Pop Culture Mondays/10.30.23
The “WE NEED A DISTRACTION” Edition
Hi guys. It’s Monday. I know a lot of you are feeling like me. To some degree. Whether you’re Jewish or not…if you are just human. You are feeling something. I was raised Protestant, like SUPER protestant. My mom went to Theological Seminary and became an ordained minister. She hosted bible study at our home EVERY TUESDAY evening for over 20 years. She had me work in the church, and I was an acolyte who wore robes and got to carry incense in pretty gold globe things during services. And I went to an Episcopal boarding school (for a time until that was not really a good fit for me OR for the school.)
I didn't learn about my Jewish roots until long after my parents had died. And I have been fascinated by the culture, learning about its history and traditions. I went to Israel this summer to see friends after promising for years I would do so…but also to learn as much as I could. I have read so many books, but the experience of being there and meeting people and hearing stories is worth a billion books.
AM I Jewish? By blood and identity, I am. Am I Protestant? In some ways, very much yes. I can sing the hell out of a hymn, and I love Christmas and Easter. Do I believe in God? That’s a trickier one, and I am not sure I can answer that now. But I consider myself a fairly rational human. I understand between right and wrong and all of that. I mean, I think it is pretty apparent that hating people for just being what they were born: Black, Jewish, Muslim, gay, poor, whatever it may be, is genuinely irrational and inhumane. AND that is where I find us all today, and I am just utterly baffled. How the horrors of October 7th can somehow be justified? How does my condemning the terrorist actions make me complicit in wanting innocent Palestinian people to be killed? It is IRRATIONAL at best, horrifying and hateful at its core.
I think it was best said by Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law, who wrote THIS OP-ED in the LA Times:
“There is surely room in our hearts to feel compassion for all who are in danger and all who have lost loved ones. But it is simply wrong to confuse condemning antisemitism with ignoring the plight of the Palestinians.”
But apparently, many cannot. And those many are the young. The college kids. Not all. But a lot. And they are being influenced. By who? Well, there are a lot of answers, but the facts are the facts, and the kids are mostly on TIKTOK. They are not on X. They are not on Instagram. They are on TikTok. And I hold TikTok partially responsible, but NOT fully. I spend hours a day on the platform, and it is 1000 percent true that you are fed a majority of anti-Israel posts. False information is pushed over and over and over. Bots have gotten into the comments, which then influence real human comments. Each uglier than the last. And the other posts…the ones where people are explaining the multiple truths of how you can be horrified by October 7th and horrified at the loss of innocent civilians in Gaza and be against the Israeli government but not against Jewish people — they are buried. They don't get the visibility.
But here’s the deal. The people against Israel and the Jewish people are better at TikTok. They are making better content…by better, I mean more viral, intoxicating, and convincing. And they are “winning” as a result. And what seemed impossible 3 1/2 weeks ago is now becoming the norm. It happened THAT fast. Threats against Jewish people at universities, at work, at school, at airports, on the street….all over the world. We are approaching it all wrong…we have celebrities lecturing people on not being antisemitic and people with big hearts who think that fighting back with facts and education is the answer. I sadly don’t think that’s true. Everyone is wrapped up in a frenzy…the kids are following their friends and the young influencers they follow on TikTok. Nothing will change that. Unless TikTok changes or creators change — neither is likely.
OK, so that’s my rant. I am not sharing the awful TikToks here. I never want them to exist or live or breathe, so I will not highlight them.
BUT, I am trying to write this newsletter. I think of it as an escape most times, but I am finding it harder and harder, to be honest. I worry for my friends and their children. And my nieces and nephew and their children. And I just hope this madness soon ends.
But I do have faith in humanity. These New Yorkers give me a little hope:
I also escaped last week into my pod…I had taken a week off, but if you want to check out last week’s….
So, let’s get into some other distracting things. I am just listing things this week versus focusing on one or two big stories because there is a lot. Grab some headphones, and enjoy…
A ROUND-UP:
1989 TAYLOR’S VERSION:
There are probably a bunch of you who don’t know what TAYLOR’S VERSION means. An excellent but lengthy explainer is here, but long story short…back in 2019, after Scooter Braun bought the label that owned Taylor’s music, the world came to a standstill. Scooter, connected to Kanye, who for years had been harassing and bullying Taylor, had his own version of what happened, and Taylor had hers. But the facts are: After Scooter sold her catalog to a private equity company, Taylor began RE-RECORDING her older albums so she would own the music. This is something I find wild because perhaps if it had been another artist, fans would not have been as excited and supportive of this, but with Taylor…it is ALL a fan can think about. If you aren’t playing Taylor’s version of a song, you are doing it wrong. And in perfect Taylor fashion, she dropped her version of 1989 last week at midnight ET and has some new tracks and lyrics, and the kids have GONE MAD.
IN particular, as bad as Justin Timberlake is getting it from Britney fans this past week….Harry Styles (who briefly dated Taylor more than TEN YEARS AGO) is front and center as fans believe the song “Is It Over Now?” is about Harry. This is a NEW song…a VAULT song, as they call it. A song she was working on at the time of making this album, but the song never made it into the original album. BUT IT IS HERE NOW!! Ok, roll tape!
