Pop Culture dictionary
Funkentelechy
[fuhngk-en-tel-uh-kee]
What does Funkentelechy mean?
Ready to get down—and realize your full potential? Funkentelechy is a 1977 song by funk band Parliament from their album Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome. The playful coinage means “realizing one’s potential funkiness.”
Where does Funkentelechy come from?
Funk band Parliament released Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome in 1977, which featured the 10-minute-plus track “Funkentelechy.”
The word Funkentelechy is a blend of “funk,” a genre of music that originated from Black communities in the 1960s influenced by jazz and soul, and entelechy. Entelechy is a Greek philosophical concept of “realization or actuality as opposed to a potentiality,” aka “being real.”
For Parliament, entelechy could be achieved through the down-to-earth-ness of funk. So, Funkentelechy is like “realizing one’s potential funkiness,” especially in the face of the Placebo Syndrome, which Parliament imagined as the mind-controlling forces of consumerism.
Parliament released 40 years ago 'Funkentelechy Vs. The Placebo Syndrome'. What's your favorite Parliament or Funkadelic release? https://t.co/8rEgxYnpOa pic.twitter.com/bp5VVd6Wt4
— Discogs (@discogs) November 28, 2017
In 1978, Rolling Stone praised Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome as a “funk opera.” The track and album continue to influence artists today—and still gets people on the dance floor.
Examples of Funkentelechy
Who uses Funkentelechy?
References to Funkentelechy are typically about the personal, cultural, and musical influence of the song and album.
1. Enter The Wu-Tang
2. Funkentelechy v. Placebo Syndrome
3. Dah Shinin’
4. Take It To The Stage
5. Redman – Muddy Waters https://t.co/fq0hh4kwKM— Ed Vaguely Jr. (@Roopee) November 6, 2017
Funkentelechy is also discussed in reference to Parliament’s anti-consumerist themes and aesthetic of Afrofuturism.
Here’s a way-out 1977 American TV commercial for Parliament Funkedelic’s album, ‘Funkentelechy vs the Placebo Syndrome.’ pic.twitter.com/zJJPCBvBnj
— Nikki Kreuzer (@NikkiKreuzer) March 16, 2019
Occasionally, Parliament and funk aficionados use Funkentelechy in the spirit of the song, i.e., realizing one’s potential.
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of Funkentelechy like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of Funkentelechy that will help our users expand their word mastery.