Latest / The Imperfect Impulse w/Bree O'Connor / Ep. 1: Word of the Day Toilet Paper

Transcript

Ep. 1: Word of the Day Toilet Paper · The Imperfect Impulse w/Bree O'Connor

• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to The Imperfect Impulse with Brie O'Connor.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Brie O'Connor.
• 0:12
  So I wanted to start this episode with a quick discussion of
• 0:16
  ways that you can use
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: these episodes,
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: or at least what my intention is.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: Initially, I was thinking that it would be
• 0:27
  nice to have something to collectively meditate on throughout
• 0:32
  the week with a group of artists.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: However you express yourself creatively,
• 0:39
  I'm hoping that you'll be able to tune into these and take
• 0:43
  maybe 15 minutes out of
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: your week to consider something collectively.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: So I hope you'll join me on this journey.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: And today...
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: I am specifically thinking about words.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: I'll drill down a little bit more on that.
• 1:06
  I'm thinking about jargon,
• 1:11
  shorthand,
• 1:13
  buzzwords,
• 1:15
  and the place that they have in our lives.
• 1:21
  I kind of laugh a little bit because I was listening to several
• 1:32
  anchors on MSNBC
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: after the inauguration,
• 1:40
  and I don't want to delve too deeply into the political here
• 1:43
  because this isn't a
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: political observation.
• 1:50
  But I had remarked to some friends on how it sounds like
• 1:54
  someone gave all the hosts
• 1:57
  of MSNBC word of the day toilet paper because suddenly every
• 2:03
  single host was using
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: the term
• 2:06
  shambolic and it's such an odd word that when more than one
• 2:13
  person uses it it feels
• 2:17
  um well it's planned and someone looked this up and decided
• 2:23
  that this was the word
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: they were going to use to describe this transition of power and if you're
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: unfamiliar with the word um i don't have the uh the
• 2:37
  the specific definition in front of me,
• 2:39
  and in a moment you'll understand why.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: Essentially it just means a mess.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: It means disorganized, disarray, a complete freaking disaster.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: At least that's the context in which they were using this word.
• 2:59
  I'm sure it has more specific meaning,
• 3:02
  but this brings me to my point for today.
• 3:08
  Frequently we run across words or we use words in our daily
• 3:13
  lives that are often a
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: shortcut for understanding.
• 3:21
  And once a group of words or a phrase enters the lexicon,
• 3:27
  it essentially...
• 3:30
  we kind of give it,
• 3:33
  the person who's using those words,
• 3:36
  a pass for knowing what it means.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: So I may have failed that test already.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: And if I did, it kind of proves my point that I'm about to make.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: Trust me,
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: when you have to get used to listening to me,
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: I go off in circular logic from time to time.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: So I hope you'll be able to tune your ear to me.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: When we start using these buzzwords,
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: sort of take on their own life,
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: and people assume their meaning and begin using them,
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: kind of like how literally became figuratively several years ago.
• 4:19
  You know,
• 4:20
  as a way to express,
• 4:23
  you know,
• 4:24
  an extreme sense,
• 4:25
  you can say,
• 4:26
  I literally died.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: I literally died.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: Well, no you didn't because you're telling me that.
• 4:33
  But the word has changed meaning to deal with sort of a popular sentiment,
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: a slang usage of the word.
• 4:42
  So now literally means both literally and sarcastically its
• 4:48
  opposite figuratively.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not advocating that we stop using buzzwords or jargon.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes they have really useful purposes.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: They can become a shorthand amongst co-workers or members of a cause.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: However,
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: whenever we are using shorthand of assumed meanings,
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: we stop thinking about what we actually mean.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: What is it we mean when we say shambolic?
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: It has a certain edge to it.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: We understand that there's a judgment attached to it.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: But when people keep using it over and over and over again,
• 5:39
  it begins to have a collective meaning that may not necessarily
• 5:45
  match with what the
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: word in the dictionary actually means.
• 5:52
  So I think that can be applied to so many other phrases that we
• 5:58
  have in our public discourse.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: For example, critical race theory.
• 6:05
  Quite frequently,
• 6:06
  people talk about it without really examining what it means.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: So the response to the phrase is Pavlovian.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: It's not really intellectual or well thought out at all.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: You just respond to that phrase according to your political leaning.
• 6:30
  If someone says critical race theory to someone of my political persuasion,
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: I automatically go,
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: yay,
• 6:38
  we really should be thinking deeply about our relationship to
• 6:42
  race in American
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: society and how that impacts everything from public policy to politics.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: you know, to education, to how we write and communicate, and how we...
• 7:00
  interact with each other socially we should be examining that
• 7:04
  but you say that
• 7:05
  those words to someone on the right and immediately the
• 7:08
  response is that that is a
• 7:10
  negative thing that makes people feel terrible about themselves
• 7:15
  and specifically
• 7:17
  white people and that it should be abolished and anytime you
• 7:21
  bring it up there's
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: absolutely no conversation about what it actually is
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: So in certain ways, buzzwords serve to destroy discourse.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: They serve to shut us down.
• 7:44