Guys, when I tell you there are a million more TikToks of reactions or interpretations or analysis…I am NOT lying.
But some just were sharing their collective joy of a new song:
And this brought me actual joy in a week I had a hard time finding much:
Another video that brought me joy?
Taylor’s alleged boyfriend danced to her music while at a party at the WORLD SERIES and HOPEFULLY sent her the video. I mean all the tough guys around him…this brought me joy:
Acapulco:
Something not getting a ton of press, and should be, was the total destruction Hurricane Otis unleashed onto Acapulco, Mexico. This hurricane was the first of its kind in modern history in that it picked up huge speed seemingly in the blink of an eye, which NO forecaster or weather scientist, or anyone saw coming. The fact more deaths didn’t happen is truly a miracle. But creators used social media to show the fallout.
Matthew Perry:
I don’t always or usually cover celebrity deaths, but this one has hit a nerve for a lot of people. This was a man many of us grew up with…in a way. I mean, he was on TV from when I remember watching TV. He was on Silver Spoons, Growing Pains, Beverly Hills 90210…just to name a few of the shows that shaped me. He was in “A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon”, a movie that shaped my brain back in 1988. And then, of course, he was Chandler Bing. We loved him. We watched him change physically before our eyes, which we now know was from addiction, but back then, we just ignored as best we could. He struggled a lot and was open about it and shared so much in his book that came out last year.
And then he passed away in a shocking way, and the news was broken by TMZ, which I imagine happened before everyone close to him had been notified, which really bums me out. I feel the heartbreak of his friends and family, especially to have to find out via a tabloid, which is unimaginable. But there were some beautiful homages to him, so I thought I would share here:
It’s just so sad. I hope he is truly at peace now.
Gluten-Free & Scooped?
I will say the biggest alert to someone in LA that I am NOT from here or have not been here that long is when I order a coffee with regular milk…as in COW’S milk. Like I say, “May I have a cold brew with a splash of regular milk?” they usually say something like, “Regular oat? Regular almond?” and I say no, just good old-fashioned cow’s milk. THE HORROR. And they are truly horrified. It is like my ONE act of rebellion.
Now, tbh I rarely get bagels in LA because they are not the same, no matter how hard anyone tries. The key to the perfect bagel…any NYer will tell you…is the NY WATER. It just is what it is. Don’t come at me with arguments…it is the TRUTH. But I do remember going through a low-carb phase in my life — dark dark days — but I NEEDED a bagel with whitefish from Murrays, so I asked them to scoop it out…which means they scoop out the doughy bits like it is NOT a lot of bread but still…it was a thing. And the guys at Murray's were like, yeah, no….at the time, they refused to scoop out or to toast (they have changed their rules as of late.) But this guy went viral…and you can see why.
Between the bagel guys serving him and the guys who took out the guy taking the hostage photos down, I have concluded that…NEW YORK IS BACK BABY!!!
And in LA?
But only in public. Like smoking. Once people are behind closed doors in LA, let me tell you…the carbs AND the cigarettes come out. You are laughing because…because you know it to be true.
Reactions were funny:
I mean, even Space Karen weighed in, and GOD DAMMIT, the scooped bagel guy now has me on the same page as Elon? FFS, I hate scooped bagel guy:
OK, I am running to Goldbelly to have some NY bagels shipped my way.
LITERALLY, my definition of heaven.
NIPPLE BRA
In my youth, we had the Wonder Bra, which promised everyone the most unreal cleavage imaginable. THE SHIT I tried to wear out of my house is truly amazing, and I am not sure how my parents didn't murder me daily with the shit I pulled.
THIS was my Roman Empire:
ANYWAY…we have a new contender. Kim Kardashian has a truly incredible brand with SKIMS…I bet most of you have something from the brand or know someone who does. The shapewear is great. The brand is great.
But they are clearly wondering on a daily basis how they can innovate, push the envelope….go viral. And boy, did they figure that out.
I mean the world is burning, so I am grateful for the little things that get me through the day. Is it real? I mean, it is not April, and this very much felt like a skit of some kind. But the launch date is tomorrow, so we shall see what is in store!
But it sure does seem real:
Speaking of Marketing Genius…
The people behind casting Michelle Williams as the narrator of Britney’s new memoir should be given raises pronto. MANY of us listened to the whole book this weekend…not a heavy lift tbh, just over 5 hours. But having MICHELLE, an Oscar award-winning magical actress…read these lines…it’s been a fun ride.
GENIUS. Audible is having a good run I imagine.
LOEWE FTW:
Again, though I have done this before…for my new readers…this is how you pronounce luxury designer, Loewe:
LO-ay-VAY or LEW-ay-VAY…you pick.
But the marketing geniuses THERE have tapped Dame Maggie Smith as their latest model for the brand. And I am obsessed.
NO NOTES. Perfection.
THAT IS IT, my darlings…
A quick one today. Everyone is struggling at the moment…or most of us are! I love this ad that has gone viral that was put out by the UK football club Norwich City in honor of #WORLDMENTALHEALTHDAY. Please watch it all the way through:
It's a painful and yet beautiful ad. And a good reminder. Check-in on those you know. Everyone showcases pain in their own way.
#YouAreNotAlone
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Xx,
Brooke
