Pop Culture Mondays/11.13.23
The “KISS” Edition
Hello, my darling pop culture junkies. It is ANOTHER Monday! I honestly cannot believe I am still doing this…I am not sure how long it has been because if I count the years, it will freak me out. But it is a LONG time. But I keep coming back because it is my therapy of sorts, and I am just so grateful for all of you being here, too. During these trying times, having a routine has been super helpful, and knowing you guys are out there and reading/watching this and then sending me notes has been SUPER healing; I will not lie.
There is a lot to cover this week, so I am keeping the intro short and sweet. I wrote this intro, actually, like ten different times…I tried to softly cover my experience at the viewing of the October 7th footage but there is no way to do that, and we are here for an escape, so if you want to know my experience, you can check it out HERE.
But let’s move on to some FUN things like THE KISS. THE KISS. THE KISS that is giving us life…
Grab some Twizzlers (I cannot abide the Red Vines) and your headphones…and buckle up.
Xx,
B
THE KISS:
I don’t know how to explain it, but these two have a CHOKEHOLD on me like I cannot think of anything else. I have never cared about a celebrity couple in my life, but these two…this hit a nerve in the best of ways — not just for me, but for people worldwide. As the world crumbles and burns into an abyss…we have this ONE light. The light being — Taylor and Travis.
I cannot speak for everyone, but FER me, I think it comes down to a few things. Indulge me while I break it down:
- We have gone through Taylor’s heartbreak journey for a long time now and have watched her relationships with well-known men come and go. But no one really was worthy of her.
- Taylor is someone I can relate to. She is strong. Independent. Successful. Done it on her own. Sort of nerdy. Been bullied and stood up to them. Has been unlucky in love.
- We are used to seeing men who cannot handle that sort of success and attention with their women. We worry for these women when they seemingly make bad decisions, aka RED FLAGS.
- Travis Kelce is a MAN totally of the time. He is an athlete, but he goes against the grain with his beliefs (promoting the vaccine), and he’s playful and has a sense of humor and is in on the joke and loves his family and brings joy. Basically, Travis is our dream guy. Who happens to play football.
- And I don't know about you…but I NEEDED this. Seeing a woman who everyone said would be too intimidating for a real relationship to find love and joy seems somehow hopeful for others of us. And they are both so aware of the moment and of their role in it. It’s just refreshing.
- And while the world is collapsing, we needed some good news. TBH, all Travis and Taylor need to do is tell the world to not be antisemitic and to get it together, and I think they would. They just need to condemn Hamas and explain the situation via their platforms, and the world will heal. I KNOW this won’t happen, but that’s how the world would heal, TBH.
OK….so let’s get to what went DOWN. Taylor kicked off the South American leg of her tour in Buenos Aires, Argentina. And Travis dashed out for the weekend…AS ONE DOES. Just about an 11-hour flight, but it is what we do for love. He could only stay the weekend because he had to get back to town for Monday practice. So he had a little time. But made a HUGE impact.
Let’s start with her lyric change that has gripped us all by storm. (also, I really did the new lewks for this tour…) Forgive me, but we need to see from all the angles:
Like even when she sings the lyric, “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs,” louder than the other lyrics, it shows she was nervous and excited about it, too…she knew what she was doing. Her heart was racing and we could FEEL IT. But how is it possible to relate to a girl like Taylor? I don't know, guys…but like it is. We are. This is the dream, and we all want this for her.
And then there was Travis…standing next to her dad, who clearly knew SOMETHING was coming, and it was just so WHOLESOME:
AND then…then there was this…LOVE IS NOT DEAD:
I posted a bunch of videos on INsta this weekend and I cannot tell you how many people have reached out to me saying they are obsessed. People of all ages…this is what we need.
THIS IS OUR ROMAN EMPIRE.
And the montages…kill me like this, showing her last partner/heartbreak and then her new love:
Or this creator who took clips from the Kelce brothers talking about what true love is like and merging it with the kiss:
I am a 49-year-old woman sitting here SOBBING, and the only reason I KNOW I am not crazy is because so many other people are telling me they feel the same. Ok, that doesn't mean I am not crazy…it just means I have a community.
This guy sums it up perfectly:
And from one of my fave creators:
AND there is, of course, another Tay Tay trend…DANCING IS BACK ON TIKTOK! Thanks to this viral dance, the creators made for her new single “Is it Over Now?”:
AND tutorials:
I know, I know…PCM has gone into the dangerous territory of being a TSWIFT FAN BLOG, but SHE is at the center right now…she and Kelce. And they are giving us joy, which has been hard to find for many!
A LITTLE OF THIS, A LITTLE OF THAT:
There is so much happening in pop culture land, but obviously, the big story was our romantic love-filled Argentina weekend. But let’s look at some other things people are talking about:
WHO IS TROYE SIVAN?
If there was ever someone to sum out this generation, it might be him. Troye started as a child actor (born to South African Parents and raised in Australia) he played the young Wolverine to Hugh Jackman back in 2009. He became a YouTube star and is a singer/songwriter/actor and has been out for more than ten years. He really leans into his twink persona and has a huge following amongst the gay community, especially as he has become a more successful singer…but that all changed this past weekend when Timmy Tim Tim Chalamet, portrayed him in a skit on SNL. Which was super niche but also very cool and very on point. First, let’s see the OG video much of the skit references:
I am not going to lie…I love this. I do! It’s a nice bop, and the video is fun.
So now you have a reference for THIS skit, which kills me:
Yeah, it's a BIG moment for Troye. MAINSTREAM BABY.