  And I think that we should really struggle on all sides of any conversation.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: And it doesn't have to be a fraught political conversation.
• 7:59
  it could even be a conversation in the workplace over how you
• 8:05
  refer to your workflow,
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: is to really examine what the words mean.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: And if you are encountering a big concept,
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: what does it mean for you to put it in your own words?
• 8:24
  What if you avoid buzzwords for a day and try to express that
• 8:34
  idea in your own words?
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I know sometimes that's like, how do you explain fish or
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: The.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: You know,
• 8:46
  these are words that we use without thinking because clearly I
• 8:52
  see a fish in front
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: of me and I go,
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: that's a fish.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: But actually a fish has a much deeper meaning.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: What kind of fish is it?
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: Is it a salmon?
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: Is it a grouper?
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: Is it a flounder?
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: And what do those things mean?
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: I am a little concerned.
• 9:10
  how quickly we move to shorthand in times of distress when the
• 9:18
  situation requires
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: more deeper thought and slower conversation,
• 9:29
  but instead we're just hurling terminology at each other when
• 9:34
  we're not really even
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: agreeing on what those terms mean.
• 9:41
  So my challenge to you this week is to,
• 9:45
  number one,
• 9:47
  maybe observe yourself.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: How often do you use buzzwords, jargon, um...
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: You know,
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: there's one of my favorite jokes in 30 Rock was they had this,
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to slaughter it,
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: but there's Jack Donaghy says,
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: jargon,
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: synergy,
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: all of these words that are very,
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: corporate sounding,
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: exciting words.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: And we use it in grand-speak all the time.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: Problematize.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: That's a jargony word that is going about in artistic circles.
• 10:36
  And I guess what I'm saying to you is this is all code for what
• 10:41
  I'll simplistically call,
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: well,
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: bullshit.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: Bullshit has its place.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: I can advocate for bullshit on a lot of levels.
• 11:00
  But I would like to challenge you to look at yourself and how
• 11:06
  you use language in the week.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe take a day to just observe.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: How often does your language sound like your own?
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: And how often does it sound borrowed?
• 11:20
  then see what happens if you force yourself to express concepts
• 11:27
  in your own words.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: you can use the jargon first,
• 11:32
  but then allow yourself some time to express yourself
• 11:39
  personally and as succinctly
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: as possible.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: Which, if you've listened this far...
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: I can attest to that being a real challenge.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: It's really difficult to put things in your own words.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: However,
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: your third grade teacher,
• 12:01
  because usually around third grade is when you kind of shift
• 12:04
  from learning to read
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: to reading to learn,
• 12:09
  is when you start learning to express yourself on an
• 12:14
  individualistic basis.
• 12:17
  where the teacher teaches you not to simply write your book
• 12:23
  report off of the blurb
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: on the back of the book,
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: but to really search hard for your own words.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: What it means to you.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: Have you really absorbed the concept?
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: Is it really part of you?
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: Or are you simply using jargon as an intellectual shield?
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: So that's my concept for this week.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's not a small one.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: But I think in this day and age,
• 12:59
  I think it is critically important for us to regularly
• 13:05
  challenge our language and
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: how we use it and what words mean to us.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: I hope that that is a fruitful exploration for you this week.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I hope you'll join me next week.
• 13:21
  Sometimes these exercises will be a little bit more fluffy than
• 13:26
  today's exercise.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes they're going to be a little bit more personal.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: Because being an artist means being a full person.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: So join me on this journey.
• 13:43
  I'm going on it with you because a lot of these things are
• 13:49
  things that I'm thinking
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: about actively that I don't necessarily have answers for.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I hope that we can have a good conversation.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: If you would like to reach out to me, you can make comments.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: You can like and share.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you pass this along to others.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: You can send me a message.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to send me a longer message,
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: you can reach out to me at artisticdirectoratplayfulsubstance.com.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: And hopefully we can have a good,
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: deep,
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: long conversation over the course of the Imperfect Impulse.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for joining me.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Brie O'Connor.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: We'll talk to you next week.