is anyone else deeply bothered by the new use of the word "futurist"?

[harmonicon]

I think it's been going on for about ten years now, but it makes my skin crawl every time. "Futurist" seems to now often be used to describe someone who predicts or prognosticates about the future. In fact, "futurist" already has a meaning, damn it, and it's not that!

Oh, fuck! Even my stupid computer dictionary has been corrupted. I might as well just give up now and succumb to the future of the English language being nothing but a few nasal whines and guttural moans.

[mitchum]

1. I'm still pissed off about the corruption of "auteur"

and I agree with you about "futurist"

[harmonicon]

2. I'm afraid you stumped me there

I had to look it up. This is what my shitty dictionary that doesn't know what a futurist is says an auteur is: a filmmaker whose movies are characterized by a filmmaker's creative influence.

I assume that this is wrong? It seems wrong.

[mitchum]

3. Most people reflexively use it for a filmmaker who writes, directs...

and even acts in his films (hell, they even use it for musicians who write, produce, etc), but when the theory was first formulated it meant directors who had a singular style regardless of who wrote the screenplay

[harmonicon]

4. I see - so the definition I had does make sense

Shit.... the commodification of words. What's next?

[bridgit]

5. "futurist"!? That's well worn, Gerard O'Neil stuff

http://ssi.org

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. The theological meaning these days isn't used much

so the second meaning of "someone who predicts or prognosticates about the future" now dominates. Get used to it, the uses of word develop. Hell, there's even a third meaning, in art and literature. From the Oxford English Dictionary:

futurist

1. Theol. a. One who believes that the Scripture prophecies, esp. those in the Book of Revelation, are still to be fulfilled in the future.
1842 G. S. FABER Prov. Lett. (1844) I. 88 note, Dr. Todd and Mr. Mac-Causland..are alike stanch Antiprotestant Futurists.

2. One who has regard to or studies the future; a believer in human progress.
1846 in WORCESTER. (ie Worcester, Joseph E. "A universal and critical dictionary of the English language" 1846)

3. An adherent of futurism. Also attrib. or as adj.
1911 W. J. LOCKE Clementina Wing xxii. 278 After that they had gone to see the New Futurists.

futurism

An art-movement, originating in Italy, characterized by violent departure from traditional forms, the avowed aim being to express movement and growth in objects, not their appearance at some particular moment. Also applied to similar tendencies in literature and music.
1909 Daily Chron. 5 May 6/6 ‘Futurism’ is the declaration of the new school of literature grounded by the International Review ‘Poesia’.

So the first recorded use of "One who has regard to or studies the future" is only 2 years after the first recorded theological use.

[DarkTirade]

7. I prefer prognosticator actually.

:P

[ghostsofgiants]

8. I prefer "fraud" but hey, whatever does it for you.

:P

[skygazer]

9. I'm still irritated by "normalcy"

:nuke:

[harmonicon]

10. yeah, that one used to really get to me

.... I guess I've just been so beaten down by it over the years that I've stopped caring.

Now we're in some dangerous territory; you may get me to start a never-ending rant about people using "an historical" to mean "a historical". It is the greatest sin on earth? Kill babies? Fuck if I care. Call that baby killing "An historic event", and I'll fucking knife you.

[surrealAmerican]

11. Kind of make you want to write some sort of ...

... manifesto.

[harmonicon]

12. ha!

Yeah, no shit. When I hear that, I think, "don't they know?!?!"

[muriel_volestrangler]

13. Seriously, don't you care their meaning is 60 years older than the one you prefer?

Why are you so tied to a 20th century meaning, when the "one who thinks about the future" meaning was in use in the 19th?

[harmonicon]

14. I care because it's just stupid

I don't like how it shows a disregard for cultural history, and how it's become a term used to justify having some moron bullshit in the media about some crap instead of actually looking at facts, reporting, analyzing, etc.

I like the English language. I use it every day. It is the primary tool that I have for self-expression. I don't like that my ability for effective self expression is taken from me by some bullshit fly-by-night capitalist media whores that could give a fuck about what they're supposedly expert at.

[muriel_volestrangler]

15. So why are you supporting the most recent meaning - the 'manifesto' one?

That's the Johnny-come-lately. The earliest meaning was the theological "Revelation describes future events" one; then came the "someone who thinks about the future" one; then comes the "Futurist Manifesto" art one.