The Lioness
The ladies were having a bit of fun on Twitter dot com last week. This understated meme is a play on the George R.R. Martin quote, “The Lion does not concern himself with the opinions of sheep,” which is a favorite among the alpha male Peaky Blinders Reddit types. It’s a quote that almost sounds good until you realize it’s from Game of Thrones. This meme is about playing in the manosphere in an almost neutral tone. It’s not a loud subversion or obvious attempt at satire. It’s just a little fun world play with one of their favorite phrases. It’s fun to pretend to be someone important. To call yourself a lioness in regards to ignoring a problem in your life and calling it strategy. It’s not overtly an anti-manosphere sentiment, it’s just proof that we can do it too, and maybe enjoy it more and better than they do.
Lilo and Stitch
Another Live Action Disney Movie. Another endless series of discourse. Is this the death of cinema as we know it? Do they make movies for children anymore? Does anyone even care about either of those problems? All of this discourse would be more interesting if we didn’t just do it with the live-action Snow White that came out in March. We’ve crossed the line of how much I can care about Disney in a given year. I love to get mad about movies, but come on. Can’t we all take a breath and decide some things simply aren’t worth our time?
I obviously don’t have children, so I’m not going to think about the live-action Lilo and Stitch after I write this. I might think about the original some more, as it was the Recent Disney Movie™ when I was a child, so I watched it at multiple birthday parties, last days of school, and rained-out events. The most important thing about Lilo and Stitch is the creation of the TV series, which was awesome, and the video game inspired by the TV series, where one created sandwiches by catching them on bread. It was very fun and I spent hours playing it. One of the best games of all time. Everything else that happens in regard to Lilo and Stitch is not my problem and none of my business. The important thing to remember, though, is that the live-action Disney movies have almost no cultural footprint, so in the end, it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks about them, especially because the originals are all readily available on Disney+. I did read an excellent piece this weekend by Clare from Famous and Beloved in Fran Magazine (two of my faves) about Lilo and Stitch, and she had the best take on the remake.
TikTok
Holy FKIN Airball
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I have never seen one of these that was executed flawlessly or even well. A trend like this requires no comedic timing, and yet people are still finding ways to make watching and interacting with these videos a less-than-pleasant experience for the viewer. A trend like this makes no consideration for its audience. There is no barrier to entry, no creativity required, so the uncreative with semi-unique life experiences flock to it to once again share their singular fun fact. This trend relies on a straw man who guesses about their hobby or makes an assumption about their life, leading to the titular air ball. Most people, even though they are probably basing the dialogue on real and frequent conversations, are incapable of writing an airball straw man well. The stranger’s assumption in most cases is reasonable and an obvious attempt to connect. It often isn’t an airball but simply a missed basket. Let alone worthy of the response “Holy fkin Air ball.” Everyone wants to be special and unknowable, but it's to the detriment of almost everything else. This trend is too normie-coded to ever be executed well. Even the best version falls below the standard of anything I would purposely want to waste my time with.
My Name is Pink and I’m Really Glad to Meet You
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Pink Pantheress is one of the few current artists with whom I know I am in safe hands. No one has a better handle on their whole thing than Pink. Her Y2K-inspired beep-boop music remains fun and airy throughout her albums. Her cheeky Britishness has been enhanced for the most recent album to increase the sense that she’s having fun with it. The TikTok hit from this album comes with a trend started by Ms. Pantheress herself. She has always had a place on TikTok as her music sounds like living inside a computer. This trend combines quirky, eye-catching lyrics that are made to go viral with a song that actually sounds good when you listen. The trend itself is nothing special, but the sudden turn to “is this illegal?” does make me laugh every time. Finally, someone made a song about how ridiculous anxiety is without the self-serious need to talk about it as a disease. Pop Music is back!
just here to say that this made my day hahahah