Happy Pride baby!!! June is pride month, and what once started as protest for the rights of LGBTQ people has morphed into something so far from that, it boggles the mind. IRL, Pride has become a corporate sponsored chance to make money off of gay people. On the internet, it’s a chance to observe the most deranged fights between people who actually lived through the AIDS crisis and people who have never heard of Sarah Schulman. For me, its a chance to send crazy tweets to my friends and then drink with said friends from a Miller Lite cup the size of my forearm with the pansexual flag on it. It’s a great month if you accept the absurdity of the situation and a horrible month if you have any kind of critical thinking skills. I’m sure, at some point later today some kind of discourse will erupt and we’ll have our best (worst) minds on it. Can’t wait!
Morbius
We’re doing Moribius again! I agree with everyone that Morbius did not get enough play the first time around and it is in fact still funny. Maybe it's the years on film twitter but I always think it’s funny to pretend to love a movie, especially one you haven’t seen because it looks bad. What makes Morbius special is that no one has seen it. Unless of course you count the gif of the entire movie, which I do. Everyone is ready for Summer of Morbius! It’s Morbin’ time!
#Swedengate
People on twitter are first and foremost, scholars of other people's culture. We love to learn about the countries of the world and their customs and go “that's weird, why do they do that?” Especially European countries that have been lauded as better and more progressive than America. This week we were able to take down Sweden, who after years of listening to their otherworldly pop music, we have finally turned on. We learned that if you go to someone’s house for a play date or some kind of hang out, they’re not expected to serve you dinner if they are also eating. It’s weird and impolite from an American perspective, and most other perspectives as well. Most cultures believe in feeding guests. Most cultures pride themselves on their ability to keep everybody fed. It leads me to the question: all that socialism and for what? A culture where you wait upstairs while your best friend's family eats pickled herring? I hope we can keep this going and set our sights on Norway next.
Sorry, what did you expect? They’re white girls from the valley who were beloved in 2013 when Indie music was incredibly white, nerdy, and lame. They’ve changed their style and aesthetic a bit since then but not by much. They’re a little less twee and a little more sexy but still a little goofy. It’s a not bad from three girls who I wouldn’t expect to dance that well. It’s not as bas as “go girl give us nothing” Dua lipa, who as a pop star, should be a better dancer. Haim is cool to very specific crowd in a very specific way. They’re not across the board cool. They know that, the fans know that, and by now, no one who likes them is evangelizing them as some kind of universally beloved standard. They are what they are. Sure they dance weird and silly but they’re pretty good for a band whose entire fanbase drinks exclusively White Wine at their shows.
Do Not Be Afraid
This Depop screenshot was posted on thursday by morning and by thursday afternoon I had seen it reposted ten times from ten different accounts. It always bothers me when something so milquetoast and uninspired goes viral like this. It’s cute. It’s fine. But it’s not the best thing Depop Drama has posted. Depop is a wasteland of malnourished mean girls who hate paying for things but believe their last season brandy melville counts as vintage. Everyone is ruthless and mean and has impossible expectations. This account puts that on display and we get to laugh at the horrible ways these girls are treating each other. This post though…. It’s a weak joke from a feel good sitcom. The lowest form of humor, and yet everyone was tickled by it. Death of culture vibes.
TikTok
Well I hate it. I think it’s harder to listen to than it is funny. I don’t think any video that uses it is funny, though many seem to disagree with me. It requires effort and thought to make a good video that uses this feature but no one is willing to put in that effort. Everyone wants to be funny, no one wants to try.
I wish more people viewed this meme as a chance to play the silliest song they could. Instead it has started discourse about marketing, which suddenly everyone is an expert in. This meme could be a lot more fun but we’re wading into the waters of pop star fandom and the rights of said pop stars which is tricky and annoying business. I personally have no investment. I’m not interested in litigating this from truly any perspective. I do love silly songs though so if we could keep up the good work there, I would really appreciate that. Even saying “my label wants me to” before doing things you don’t want to do is fun. My label wants me to do my laundry tonight. It's the adult version of “My mom says I can’t hang out.” which we have long needed.
I like when a meme starts with straight boys and then trickles down to gay girls and then everyone else. It’s a fun demographic who can share a similar sense of humor if the vibes are right. The only people here who are giving the performance this meme deserves are the straight boys and gay girls. They’re the only people who understand that their stretching is high energy, fan demanded, and seconds away from scoring. The scenario here is not stretching before a game. It is warming up to sub in for someone mid game. The energy is high. This is the chance to finally prove yourself. The star player senior is exhausted. This is the championship game and through sheer luck and timing, the freshman benchwarmer is about to go in. That’s you. That’s how all the creators should be playing it. The sound is chanting because the vibe of your video should be electric, the way every football (soccer) stadium is. A perfect version of this meme encapsulates all that emotion. An imperfect one has weak stretching and a lack of enthusiasm and hustle.
This meme has everything. Story, Character, Setting, Conflict, History. Not every TikTok sound needs this level of worldbuilding but more of them do. It’s equal parts reading and watching and within those two functions the author can create a rich text and a myriad of relationships. All of it can be fictional or real. Within the initial setup, dancing at a best friend's wedding, more scenarios can be created. More characters added. Each person takes what the initial text gives them and puts their own spin on it. An incredible meme which enriches the lore of not only the tiktoker creating it but the overall meme itself. If one person is at a bar mitzvah, could another person be at a middle school dance? Could we be mad at the Bride’s mother rather than the bride’s husband? Is this scenario real or imagined? There’s a million places to go and a million new characters to introduce. It’s a magical world we’ve all created together.
i liked the do not be afraid text i thought it was cute but I see your point. My label wants me to do my laundry is a very funny thing to say, way to go kathryn!
Proud to report Dua Lipa has upped her game a lot since the bad dancing incident