New Sincerity?

The term ‘new sincerity’ dates back to the mid-1980’s. The ‘new sincerity’ movement was initially a response and rejection of the cynicism and irony of post-modernism theories. This theory promotes joy, sentimentality and enthusiasm for texts, rather than cold sarcastic irony. However, ‘new sensibility’ doesn’t completely avoid irony. Yurchak describes it is “a particular brand of irony, which is sympathetic and warm.”

In America, Jesse Thorn had a huge part in promoting ‘new sincerity’ to audiences. He is a radio host of PRI’s ‘The Young Sound of America’. His broadcast rejects irony and the term ‘guilty pleasure’. For example, most people are inclined to pretend they like a cheesy 1980’s hit for ‘ironic’ reasons, when in fact they really enjoy the song as a whole. New sincerity celebrates the lack of irony in something that should be very ironic. Thereby ‘guilty pleasures’ simply become pleasures. 

How this theory can be related to a modern day media text is the TV programme ‘Glee’. There should be something deeply ironic about a bunch of high school teenagers covering some of the biggest selling music of all time. Surely audiences can’t watch it fully without being tempted to mock? Or at least pretend that they are watching it for ironic reasons? But who can seriously resist the characters sunny dispositions and their genuine love and passion for singing and dancing? That’s what ‘new sincerity’ is all about, taking something for face value and taking the joy from the media text rather than mocking it. And with the staggering amount of viewers ‘Glee’ receives, it’s unsurprising that more and more consumers are embracing media in a ‘new sincerity’ way.

Key Theories/Further Reading:

Alexei Yurchak, (2008) "Post-Post-Communist Sincerity: Pioneers, Cosmonauts, and Other Soviet Heroes Born Today”

Mikhail Epstein (1999) "A Catalogue of New Poetries”

Jason Morris (2008) “The Time Between Time: Messianism and the Promise of a “New Sincerity””