Meme Report 9/13
9/11
Ever since Lois Griffin learned she could get easy cheers and claps from people just by saying 9/11, 9/11 jokes have been a little played out. As time passes, and we get more distance from the event, the legacy of 9/11 becomes more complicated, and it becomes less clear how we are supposed to behave. It also gets easier to joke. The jokes lose their shine and become less good, less insightful, and less edgy. What could you have to say on the 22nd anniversary, that hasn’t already been said? Especially on Twitter, where users often confuse the simple act of repetition for original joke writing or active participation in a meme.
The European Mind Can’t Comprehend This
It’s kind of amazing how easy it is for everyone to thoughtlessly engage with white supremacists in order to dunk on them. We only know about these accounts because every day someone is quote-tweeting them to thousands of people to win an argument they’ve already lost by engaging. No one will let them “get away with it” by ignoring them and is instead trying for the 1000th time to “get one over on these guys” by trying to explain to them how wrong they are. This time, they’re once again engaging in the tired Europe vs. America discourse. I’m over it. I’m over the Cool Ranch Doritos versus the Month of August off debate, even in jest. It will never end and we’re running out of new points to make. Let’s fight with Canada again. Bring something new to the table.
A Source Tells TMZ
The tide has turned on short kings. They’ve lost their crown, or it was simply removed from their heads and placed on a high shelf. As goes Sophie Turner, so goes the nation, and short kings are out. No man can disparage a woman in the press and expect to be spared jokes about his height. Lesson learned, You can’t keep a tall girl down and even if she won’t sink to your level, the rest of us will on her behalf.
TikTok
Wedding Shit Talkers
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When a TikTok goes viral on Twitter like this it points out that on each platform we are speaking a completely different language. While sometimes this leads to unfair assessments of character and misunderstandings that are lost in translation, other times it points out to me that ultimately Twitter is where the adults are talking and there is a cultural sickness on TikTok that I can’t endorse. On Twitter, the shit-talkers and haters are celebrated and have made their voice heard. They have also taken the time to write out their thoughts rather than trust in their off-the-cuff storytelling skills. Twitter is absolutely right in its stance here. Let the Shit talkers live.
Shit Talking is fine and even encouraged. It’s normal and actually allows for negative feelings to be alleviated without creating unnecessary conflict. Perhaps it’s the video aspect but TikTok seems to abide by the same rules as the Real Housewives. It is a place fueled by drama and Shit Talking and gossip but it is frowned upon to engage in any of those things. “If you had a problem with me, I’d prefer you to talk out with me first” is the lie these people tell themselves and then make the rest of us engage with. It seems healthy and ready to accept and handle conflict but it rarely is. No one actually wants to hear and deal with other’s petty problems. In the world of The Real Housewives, this phrase is just what they say to table an issue until the reunion. It means nothing of substance and ends storylines about shit-talking, which never have that much juice anyway.
The truth is, and has always been, it’s none of my business what other people think of me. Sure we’d all love to know the worst things anyone in our lives could think to say about us, but it’s never worth it and will not resolve anything, in any relationship. The people who take it upon themselves to be these intermediaries, otherwise known as shit stirrers, think of themselves as noble do-gooders, making society a better simpler place. They fail to see themselves as instigators in a conflict they have no part in, ruining lives for the sake of “doing good.” The same people who see all gossip as inherently negative rather than a valuable social tool. The people who want everyone to be nice to each other all the time and let people enjoy things. They fail to see the conflict they create by disallowing it from our social circles both public and private. I have to give this one to the Twitter scolds because they have thoughtfully considered and argued for my right to talk shit, and I know who I need on my side. Also, nothing any of those girls said is that bad. That’s a light day in the world of shit-talking.
The US Open’s Official TikTok
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It’s kind of amazing to me that someone at the US Open is doing YouTube Poop-style recaps of the tournament in 2023 and they’re not half bad. I want to hate it, in a passé Denny’s Twitter kind of way but I think it added to the overall vibe of what has been a fun US Open. The “Let’s do a silly one” of The Grand Slam Tournaments. It wouldn’t work for Wimbledon but there’s a kind of New York scrappiness or American ingenuity that makes the ever less stuffy sport of tennis a little more fun. I’m more forgiving of a brand account if it is more interested in entertaining and informing me than in selling me something.
Sour/Guts
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I will have more thoughts on Olivia Rodrigo and her career trajectory in this week’s Mean Girl Moment, but for now, there is a TikTok trend and I’ll give you my thoughts on that for free.
This trend points to the youth of Olivia Rodrigo’s fans. The difference between 2021 and 2023 is huge for them. Everyone doing the trend does look different, mostly because the later effects of puberty have taken hold. None of their changes are that drastic but for many it’s the difference between freshman year and senior year. Fundamentally still the same but you look older and maybe a little wiser, but not that wise. Personally, I look the same and I’m a little bit dumber.