Is Irony Good for America? The Threat of Nihilism, the Importance of Romance, and the Power of Cultural Forms

Abstract

This paper examines three discussions in the American public sphere between 1998 and 2008 about whether irony is good for America: the response to a 1999 book against irony, the declared ‘death of irony’ after the events of September 11, 2001, and concerns about the ironic nature of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. After reviewing the literature on irony from various academic disciplines, the author shows how ‘knockers’ worried that irony was a counter-narrative that would distract from romantic progress, while ‘boosters’ claimed irony was a trope that could only strengthen the romantic story of the nation. Rather than answering the title question, the author uses the evidence of these ‘ironic crises’ to show how such questions reveal the cultural forms and reflexivity that structure the American public sphere.