This quarter I’m taking two postmodern literature classes and it’s all about metafiction, which seems groundbreaking at first but I feel doesn’t accomplish much other than making you aware that everything is socially constructed.

We are addicted to referencing other works in media in our own lives/papers/conversations etc. I realized I’m even guilty of it when I was writing my review of Project Magazine for University Link. A magazine talking about a magazine, although in this case it’s productive because I’m analyzing what makes a good magazine and especially tuning into its digital form, which is the future as we are all aware (ha!) of.

Sometimes it can be funny and even draw attention away from one’s own unoriginality, such as the reference that was made to Twilight in the new Syfy show Being Human by Sally, the Spirit living in Aidan (vampire) and Josh’s (werewolf) new house, when she said “You two aren’t going to get all Twilight on me right?”

But sometimes it just gets plain ridiculous like the website popurls.com, which uploads the latest videos on YouTube, statuses from social networking sites like Facebook and tweets from Twitter. Websites should never go meta. That’s just desperate.

This meta craze (is it a craze if it’s lasted for over half a century?) can either be positive or negative. Positive: We are into analyzing and acquiring knowledge because of our rising levels of education and culture. Negative: Because there are no original ideas left, we just keep referencing ideas that already exist and try to make money or look clever out of it until we can come up with something inventive.