You’re sitting in a beige waiting room. The carpet has that weird industrial loop pattern. A clock ticks. It’s not dramatic. It’s not tragic. It’s just... there. This is the banal meaning of existence in a nutshell. Most people use the word "banal" as a fancy way to say "boring," but that’s barely scratching the surface of what it actually does to our brains.
Think about the last time you scrolled through a social media feed and saw the exact same avocado toast photo for the tenth time. Or heard someone say, "It is what it is." That’s banality. It’s the predictable, the trite, and the utterly unoriginal. But here’s the kicker: we actually need it. Without the banal, the extraordinary would have nothing to stand against. It’s the white noise of human culture.
Where Did This Word Even Come From?
Originally, "banal" didn't mean boring at all. It was actually about law. In feudal France, banal referred to things that were "compulsory for the community." We’re talking about the village oven, the wine press, or the mill. Everyone had to use them because the lord owned them. They were common. They were for everyone.
Over centuries, that "commonality" shifted. It went from "shared by everyone" to "so common it’s annoying." By the 1800s, it started sticking to ideas and art that lacked any spark of individuality. If everyone is doing it, it’s banal.
The Banality of Evil: A Heavy Turn
You can't talk about the banal meaning of things without mentioning Hannah Arendt. In 1963, she wrote Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil. It’s a terrifying concept. She watched the trial of Adolf Eichmann, a high-ranking Nazi, and expected to see a monster. Instead, she saw a bureaucrat.
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He wasn't a sociopathic mastermind in the way movies portray villains. He was a guy who liked following rules and organizing train schedules. Arendt’s point was that great evil doesn't always come from "evil" people; it often comes from people who are just terrifyingly average and refuse to think for themselves. They succumb to a banal adherence to duty. This shifted the word from a critique of bad poetry to a warning about the human condition.
Why We Hate (and Secretly Love) Banal Things
Ever wonder why Hallmark movies are so popular despite being the literal definition of banal? They are predictable. You know exactly when the girl from the big city is going to fall for the guy in the flannel shirt who owns a lumber yard.
There is a psychological comfort in the repetitive.
- Predictability reduces anxiety. Your brain doesn't have to work hard to process a banal sitcom.
- Social Cohesion. Shared clichés give us a common language. Small talk about the weather is banal, but it’s the social lubricant that prevents awkward silence.
- The Baseline. We need the mundane to appreciate the peaks. If every day was a mountain-top experience, you'd be exhausted by Tuesday.
Honestly, our modern world is a factory for the banal. We have "vibe shift" trends that last four days. We have AI-generated listicles that sound like they were written by a robot trying to pass as a human (ironic, right?). When everything is accessible, everything starts to look the same.
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Banal vs. Mundane: The Subtle Difference
People swap these words out all the time. Don't do that.
The mundane is just the stuff of the world. Brushing your teeth is mundane. Folding laundry is mundane. It’s the physical reality of being alive.
Banal, however, carries a judgment. It implies that something should have been creative or interesting but failed. A sunset isn't banal—it’s just a sunset. But a painting of a sunset that looks exactly like a postcard you’d buy at a gas station? That is banal. It lacks the "aura" that philosopher Walter Benjamin talked about in his essays on art and mechanical reproduction.
The Death of Originality?
We live in a "remix" culture. Mark Fisher, a cultural theorist, often talked about how we’ve lost the ability to imagine the future, so we just keep recycling the past. That’s why every movie is a sequel or a reboot. It’s the banality of the "content" era. We aren't creating; we're just rearranging the furniture of the 20th century.
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How to Escape the Banal Meaning of Modern Life
Is it possible to live a life that isn't just a series of clichés? Maybe. But it takes effort.
- Notice the "Glimmers." This is a term used in psychology to describe the opposite of triggers. It’s finding a tiny, specific detail in the mundane that feels special. Maybe it’s the way the light hits a cracked sidewalk.
- Stop using idioms. Try to describe your day without saying "at the end of the day" or "it's a win-win." If you change your language, you change your thoughts.
- Read difficult things. Banal content is easy to digest. Read something that makes you squint and re-read the same sentence four times.
- Embrace the "Dead Time." Instead of pulling out your phone the second you're bored (which leads to consuming banal content), just be bored. Let your brain itch.
The Actionable Truth
The banal meaning of our lives isn't a death sentence. It’s a canvas. If you feel like your existence is becoming a series of repetitive loops—work, eat, Netflix, sleep—it's time to introduce "controlled friction."
Do something inefficient. Take the long way home. Talk to a stranger about something other than the weather. Read a physical book. The antidote to banality isn't necessarily "excitement"; it’s attention. When you pay deep attention to something, it ceases to be banal.
Start today by identifying one thing you do on autopilot. Whether it's the way you make your coffee or the route you walk to the train, change one tiny variable. Break the loop. The "common" only becomes "boring" when we stop looking at it.
Next Steps for Deepening Your Perspective:
- Audit Your Vocabulary: For the next 24 hours, try to avoid "filler" phrases and clichés in your emails and texts. Notice how much harder it is to express yourself without leaning on the banal.
- The 10-Minute Observation: Sit in a public place without a phone or book. Find three details that no one else would notice. Write them down. This practice trains your brain to see past the surface level of the everyday.
- Read Arendt: If you want the "hard mode" version of this topic, pick up The Banality of Evil. It will change how you look at news cycles and corporate structures forever.