Problematic

Problematic (pronounced prob-luh-mat-ik)

(1) Of the nature of a problem; doubtful; uncertain; questionable; a problem or difficulty in a particular field of study.

(2) Involving or presenting a problem that is difficult to deal with or solve.

(3) Tending or likely to elicit objections or disapproval; offensive.

(4) A generalized euphemism used to refer to unfashionable opinions or statements and deployed usually as a critique of anything thought to contribute to or reinforce systemic discrimination (racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia etc), particularly if expressed implicitly or with some tricks of subtlety.

(5) In formal logic (of a proposition), asserting that a property may or may not hold; only affirming the possibility that a predicate be actualized (now rare).

1600-1610: From the Middle French problématique (doubtful, questionable, uncertain, unsettled), from the Late Latin problēmaticus, from the Ancient Greek προβληματικός (problēmatikós) (pertaining to a problem), from problēmatos, from πρόβλημα (próblēma) (out-jutting, barrier, problem), from προβάλλω (probállō) (I throw, place before), the construct being πρό (pró) (before) + βάλλω (bállō) (I throw, place).  The most common derived form is unproblematic and the connotations of problematic are now such that words once (depending on context) effectively synonymous such as ambiguous, dubious, moot, precarious, puzzling, questionable, tricky, uncertain, unsettled, arguable, chancy, debatable, disputable, doubtful, dubitable, enigmatic, iffy, indecisive & open no longer convey the same implications.  Problematic is a (rare) noun and (more commonly) an adjective, problematical is an adjective, problematically is an adverb.  Attempts to deploy problematic as a verb seem inevitable because the existing problematize ((1) to make something into a problem; (2) to consider something as if it were a problem & (3) (as an intransitive verb) to propose problems) is neutral and a loaded verb would be a more useful weapon.  In that sense the noun plural ploblematics, now rare (some claim obsolete) in formal logic, will likely evolve in parallel.

Michel Foucault (1926-1984).

The specific sense in formal logic, differentiating what is possible from what is necessarily true, has been used since the early seventeenth century although problematical appears in the papers of mathematicians, engineers and architects as early as the 1560s and the first entry in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) in 1609 defined problematic as “presenting a problem or difficulty”.  The related but distinct meaning "constituting, containing, or causing a difficulty" is a modern form from a modern discipline, used first by US sociologists in 1957.  From there (like paradigm, methodology etc), it was picked up elsewhere in academia (impressionistically appearing most popular in newer fields (gender studies, communications studies etc)) where it padded out the length a bit but added little to meaning.  What lent problematic the meaning shift which is now its most celebrated sense was one of the strands of post-modernism, the adoption by English-speaking academia of the theories of French structuralists like philosopher and literary critic Michel Foucault (1926-1984) who defined “problematization” as a process whereby something treated previously as uncontroversial by a dominant culture came to be understood not just as a problem but one demanding (political, social, legal, linguistic etc) change.

Foucault’s imperative thus was political but use of the word as exists in the twenty-first century has become nuanced.  The criticism is that problematic frequently is used merely a form of virtue-signaling, what used to be called the politics of warm inner glow: a perfunctory expression of disapprobation at something thought oppressive (racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia et al) disconnected from any positive action which might address the underlying problem (in the traditional sense of the word).  In the contemporary parlance, it’s thus a passive aggressive word, an almost polite euphemism handy to use when one wishes to show they understand something is racist, sexist, homophobic etc without wishing to be sufficiently confrontational to do anything about it.

Whether that’s a problem (or indeed problematic) has in itself been positioned as a problem in itself because, in the narrow technical sense, those who advocate a linguistic crackdown on anything which they construe as oppressive are themselves imposing another form of oppression.  Although modern terminology (like transphobia, ageism etc) might make this appear novel, the culture wars, political correctness or however else such things are described are not new and have probably operated since the earliest instances of differentiated expression in human culture.  There is however something new in the layers of deconstruction now attached to the process and the evolution of problematic is an interesting contribution to the discourse.

Generational shifts

Scarlett Harris on The Parent Trap.

