In Name Only

Hmmmmm…..

By Snarky LisaPublished 5 months ago • 3 min read

There are things in this world which purport to exist; whether they’re pleasant or unpleasant, chaos or bliss. They may be perpetual or more temporary. They might be large, small, or anywhere in between. Really, they come in all different kinds of shapes and sizes.

What they have in common for sure, though, is one thing: their lack of resemblance compared to what they claim to be. Their inaccuracies in matching up to their forebears and/or chosen muses of imitation are palpable, with anyone having even basic knowledge of their subjects being able to snuff them out.

Does this make these false imitators bad? Not necessarily. Sometimes, there’s only so much one can do to try and resemble something before one goes off the rails.

Let’s take storytelling for some examples. Movies inspired by short stories often need to make plenty of extra expansions and explanations to justify being as long as they are. Novels based on true stories may end up modifying plenty of story elements to make the plot more interesting, characters more heroic or villainous than their real counterparts, and so on.

Other times, the act of being in name only can serve humorous and/or parodic purposes. Claiming to be something not typically outwardly accepted by society while doing the opposite of it may end up highlighting the questionable actions of others involved in actual situations where the aforementioned action at hand is a centerpiece.

On a more lighthearted note, using a topic’s aesthetics without its substance can also just be played for laughs. Think of, say, a group of “pirates” who don’t actually steal anything or like the ocean that much - let alone sail the seas to plunder treasure. They can be fun to watch because they act tough in an almost over-the-top way while really just being harmless.

All of this being said, things matching up to their claimed sources in name only might also have poor results in certain situations. When circumstances become more serious, not aligning with what one claims to be can cause others to be deceived. In some cases, this may end up resulting in miscommunication and disaster from false information being spread.

Of course, there are scenarios which lie somewhere in between the worst of outright lies and the most entertaining of satire. This is frequently the domain of false marketing by middle-of-the-road corporations.

Sure, many misleading businesses are not going to kill, traumatize, or seriously injure you if you choose to buy from them. However, it is often annoying to realize that you don’t have quite the product you were outwardly promised upon purchasing it - especially if there’s no good return policy and even if there was a fine print disclaimer somewhere before you got it.

In the end, though, humans will never stop creating things which only match up to their inspirational counterparts in a minimal manner. The world cannot simply stop having those with strong senses of humour, not to mention straight up dishonest people as well.

While there are consequences to the in-name-only phenomenon, that doesn’t make it inherently unsolvable. People have lived with it for thousands of years. Given the right conditions on Earth, it will likely persist for thousands more.

So the next time you encounter something or someone, don’t just take what you immediately see at face value. Sometimes, there’s much more beneath the surface which might even end up negating it. Whether it’s good or bad, that could be for you to figure out. Or maybe not; it depends.

Any other thoughts on this? Let me know in the comments!