Pop Culture Mondays/10.16.23
The “Let’s Breathe” Edition
Hello, my darlings. It’s been a week. I am not sure about you, but I have been all over the map emotionally. I have cried a lot. I have gotten angry and written messages -before deleting them — to people in my life I am disappointed with at this moment. I have taken to my bed…a LOT. I have turned to content for comfort. Not online tbh. Social media has not done anything much other than to enrage me, break me, and infuriate me. No, I mean good old-fashioned TV. I have watched movies I have seen a million times, like Notting Hill, that have given me a lot of comfort. I have watched new shows like The Fall of the House of Usher on Netflix, which is sort of scary, tbh but also so brilliant and addictive and pure escapism. I mean, it’s inspired by Edgar Allan Poe, so what’s not to love? Ravens? CHECK. Beating hearts? CHECK. I love it. (Also, Luke Skywalker AND Elliot from ET?? YEP.)
But even with all this escapism (I forgot to mention I have increased my edible intake A LOT), it is impossible to avoid what is happening worldwide. And it is stunning. It is shocking. Why is it so hard to agree on these things?
- What happened in Israel was HORRIFYING. It was inhumane and unforgivable and a tragedy of tragedies.
- None of these beautiful innocent babies and kids and civilians did anything at all to deserve this. NO one deserves this.
- That Hamas is a terrorist organization responsible for brutality of Israelis AND their own people.
- You can be against Hamas and NOT against the plight of the Palestinian people.
- You can be against the Israeli government AND against what happened in Israel.
- You can be against the Occupation of Gaza and against the terrorism in Israel.
- AND…we can universally CONDEMN antisemitism in ALL forms. We can hate Hamas and not hate the innocent Palestinians. We can hate Bibi and his government and not hate the Jewish people.
So, I try to put together a PCM that will make you smile. That will make you think and feel…but also laugh, I hope. I think Pete Davidson said it perfectly on SNL this weekend:
And if you want to hear more of my thoughts on what’s happening…I did a short podcast on it just talking about my own experiences in Israel. Give it a listen:
And a beautiful must-read piece from Katie Rosman today in the New York Times (free link):
So, with that, let’s just escape for a minute or two.
Xx,
Brooke
HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
Yes, NEED. Ha ok, maybe not NEED, but you will be informed with useless and fun info. I am just doing a quick summary this week rather than focusing on any one thing…just because my brain and heart are still not ok so this is what we get.
Let’s start with…
OYSTERGATE:
When the kids need an escape…well, they deliver. And here is how we have come to oystergate. Let me explain. A creator went viral for a TikTok showing us a date she went on. We never see the faces of either, but the girl explained that the guy had asked her out for a drink, so she picked an oyster bar she liked, and on this date, she proceeded to eat….48 oysters. She ordered four plates of a dozen oysters…and ate them herself, along with crab cakes and some potatoes. We go along for the ride with her as she slurps up (literally) one oyster after another. At which point the check comes, the dude has gone to the bathroom, and it takes a minute for the girl to realize he has totally bailed on her. WHICH the internet is in full agreement on.
Let me show you the OG TkTok:
But for me, the funnier part has been the response. Everyone is weighing in, and some of them are pretty funny:
But who is now NOT craving oysters? I mean, the oyster industry should hire her immediately.
OUR TAY TAY HAS BEEN BUSY:
No, Taylor has not yet commented on Israel or what is happening in the Middle East as I am writing this. I am torn on this tbh. I know people like Taylor and Selena Gomez have massive platforms, but how they use their voices is ultimately their own choice, and perhaps they don't feel an Instagram post is the right format. I am HOPING there are other actions she is taking, perhaps behind the scenes. I just don’t know.
But Taylor was busy with other things this past week, like promoting her new movie, which is not a movie per se, but a Taylor Swift concert on a screen. The premiere was just down the road from me at the Grove, and traffic alerts started earlier that day. The premiere was a hit, and the movie thus far has brought in $97 million in the US and $130 million globally…but are you surprised?