In a phenomenon which is not so much new as newly institutionalized, things once not “problematic” are now often reclassified as “problematic” once analysed using current thinking in the various strains of critical theory.  That’s been going on for at least decades but is now much more obvious because social media platforms mean the number of those able instantly to find a potential world-wide audience has proliferated and, as the field become more congested, forms of expression have become increasingly strident as the algorithms rewarded those who generate the most controversy.  Structurally, re-classifications can gain critical mass because of a specific event but, as a general principle, the trend probably tends to be generational.  It was in 2023, 25 years (one of the convenient measures of “a generation” in thought) after the movie The Parent Trap (1998) was released that cultural critic Scarlett Harris explained why the comedy, once thought innocuous enough safely to be watched by young children, must now be listed as “deeply problematic”.  Acknowledging the “hijinks the twins get up to” has for decades kept it on the family friendly roster of networks and streaming services, Ms Harris observed “nostalgia is notoriously rose-colored” and if viewed through a “modern lens”, The Parent Trap must be judged: “deeply isturbed”.

Quoting psychiatrist Dr Sulman Aziz Mirza, Ms Harris says what makes The Parent Trap problematic is the way it “…glosses over the aspect of anger and resentment towards parents” and that does seem a reasonable point given the twins seemed both to cope with remarkable equanimity the sudden knowledge that after living for almost twelve years as “an only child”, each actually had a twin sibling.  Dr Mirza said, on the basis of his experience with young and adolescent patients, the children should be suffering from “the loss of a sibling bond.  To reconnect at that age [amplifies] the loss, especially in the developmental years.  We rely so much on our siblings.”  His point was the sense of loss would have been heightened in the case of twins because of the well-documented “twin bond” whereas in the film all this was ignored and what would usually have been at least potentially traumatic instead was deployed just “as a flimsy plot point to get this boring white couple back together” (in critical theory, a way usually is found to blame white people (preferably Christian, hetrosexual men) for something), adding that also could be “damaging to viewers with similar experiences.”

Ms Harris suggests that were The Parent Trap again to be remade today, “much more credence would be given to the psychological ramifications of the twins” and what should be explored would be issues like “family separation, incarceration, missing children and immigration”, which, she adds “disproportionately affect families of color.”  Dr Mirza did concede the parents in the film weren’t guilty of “child abuse per se” but it was an example of “shitty parenting”, parental separation being “…one of the ten adverse child experiences that can have impacts in adulthood.”  Now we know why The Parent Trap is “deeply problematic”.

Not all found the film problematic but then such judgements can be influenced by one’s personal experiences.  Berlin based cultural critic Olivia Ladanyi revealed that growing up with a stepfather, she’d often wondered about her “real dad” and it was The Parent Trap which inspired her “to seek him out”.  Six years old when the film was released, Ms Ladanyi reacted to her father having deserted the family as Dr Mirza suggested would be expected: feeling her “life felt as if it had been torn in half, right down the middle – like the photograph of their parents that Hallie and Annie piece together in the film.”  Looking often at a few photographs of him, she’d “fantasised about what it would be like to be reunited with this mythical man whom my childish imagination had turned into someone great” and although there had over the years been “strange” birthday gifts and “long, self-pitying letters”, it was when, at 15, she got a Facebook account that his messages “flooded” her inbox.  Included in the information imparted was that she’d been conceived in a dilapidated Transylvanian church and “real” father also had “four other children with three different women”.  Whether The Parent Trap had included details like that in the plot would have made Ms Harris think it more or less problematic is something to ponder.

Lindsay Lohan in The Parent Trap: Unlike in Disney movies, there are not always happy endings.

When Ms Ladanyi did meet him, although the reunion happened at Budapest Airport, it lacked the emotional impact of what happened in the film and the rest of her visit was similarly disappointing although on the drive to the city, her father did point out the jail where her great-grandfather had been imprisoned after being convicted of “malpractice as a gynaecologist”.  Again, splicing a gem like that into The Parent Trap’s screenplay would have made for a different sort of movie.  At the end of her brief trip, she was anxious to return to her family, her stepfather and two half-sisters feeing related in a way her “real” father did not.  Probably the most problematic thing about The Parent Trap is it gives youth an unrealistic expectation of life for rarely is it possible to go back and often it's a mistake to seek the opportunity to try.