Content Consumed: Prequels, Tom Brady, Meghan Markle, and NYFW clout
¡Hola! I just wrapped up a wonderful—slightly stressful, as it consisted of quite a bit of wedding planning—week out-of-office in Oaxaca, Mexico. I’m still here, but actually working this week. Wanna catch up?
In today’s edition of Content Consumed…
👠 The TikTokification of Fashion Week
☕️ What’s going on with Tom Brady?
🎯 Leave Meghan Markle alone!
🎬 Why we’re watching prequels
📚 Early book review: Last Call at the Hotel Imperial
Get your clout up at Fashion Week
Generous theory: New York Fashion Week is a special, annual fashion event with accessible events across the city featuring once-in-a-lifetime performances and displays of artistry.
Apparent reality: The NYFW of 2022 is full of TikTok influencers attempting to “out-clout” each other to scooch a couple of feet further forward in every line. Of which there are many, snaking around endless blocks of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
I loved Delia Cai’s coverage for Vanity Fair of the “Heaven by Marc Jacobs” party. Memorable bits:
- Delia’s friend wound up hanging out next to the entryway, where apparently “everyone was trying to argue and out-clout their way in.” ‘I love your TikToks’ is all anybody in the line was saying to each other, she said.
- People posted TikToks about how to get into NYFW shows and parties by listing PR emails. “There were always a lot of random requests — but it’s actually gotten so much worse because of TikTok,” one publicist complained.
- An argument from one TikToker is that she’s on a “general mission to democratize insider information.” She “doesn’t believe in gatekeeping” and wants to tell the next generation of creatives in fashion: “Hey, I learned this and I want to share it with you so you don’t have to get unpaid internships for a year.”
The thesis via Delia:
“The TikTok inundation is a matter of crowd control, sure, but it’s also raising high-stakes questions about the nature of modern fashion’s supposed commitment to accessibility, inclusivity, and relevance.”
Ah, ~the TikTokification of Fashion Week~.
Tom Brady Divorce Watch
Is it happening? Has it happened yet?
I recognize that this is, potentially, salacious celebrity gossip. But there are structural and societal themes here worth exploring. Hear me out!
One could see this as a classic case of the mother being forced to stay home—give up her career ambitions, dedicate her time and energy to the household and family—while the father pursues all of his dreams and goals. Let’s specifically examine this quote from Gisele Bundchen’s recent interview with ELLE:
I’ve done my part, which is [to] be there for [Tom]. I moved to Boston, and I focused on creating a cocoon and a loving environment for my children to grow up in and to be there supporting him and his dreams. Seeing my children succeed and become the beautiful little humans that they are, seeing him succeed, and being fulfilled in his career — it makes me happy…I have a huge list of things that I have to do, that I want to do.
More background, briefly: Brady retired from the NFL in February after two decades in the sport. He un-retired in March. Then he took a mysterious 11-day break from training camp and the NFL pre-season in August.
To go on Masked Singer? To rekindle his marriage via a trip to the Bahamas? To get plastic surgery? It’s unconfirmed, but any of those three theories could have legs.
Okay, okay. I’m done with the gossip now. Moving on.
Leave! Meghan Markle! Alone!
Forty-five minutes of a surprise outing outside Windsor Castle last Saturday. Then, an endless barrage of online criticism, uneducated critique, and thinly-veiled racist commentary.
It appears every white middle-aged British woman has made a Twitter account and taken on the role of lip-reader, body-language analyst, fashion critic, and protocol expert since the Queen’s death and Meghan’s arrival in the U.K.
Immediate example here; a tweet that reads:
“The smirk. She couldn’t care less. Even holding hands again walking out. No class. Even now disrespecting #QueenElizabeth, traditions and protocol. Just there for the big historic shots and to testify her right of peddling her title, her right to exist. #MeghanMarkleGoHome”
First of all, why’d Twitter ever change the 140-character limit? Second of all, you can’t tell me there aren’t racist undertones there. Third/fourth/fifth of all, what smirk? Why can’t she hold hands with her grieving husband? Where’s the disrespect?
Also, Meghan Markle’s right to exist goes beyond the British monarchy. Oh my god, get a grip, folks!
This NYT article summarizes other actions of Meghan which have put the British media and public in a downright tizzy, very important things such as…. How did Meghan’s dress (black and calf-length, with a flared skirt) compare with Kate’s dress (black and calf-length, with a slim skirt)?
It’s prequel season
We’re all watching prequels, baby. Favorites amongst the general public right now include The House of the Dragon, The Rings of Power, Better Call Saul, Fear the Walking Dead, and various Star Wars shows and films.
Why do we love prequels? For me, and obviously others, it’s fascinating to traverse the histories of the worlds built in our favorite shows. Character exploration is ripe for opportunity with every sequel, as demonstrated by Better Call Saul. Or, like with The House of the Dragon, the family lineage of our favorite characters. (Hey, we’re pretending Season 8 doesn’t exist for Daenerys. And that hundreds of people didn’t name their daughters “Khaleesi”.)
But, as TV critic James Poniewozik notes, isn’t it a bit exhausting to wring more life out of existing intellectual property? Shouldn’t we look for new worlds, new characters, new adventures?
However, there’s also comfort in a prequel in this uncertain world, as Poniewozik poses: “Maybe prequels satisfy the same urge we felt in our earliest days as audiences, asking for one more read from a well-worn book at bedtime: Tell me a story where I know how it turns out.”
Book review… so far: Last Call at the Hotel Imperial
This week I dove into the nonfiction narrative book Last Call at the Hotel Imperial: The Reporters Who Took On a World at War. Or, as one reviewer called it, an ambitious ensemble biography.
The book follows the intersecting careers, friendships, and sex lives of four famously influential foreign correspondents covering Europe (and a bit of the Middle East and Africa) between the World Wars.
No, like very influential: apparently Hitler personally banned one featured journalist’s writings (Jimmy Sheean). Another’s portrayal of the Führer in his bestseller Inside Europe earned him a spot on the Gestapo’s hit list (John Gunther). The story also follows powerful women like Dorothy Thompson, who helped Prez. Roosevelt shape American foreign policy.
I’ve been surprised by how intimate the book’s been so far, especially in exploring the sexuality of various historical idols like Sinclair Lewis and Rebecca West.
God bless journalists — always documenting. This book couldn’t have been written without their endless collections of personal letters and professional publications. It’s pretty long at nearly 600 pages and it’s full of details. I’m expecting to finish in October if I’m ambitious about it.