No. The surprise was THIS:
This was monumental for many reasons, and I have to hand it to these two women because THEY ARE BRILLIANT. As they both had tours for the whole summer, the media pitted them against one another. It was insidious and seeped into the brains of all the young women who are programmed by so many that women have to compete with one another and take each other down, and everything is about drama.
And voila…Beyoncé showing up at the premiere was a BIG sign. It brought the worlds together…these two have had this perceived “rivalry” history for a long time (remember the guy who used to be named Kanye?) So, it was a powerful statement for them to do what they did.
It was a great move.
This creator sums it up perfectly:
But we are NOT done with Taylor quite yet. She and our boyfriend, Travis Kelce, definitely made it official, as they were photographed hand in hand in NYC this weekend. Nobu 57. Waverly Inn. I am LOOKING at you.
Guys. I love them together. I really do. I am really excited for them. But what I have hated to see as someone who works in COMMS…has been the media’s obsession with tracking them and some headlines even commenting on them having a sleepover. It's pretty gross….but they seem to know what they are doing, and nothing is a surprise, I suppose. They are most definitely in on the joke…per this amazing SNL sketch this weekend…watch the ENTIRE thing, and it is ONE OF THE BEST sketches I have seen:
It’s too good.
NO ONE ASKED FOR THIS:
There’s a thing called self-awareness that some people are just lacking entirely. I really think celebrities lose this because they live in a bubble and are so detached from reality that even if they have the best people around them, they can still make bad decisions. Especially those who have been famous for a LONG time…they are the most detached from reality.
We have spoken about Jada and Will here before. I mean…obviously, the slap. But also the constant oversharing, more by Jada, on her now defunct online show. But we are right back at it as she has a book to promote. She revealed in a sit-down interview that she and Will in FACT have been separated for years and years, and all of this marriage stuff and defining his wife or whatever has been manipulation.
Yeah, so…the internets DID NOT TAKE THIS WELL.
The responses have been 🫣
Will Smith responded in an email to The New York Times, which is excerpted here:
“When you’ve been with someone for more than half of your life,” his email said, “a sort of emotional blindness sets in, and you can all too easily lose your sensitivity to their hidden nuances and subtle beauties.”
Smith also said his wife’s revelations “woke him up” to the realization that “she had lived a life more on the edge” and that “she is more resilient, clever and compassionate” than he’d assumed.
I agree, though. TAKE US OUT OF THE GROUP CHAT.
CALL ME CRAZY:
I would like to state this on the record: I, too, prefer making my own pesto. It is delish and easy and makes you feel like a CHEF.
Let me back up and explain. A creator posted this TikTok about her love of making her own pesto and she just starts the video by saying, “Call me crazy, but I have never liked store-bought pesto…” and then goes on from there to show us how easy it is to make pesto at home (it is!)
But the TikTok community has turned this into a funny trend…where they take the first part, the part where she says “call me crazy” and then people jump in with their ACTUAL crazy stories. Like these:
These are just two of the many funny examples.
WE HAVE PEAKED:
Depending on your kid’s age…this may be the MUST-NEED shoe of the season. SPURS and all. I can’t. I can’t. This is when I take to my bed…again.
MUSIC ROUND -UP:
Have you seen the new Lenny Kravitz video? Oh, you haven’t? Well, be prepared to NOT BE OK (in the best of ways.) Not for the faint of heart, aka…there is a lot of nakedness which works for me.
Perfect. No notes.
And Madonna is BACK. She kicked off her world tour in London, and I am so happy she is back and healthy and killing it. The tour looks amazing.
And…this amazing clip of Jon Batiste:
And lastly….Will Ferrell is the BEST dad. Imagine? He DJs for his son's frat…it’s perfect:
THAT IS IT, my darlings…
I hope this brought some of you a needed escape. I ask all of you…be kind to one another. This is not a complicated issue tbh…I mean, yes the geopolitical nature of it is, but children being killed is something we can all agree is a horrendous thing. Terrorism is unacceptable. Always has been. It always will be.
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Xx,
Brooke
