# OK, Alanis isn't ironic... What about Futurama? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 25, 2004, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-alanis-isnt-ironic-what-about-futurama/256747 "2004-07-25T00:49:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-alanis-isnt-ironic-what-about-futurama/256747/41 "2004-07-27T22:45:10Z")
**Shade** , the context doesn’t change. The Devil meant one thing and Leela thought he meant another. **Mbossa** : it’s ironic in the “screws with our sense of fairness/what ought to be” sense, which is pretty much the only one Alanis uses in the song. According to the other definitions, no. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-alanis-isnt-ironic-what-about-futurama/256747/42 "2004-07-27T22:53:18Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > **Mbossa** : it’s ironic in the “screws with our sense of fairness/what ought to be” sense, which is pretty much the only one Alanis uses in the song. According to the other definitions, no. No, that one works. Because it isn’t nice that the place is crashing. It actually really sucks. So that passenger’s thoughts would be ironic. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2004, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-alanis-isnt-ironic-what-about-futurama/256747/43 "2004-07-27T22:55:28Z")
So irony is, or can be, equivalent to sarcasm? ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-alanis-isnt-ironic-what-about-futurama/256747/44 "2004-07-28T01:16:33Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > **Shade** , the context doesn’t change. The Devil meant one thing and Leela thought he meant another. I’m sorry, I haven’t seen the episode. I assumed there was small print or something that was later revealed. SOMETHING obviously clued them in, even if it was having it explained to them. That’s what I meant. If I say “A” and “A” can mean B or C, but I actually mean C, but it’s obvious though false that when I say it that I mean B, that’s lying. Is that not lying? Or is that not what he did? Am I insane? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-alanis-isnt-ironic-what-about-futurama/256747/45 "2004-07-28T01:20:51Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > So irony is, or can be, equivalent to sarcasm? Sarcasm is a kind of irony. All sarcasm is ironic, but not everything that is ironic is sarcastic. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-alanis-isnt-ironic-what-about-futurama/256747/46 "2004-07-28T01:40:50Z")
> [@Shade](#): > > I’m sorry, I haven’t seen the episode. I assumed there was small print or something that was later revealed. SOMETHING obviously clued them in, even if it was having it explained to them. That’s what I meant. Of _course_ there was fine print - this is the (Robot) Devil we’re talking about. 😉 > [@](#): > > If I say “A” and “A” can mean B or C, but I actually mean C, but it’s obvious though false that when I say it that I mean B, that’s lying. Is that not lying? Or is that not what he did? Am I insane? What we might call this in the everyday world is a lie of omission. The Devil didn’t SAY he wanted to chop Leela’s hand off. He said he wanted her hand and left it at that, and she took it that way. It was partial information, yes. To Bender, watching the drama unfold, it was ironic because the Robot Devil had used the words to convey something other than their literal intention. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-alanis-isnt-ironic-what-about-futurama/256747/47 "2004-07-28T02:44:59Z")
This is why I don’t call anything ironic anymore. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-alanis-isnt-ironic-what-about-futurama/256747/48 "2004-07-28T08:11:22Z")
> [@SmackFu](#): > > This is why I don’t call anything ironic anymore. Heh, a song that’s supposed to be about irony has precluded you from using the word ‘irony’. How ironic. Yeah, Ed has appeared on Conan O’Brien a number of times. Don’t know if he gigs the US, but he usually appears at the festival in Montreal (where he’s been verbally lambasted by Alanis Morisette fans). Not sure if he has any DVDs out or anything. [Here’s](http://www.edbyrne.com/) his website. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-alanis-isnt-ironic-what-about-futurama/256747.md?page=2)