essay #2- Isn't it Wyrd?

In today’s society people are controlled by the media and most follow this perfect cookie cutter idea of how they think they should be. Between peer pressure and pressure of their own, there’s always a way to be thinner, tanner, more muscular, and so on. Today’s world gives somebody the option to completely change their appearance to how the media wants them to look. On average, most will follow current trends, even if they hate them. For a perfect example: neon leggings, or leggings in general. Everyone knows they are hideous and not flattering to most figures, yet the majority or teens and young adult women wear them with pride. It’s the pendulum theory. Things change for a while, but almost always circle back around. Does this stand true for everything though? Trends are followed so the people following them feel more socially accepted. Nobody wants to be considered odd, not in style, or weird. Nobody wants to be considered strange by any means, yet our culture definitely has a way of twisting things around.
Today the word weird in context is used in the sense of feeling strangely or someone who is odd. The etymology of weird however comes from the old English term, “wyrd”. Mostly rooting from Anglo- Saxon and Nordic culture, back then the word weird or “wryd” meant fate, destiny, having the power to control fate, or pertaining to the Fates in Mythology. This meaning has since then become archaic and is only used in Scotland today in its original context.
In 1815, Shakespeare used his characters the “three witches” or “weird sisters” in MacBeth as means to control fate. They played the role as puppet masters with MacBeth’s ambition, and their prophecies controlled his actions. They were “fate personified”. However, these “old hags” give weird the meaning of how our culture uses it today. Their odd appearance sealed their own fate. Relating to Shakespeare’s “weird sisters” are the Fates in Greek and Roman Mythology.
“ They were three, Clotho, the Spinner, who spun the thread of life; Lachesis, the Disposer of Lots, who assigned to each man his destiny; Atropos, she who could not be turned, who carried “the abhorrèd shears” and cut the thread at death” (p.49).
Serving Hecate, Goddess of the “Dark of the Moon” and “the black nights when the moon was hidden” (p.32), these fates shared an eye and saw the future for mortals. Hecate and her servants were associated with “deeds of darkness”. They were supernatural beings who controlled the destiny of men and of the Gods.History of the word “wryd” began to change once the “three witches” in Shakespeare’s MacBeth became known as the “weird sisters”.
As time goes on, things change, new fashion statements are introduced, new words are created, and old words change meaning. Yet, how has a word such as “wyrd” gone from
meaning one’s fate or destiny, to the negative spin that is put on it today, odd or strange? Our culture tends to put a negative connotation to some words. I would have to agree with Guilbault, the writer or “Americanization is Tough on “Macho””. She states that, “the impact of language in our society is undeniable,” and a negative connotation on a word “hints at a deeper cultural misunderstanding that extends beyond mere word definitions” (p.239). Words in the English language have become meaningless, and weird is one of them.
Weird: odd-looking or uncanny. In today’s society anything can be considered weird. The term is used so loosely that it has almost become a “weasel word” or filler; almost along the lines of “umm”. From commenting on one’s personality, to how they are dressed, or how one is feeling, it’s all weird, weird, weird. Sadly, the word has become over used and pointless. I almost like the old definition better; “fateful intervention of supernatural influences in human affairs,” that really gives the word some size. Americans are lazy, what can I say? No one wants to use a selection of different words when they can use the same word that’s short and easy to get out. People go to school to gain intelligence, and there is nothing intelligent about using the same word to describe several feelings and appearances. There’s a huge book called a dictionary, people! Stick your nose in it once and while, you might surprise yourself.
Do I contradict myself? Absolutely. I’ll admit, I will always take the easy way out and use weird instead of interesting or other words that could better describe a situation. However, our culture has a tendency to change meanings, and create slang, making it no biggie.
So who’s to blame? Ourselves, or the media who acts as the Fates in today’s world? Do we the American people ruin our own language or has the media controlled how we communicate today?
The Media once again intervenes in our lives. It would have never been acceptable 20 years ago for information about sex, or shows and movies with sex scenes to be aired, and now that’s the norm. It was considered trashy and disrespectful for people to drop cuss words on television, and now it’s seen everywhere. By the media exposing us to such things, my generation grew up thinking cussing and casual sex was the norm for everyone. I think once an idea or word is introduced in this culture, the meaning and strength is lost because it becomes over-used. Cuss words would only be mentioned usually if someone was extremely angry or something extremely important was happening. Today we use it in every day conversation without thinking twice.
Our words are slowly becoming gibberish without us even knowing; just a bunch of meaningless words we string together to communicate like we’re saying something of importance. Everything is accepted in today’s society, and anything goes. And that to me, is weird.