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Comment by krapp

2 days ago

OK at this point I've seen the specific term "kayfabe" be brought up often enough and on enough platforms in regards to Trump and Musk's shenanigans that it's legitimately weird. Who's writing this script?

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krapp

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jfengel  1 day ago

Kayfabe, in itself, is improvised. The wrestler develops their character and performs it live. The wrestling federation will help fine-tune the performances and set long-term arcs, but a new wrestler generally develops their own character at the start.

The outcomes of the matches are scripted, and so is the story leading up to the match, but "kayfabe" is about what the wrestler does any time they're in public. It refers specifically to the fact that they always practice it in public, and never drop the character.

As it applies to this... there are accusations that this is being plotted out by various nefarious actors, but I don't think so. We have comically oversized, outlandish performances -- possibly different from who they are when the cameras aren't on them, but the cameras are always on these two. People want the kayfabe, and they seem happy to provide it.

lcnPylGDnU4H9OF  1 day ago

Isn’t it a meme? Like in the literal sense. The spat was dramatic and rather sudden, coming from two public figures who are known showboaters. It seems like kayfabe and it’s a bit amusing to call it that, especially when it’s not. That’s a perfect meme, meaning “idea that spreads naturally”.

  • krapp  1 day ago

    Maybe, and maybe I'm just out of touch with the memes and falling victim to the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, but it isn't even that common a word, and all of a sudden everyone it seems like everyone using it. And Google Trends definitely shows a spike in usage[0]. It's probably my own paranoia but when I see the exact same phrase (like "roaring economy") being used by a lot of people it seems like propaganda, especially given how deeply manipulated and controlled every form of media and communication is nowadays.

    For instance.. why did everyone all of a sudden care so much about the price of eggs during the last election? There's no way that was entirely organic.

    [0]https://trends.google.com/trends/explore/TIMESERIES/17492196...

    • lcnPylGDnU4H9OF  21 hours ago

      > it isn't even that common a word, and all of a sudden everyone it seems like everyone using it

      In this particular case, it is a very unique word. I don't know of any that even come close to meaning the same thing. People with a desire to express their observations may find only a single word to do so. FWIW, I was familiar with the word already and I've similarly notice a seeming uptick in use on this site.

      > For instance.. why did everyone all of a sudden care so much about the price of eggs during the last election? There's no way that was entirely organic.

      I see your point and I think you're on the right track. It's memetics. Egg prices being high is a meme. The public spat between Donald Trump and Elon Musk being a kayfabe performance is a meme. Neither is necessarily an engineered meme.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memetics#Applications

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memetic_engineering