Jada Pinkett Smiths’ memoir
Every time an otherwise somewhat fascinating celebrity writes a memoir, we are forced to experience it, almost page by page. Every day we wake up and there’s more news about Jada Pinkett Smith. Both stuff I was curious about and things I never wanted to know. There’s always something else. I haven’t checked the Jada wire today but I’m sure there’s some new snippet for me to read. It’s not her fault we’re being told like this but please stop telling us more.
Pete Davidson as Swiftie
It’s interesting to me that Swifties see someone dressed up like them and think it’s meme-worthy. It’s wild to add “Me when…” when that was always the intention. It feels like they’re skipping a step, or adding an extra one. It is you. The design behind the character is that it’s stuff you wear and how you act. It’s not a meme and more pointing in the mirror and recognizing yourself. Me, when I’m looking in the mirror. Me, when I’m pointing. I don’t know if it’s self-obsession; obsession with Taylor; or obsession with obsession that leads to this kind of meme, where the people being made fun of don't recognize that there is a joke. It’s not that they are laughing with SNL, it’s that they’re laughing at a joke they don’t realize was already written for them.
TikTok
Sticking Out Your Gyatt
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I make it my job to understand every incomprehensible thing I am faced with on TikTok. I must look into it. I need to learn what the hell everyone is talking about. Last week a song went viral that was made up of mostly gibberish words. Those who didn’t understand were horrified and those who did were 12. What we’re dealing with here is a cover of another viral TikTok song: ecstacy by SUICIDAL-IDOL — which is such a classic name for a TikTok song beloved by children — with the lyrics changed to be meme-relevant. The rest of us had to piece together understanding from what little context we had. Here are the lyrics as I understand them.
Sticking out your Gyatt - what was once short for goddamn is now “Gen Z slang” for thicc because of white kids watching a twitch stream. It’s usage is meant to shock and throw old people off the scent of comprehension.
for the rizzler - Rizz, short for Charisma is this Gen Z (or even Gen Alpha’s) version of the millennial’s game and the Boomer’s Sweet Talk. The Rizzler, is a play on the Riddler because the children loved Matt Reeves’ The Batman.
You’re so skibidi- This is of course Skibidi Toilet. Kids love Skibidi Toilet.
You’re so fanum tax - From LifeHacker: “an in-joke from Twitch streamer Phanum. He apparently takes a little of the food from the plate of anyone who is eating around him and calls it a “Fanum tax.” Probably the weakest of all the references. The others have a larger appeal and this one immediately shuts out larger populations.
I just want to be your sigma. - Sigma Males. Like Alpha males but instead of idolize being a leader, they idolize being alone. The Sigma grindset is characterized by suffering for no reason and making ones life difficult in order to appeal to women. The Sigma is more a caricature of men’s idealized version of masculinity but is understood to be a once genuine section of the Man-o-verse.
Some people take these moments of not understanding with pride and accept it. They loved the feeling of bewilderment that came with the song and went forth with the freedom that comes with not knowing, or not trying to know. They loved the song. My journey in this life is not the same as theirs. I have to know and I cannot love. They produce covers with a kind of peace I will never know.
Personally, I think this is a little inorganic. The real song was not as popular as the people reacting to it. It’s made to respond to and perplex adults. A troll more than anything. It has no purpose beyond making people 18 and over feel insane. The kids don’t actually enjoy this to the degree it is popular. We’ve overreacted.
She Really Is Hungry
On Twitter Simpsons memes come from a sense of duty. They have been around for so long, they are a part of the DNA of the website. Who can say if they’re good memes in and of themselves or just well-crafted jokes from the golden age of The Simpsons. The point is made either way but so often the meme is just pulling from the source material and repeating the original joke. Very few changes are made, and very little collective creativity. On TikTok, it’s a different story. There’s not the same level of reverence or knowledge widely spread. I was shocked to learn the context of a genuinely funny clip was not from a YouTube show I had to begrudgingly admit was funny but from a universally beloved show I took pleasure in discovering was on the precipice of a TikTok revival. TikTok could become a more interesting and fun place if they would only embrace Homer and co. The meme is a harbinger of the world we could have if someone would take it upon themselves to upload more clips.
Call Me Crazy
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I get what we’re doing. I see how we’re having fun here. Unfortunately, every single person trying to make fun of this girl cannot tell a story to save their lives. No one can succinctly tell their “crazy” story. Poor Pesto girl and her notifications. Every day another stitch by someone trying to prove how crazy they are without the ability to convey that in under a minute. The longer it goes on the more people who aren’t “crazy” or don’t have any fun “crazy stories” try to participate and we end up watching 3-minute TikToks by someone who is as normal, if not more so than Pesto girl. We also didn’t need to do this to her. She’s obviously joking. She knows when she says “Call me crazy” that she’s not being serious. We’re trying to dunk on someone who was also joking—zero sum game.