language, to play with it, and to reform it into new and wonderful things. This kind of thing is quashed by people who decide that any sort of poetic way of speaking is nothing other than pretentious. Wordplay is almost never seen as a good thing. People who let their language hang loosely about their tongue are heavily discouraged. Being called pretentious seems to be a real threat, one that people go out of their way to avoid. So now we don't hear people being creative with their language. Clichés appear everywhere. Sameness is encouraged, difference is not. Stagnancy results.

It is not only limited to language. It seems to have been decided that people only enjoy certain art forms in order to impress others. Classical music is an example of this, as is poetry. Apparently we cannot like these things simply for the sake of liking them. No, any sort of art form is not only intelligent but also appears that way is black listed. Not only does this alienate the majority of people from these things, it also dissuades people who could become great masters from ever pursuing their skill. 

Now, keep in mind that pretentious is not the only name we give this concept. Most names are more obviously slang, though I would argue that pretentious has started to drift away from its intended meaning and may in fact be becoming slang itself. It doesn't matter what you call it. What matters is the effect. 

To sum up: It's not bloody pretentious if they're telling the bloody truth. Stop moaning. It will make everyone happier.