Why You Should Be More Pretentious

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Pretentiousness: Why It Matters

[ellisfmorton]

I think being pretentious is more associated with an attitude of looking down on others.

It’s fine to like a niche thing, but if you think you’re better than others and laud it over them then you would rightfully be called ‘pretentious’ in a pejorative sense.

[Zerne-Infinite]

The problem with never taking anything serious is that you make other people feel bad for actually being serious, or wanting to show true emotion

[Daniel_WR_Hart]

I think the difference is that some people actually try to do creative things, while others only pretend to, but we don't necessarily see the difference at a glance

[I_am_et]

Embrace the cringe and embrace the pretension. Absolutely Loved it.

[mattmann]

I think pretension, at least in the layman's understanding, is more about affectation than anything else. People associate the word more with an air of hautiness and self-aggrandisement than with the sort of foundationalistic aspects of art to which you refer.

[TheIncredibleJumpman]

I've never heard or seen "pretentious" used in the way described in the video. For someone or something to be pretentious is to express an exaggerated or imaginary sense of value or purpose. This is not synonymous with ambition.

[Mlonelysheep]

Using “pretentious” in place of ambition, curiosity, innovation, etc. is strange. In common use “pretentious” is wielded against a person or micro-culture that has done something different FOR the sake of setting themselves as the superior “in-crowd.” Ambition can exist for the sake of mastering a craft, bettering the lives of others, or other noble causes and not be pretentious. Curiosity is a disease I have that makes me want to learn about everything on earth. If I use that to belittle others and make them feel ‘lower’, I am pretentious. If I use it to connect with others, lift them up, understand where I’m deficient, etc. I don’t think that is pretentious. Really love the channel, and this was thought provoking! ….but I respectfully disagree with the premise because I disagree with the use of the word.

[cito]

Whats frustrating for me is that I always considered pretention to be a mix of "snobbiness" and "arrogance." For me it was always how you feel about yourself vs others. My friends warned me I could at times be pretentious, so I asked them how, and they were like "oh, well you like 19th century literature and classical music" or something (those are just two things I enjoy, I also enjoy sci-fi/fantasy and hip hop lol) but I've never considered myself BETTER than others just bc I like reading old ass books. Its just a hobby, its really not that deep. Yet when people said that kinda thing I just felt like there was a self-pretention, where people think themselves higher than someone else because they DONT read old books or something. Its weird.

[TKDB]

Pretentiousness isn't *just* ambition, or even just ambition without sufficient talent. It's ambition *without counterbalancing humility*. Someone trying to elevate their standard of living or push the limits of an art form or idea is not pretentious. Refusing to acknowledge when such an attempt has failed, and/or lording such an attempt over your peers as if your newfound interest or novel creation makes you better than them is.
"I've been getting into trying fine wines lately. I've found some really good stuff, you should try it with me sometime!" - Not pretentious
"I've been getting into trying fine wines lately. I feel it adds a certain classiness to my evening, you should try it sometime instead of that piss-water you're always swilling." - Pretentious

[vivandefuncti]

This isn't really what 'pretentious' means, it's more how it is misused. 'Pretentious' actually refers to pretending to like something to be associated with the status, rather than genuine interest in that thing. Those people quickly give themselves away.

[taterthepenguin]

OP 100% got called pretentious and made this whole video as a defense mechanism

[luigidoom]

Bro got called pretentious too much and had enough

[mariokarter]

Actual definition:
Claiming that or behaving as if one is important or deserving of merit *when such is not the case.*
The root of the word is literally pretend. It's not about striving for greatness, it's pretending you're already great.

[bijucii]

This is such an important message. Because of my taste and interest I find myself disconnected from my demographic because they’re so trapped in the expectations that is projected into then. other peoples interests and interpretations of art is what helps me to become more empathetic and appreciative of works that I would usually dismiss. It helps me become open minded to different ideas and art. Just because you don’t understand does not mean you shouldn’t try too.

[stirrcrazy]

This video makes several MASSIVE logical leaps that no one down here has pointed out yet as far as I can tell.