Another fave moment from SNL this week was the opening monologue…this song:
KILLS ME.
Take Care of Maya:
One of the most hard to watch documentaries in recent history was Take Care of Maya on Netflix. It came out over the summer, and it captivated many of us, especially Gen Z. The story was about this beautiful family and the destruction that followed after doctors could not figure out what was wrong with Maya and ultimately blamed her mom for making her sick. She was kept from her family, and her mom fell apart over this, and she ultimately killed herself. I mean, the whole story is terrible. Here’s the trailer:
There was a big trial that has been happening that might have gone unnoticed, except everyone who saw the doc was invested as the family sued the Florida hospital that kept Maya essentially a prisoner and accused the mom of being abusive — $261 million. That’s a lot of money.
But as someone who lost her mom way too young, we would take our moms back over anything. But I do think it is the principle. And being held accountable. And I love to see it.
WTF is the Bird Test?
Have you heard about this yet? If not, I'm sorry to put this in your brain. APPARENTLY, it is a test to determine whether a relationship will last, whether romantic or friendship or whatnot.
Jared Leto Climbed the Empire State Building:
Is there NOTHING Jordan Catalano can’t do? From PUKA SHELL necklace brooding boy who had a chokehold on me in high school to the man he is today who is an incredible actor, athlete, musician, and all-around cool guy. I mean I don't know him know him, but I have gone on a hike with him and hung with him in some social settings and he’s just a really smart and thoughtful guy. Who happens to be hot and maybe a little crazy.
NOTHING wrong with that!
AND last week, Jared scaled the Empire State Building…legally.
He did this to promote that his band, 30 Seconds to Mars, is kicking off a world tour. But what does this say about us that these are the lengths people have to go to nowadays to get attention?
Here are some of my fave reactions:
And so you can see what he did:
Iceland:
We are all super consumed with all the news in the world, or maybe not…maybe we are consumed with ignoring the bad news and instead focused on driving our kids around to different sports activities, or we are impulse shopping, or maybe we are busy dressing our dog up in silly outfits…WHATEVER it is, it would not shock me if you were not aware Iceland has been under threat of a massive volcanic eruption the last few days. Like people have been evacuated. This was post a few earthquakes:
Some Stuff on TikTok:
A few things have gone viral on the platform this week. I am ignoring the Israel/Palestinian stuff, obviously. And the whole eruption of PALIWOOD, which you can Google, but I am already getting death threats due to my Instagrams, so I am going to just not get into more of that here. We are here for FUN.
So, first off, we have a young, basic girl who apparently redid her boyfriend’s apartment, and the internets lost its mind:
And then we had this creator post a TikTok about meeting “a table of parents” in Florida who were parents of a guy her age and well…let it unfold for you:
A MEET CUTE of the modern times.
And then we had the young woman who had her boyfriend’s name tattooed on her forehead:
There was a LOT of reactions to this.
But not to worry. It was a prank…but a prank with a purpose:
And THE ORIENT EXPRESS, which I think costs a LOT of money, has become a big hit with Gen Z on TikTok, and the videos of influencers and others experiencing it certainly make you want to check it out. This apparently is from Venice to Paris.
This has been going on for a while now, but a recent uptick in videos shows it is a lasting trend.
If you have not heard of this whole thing, then you likely don’t have younger kids. I first heard about this years ago when a boyfriend at the time had a son who was obsessed with this game. A game but a scary one, and all the kids played it. And those kids grew up and are teens and young adults now, and the brand LIVES on. So there is now a movie, and the kids love it:
The movie is beating all expectations at the box office, apparently.
WHAT TO WATCH/READ??
OK, last but not least…I thought I would share with you some things out there I am either in the middle of or have just completed.
First of all…GUYS. OMG.
This is obvs not for the kids, though I think everyone is getting obsessed to some degree. I never really was obsessed with Barbra other than she clones her dogs and I respect that a great deal. But I am now A BARBRA STAN. Also, she's 82??? WTF. And a Taurus so we love that for us.
Her new memoir took her ten years to write. TEN. And why? It is like 986 pages. She reads the audiobook which is obviously how I am consuming it because:
A. Barbra READS IT
B. I don’t have the upper body strength to hold that heavy of a book
C. I don’t do Kindles ever since that time many moons ago. I brought nothing with me to a remote island but a Kindle, and it died on the first day.
Anyway, the AUDIBLE is 48 hours…it will take me 48 hours to listen to all of it. I mean, I am already 4 hours in, and it is my entire personality. GET THIS BOOK! (And yes, she called up Tim Cook to complain that Siri was mispronouncing her name…Streisand NOT StreiZand. God love her.
But moving on…Did you know David Fincher has a new movie out? The Killer on Netflix, and I LOVED IT. I love Fincher. I love Irish men. I love the soundtrack. I loved this movie. WATCH IT.
And also on Netflix…this bananas documentary called “Surviving Twin Flames” is wild and heartbreaking. It's surreal because the people behind this “cult” are still active! They are still out there practicing this bullshit. And without giving too much away, these cult leaders get people to think they are different genders to get people to pair up as partners because they did not have enough men in the group.
IT IS WILD.
THAT IS IT, my darlings…
I am ready to start the week. Hopefully, you feel caught up on all the IMPORTANT things, and it, too, was a nice break from everything. Another thing I notice many of us are going through is this year’s time change. Did it fuck you up this year? IT has GOT ME. By 5 PM, I am ready for bed like I see pics of people at parties, and I am like this lady:
If you missed last week’s pod…here you go!
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Xx,
Brooke