1.) “Pretentious” doesn’t mean “You like something that I don’t like, so you’re bad!” It could not be reasonably applied to hip-hop artists sampling Kraftwerk. Even if their music hadn’t succeeded, they wouldn’t have been called pretentious by anyone, because that would require there to still be a niche crowd that DID like the music.

2.) Humanity’s greatest inventions are not brought about by pretentious people. You just said that, and gave no proof of it at all because you were operating under a private definition of the word “pretentious” that would fit those people. I can’t say for certain which great historical inventors were or weren’t pretentious, but I know that the word most certainly wouldn’t be applied to the teams of government funded researchers who have been responsible for many of our major technological advancements over the past 200 years. Also, the existence of shelter is not owed to a SINGLE Neanderthal who went out and built a house one day. There are not, in fact, plentiful caves to support human settlement without any structures. Permanent and temporary constructed shelters were a necessary part of human development once our population got high enough in a region with adverse weather.

3.) People do not universally label others who like something niche and decry the mainstream as pretentious. I have plenty of friends who hate marvel movies because they’re pop-culture worm food, and instead prefer black-and-white film. They don’t lord over me by saying the movies they like make me inferior to them. That’s why I stay friends with them.

4.) This video fundamentally misrepresents the concept of personality. The way you act is not entirely composed of things you like and dislike, and what you’re willing to talk about. Affectation, mannerisms, emotional tendencies, attitude toward others. These things are habitual. You certainly can alter them with effort, but most people who know you will agree on those aspects of your personality regardless of what else you try to hide. “We all wear masks” is not an excuse for being an asshole to someone.

5.) This video conflates the idea of pretentiousness with class ambition for literally no reason. “Pretentious” is not an insult leveled at the poor by the rich, but the other way around. Having a friend with no money who likes fine wine is just abnormal, it’s not necessarily pretentious. Having a rich friend who insists on bringing his own bottle of fine wine whenever you go to a restaurant, because they won’t have anything that will satisfy him, is pretentious. It is entirely possible to strive to be something greater than your current self without judging others by that metric.

6.) Being pretentious is also different from just lying. This video makes an effort to combine the ideas of lying, judging, being ambitious, and enjoying things into the word “pretentious”, when there is no reason to do so. When politicians pretend to be just like you to get the vote, they aren’t being pretentious, they’re lying. Being a lying statesman is morally worse than being a pretentious statesman. People don’t say “My governor just gave us $600, 000 in additional school funding, but he’s just so pretentious! I hate him!” Lying about who you are and what you care about as a politician puts you on the track to make bad policy. Being pretentious doesn’t have any bearing on what laws you’ll write or vote for.

[aerocyte]

as someone who has spent a lifetime worrying about being seen as pretentious for having pretentious interests, this video really hit the spot. also, your art is really awesome, just needed to point that out

[ibbtcky]

I once had an entire group of people imply that im always "trying" to be different. It was so incredibly hurtful as someone who is neurodivergent and trying very much to express myself while also watering myself down so i dont overwhelm everyone.
Sometimes you are more pretentious when you're actually fitting in honestly. I am wildly creative but i dont have the artistic skill so my art never looks how i envisioned it. But i could sulk over it, or i could keep trying.
And i understand and grasp concepts easily, but communicating them to others is very difficult for me.
So i really, really never liked the word pretentious- Its actually funny to come across this video because I've been saying this stuff for years.

[BobyTechno]

That made me think a lot. I'm always worrying about my work being "honest" and I'm always scared of being pretentious. This video seriously challenges that mindset.

[dayswillburn]

I always saw pretention as someone not only pretending to be something you're not, but looking down on those who aren't into the thing/subject you're into. It's having an air of superiority without being able to back it up. Simply aiming for something greater than where you are isn't pretention.

[gTryry]

I was just finishing up my fencing tournament about to board my yacht when I found this video. Thankfully, I can enjoy my imported cheese in peace, and in fact, feel good about it.