Pop Culture Mondays/11.29.21
The ❤️ Edition
Hello, my darling pop culture junkies, and happy Monday! Many of us are digging out after being off for a few days but MAN that was necessary though right? I mean despite the fact that we are facing yet another Covid strain and borders are shutting down and all of us are fearful of lockdowns returning not to mention keeping our loved ones safe and ourselves.
It’s. A LOT.
This is the new normal I guess but man, I have found myself really craving nostalgia of my childhood… from the ’70s and ‘80’s where we were thrown in the back of station wagons with no safety measures at all. When my mom waved goodbye to me as I took off on my bike after breakfast and told me to be home by dinner and whatever we did during that day seemed to go on forever and ever. The summer nights were spent capturing lightning bugs and shucking corn without a care in the world. Or being hotboxed in my mom’s car while she smoked her Capris and listening to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED (that theme song still haunts me tbh).
But we were so innocent then. I mean SURE…as children we faced the near certainty we would die a long, horrible death due to GLOBAL THERMAL NUCLEAR WAR and my school had us all watch IN SCHOOL the film “THE DAY AFTER”, the post-apocalyptic tragedy starring STEVE GUTTENBERG.
For a FUN look at the MUST SEE MOVIE of my childhood:
OK so, now that you are ALL traumatized (you’re welcome), let’s get into it. I made this the ❤️ EDITION because we all need that right now. From the sadness of loss we are all experiencing whether people we know. or people we don’t, or pets or..just LOSS…to the division of communities, to the justice system…we just need a little LOVE right now.
SO, let’s go. As always, Trump-free. TRUMP-ADJACENT free too. Grab some headphones, and enjoy.
THE LOSS OF VIRGIL ABLOH:
There are many many people who knew of Virgil and the impact he had on fashion. There are also many people who found out who he was and the impact he had on fashion just yesterday when news of his untimely death spread. And it spread and spread. People who knew him or knew of him were hit hard. And many people learned of his legacy from his death. So before we go on, a little about Virgil Abloh in case you don’t know and are afraid to ask.
Virgil was artistic director of Louis Vuitton men’s wear as well as the founder of his own brand, Off-White, which is a beloved pop-culture brand — which has a beautiful tribute to him on its site. He was the husband of Shannon Abloh, and father to Lowe Abloh and Grey Abloh. He was a brother and a son. This beautiful piece by the New York Times is the one to read (click here) and this line struck me:
Mr. Abloh transformed not just what consumers wanted to wear, bridging hypebeast culture and the luxury world, but what brands wanted in a designer — and the meaning of “fashion” itself.
On top of ALL of his accomplishments, he was the first Black fashion director at Louis Vuitton and became the most powerful Black executive at LVMH, the most powerful luxury brand in the world. It struck me that he was someone who got real, old-fashioned views to ACTUALLY progress and change, vs HE having to change for the world. And he was 41. He died from a rare type of horrible cancer and it appears as if not very many people knew of his struggle.
And it reminded us of another incredible talent we lost too young to a disease most didn’t know he had, Chadwick Boseman. And I think that’s what also captivates us as a society, and horrifies us and brings us all together and makes us stop and share our pain and feel the pain of loss of someone we don’t know. Illness. Illness suffered privately. “But he looked SO healthy?” “But he was SO prolific?” “He had SO much more to do.” “How did he do all of that while fighting an unbeatable thing?” And on and on….we can’t wrap our heads around it. It reminds us that these heroes are human and that is terrifying. But it brings people together too. I didn't know Virgil or know that much about him before yesterday. But from my socials, I realize I know many many people who did and were impacted by him in life and death and the tributes from those who knew him and those who did not were all so powerful. SO just a few of them here:
For more:
WHAT’S TRENDING ON THE TIKTOK?
OK, so we got a little heavy…it has to happen here and there. But let’s now bring in some bubble gum and gummi bears and counteract the sadness with silliness. There were a lot of trends on TikTok recently so I decided to just compile a few of them all under one header to make it easy for you.
FIRST, we have the HEAD BOP trend and if you have a TikTokker at home surely you have seen them do this somewhere recently. LIKE THIS:
OK…we are simple beings are we not? This brought me so much joy!
MOVING ON….now for whatever reason, and maybe you are not the same, but THIS one makes me laugh SO much. Before we get into the different takes on this trend let’s show the OG of it:
SO this turned into a trend where creators use this sound to reminisce about something they used to have or love or was a fun thing they USED to do. Here are some of my faves:
AND NOW…FOR OUR GIRL TINX FTW…I mean am I right?? I AM RIGHT. 😘😘😘
OK so this next trend is captivating for some reason…these 3 really kicked it all off or at least had one of the strongest performances of this sound:
The rapper/songwriter Jack Harlow used the sound to invite DUETS which Lil Nas X did GENIUSLY…
There are so many more that are great but I would be here ALL day.
MOVING on….we have the “ABCDFU…” trend which sometimes involves smashing plates…like voila:
And other times…just shows children disrespecting their mother's likes:
ICONIC.
AND this is a heavy one making the rounds using a new sound from an up-and-coming band called CRAWLERS that is making a big impact on TikTok. the sound is used by creators to either call out an abuser or to call out a parent or someone denying their sexuality or gender or other toxic behavior:
OK and LASTLY this is a bit windy and complex and tragic.
Sabrina Prater is a creator on TikTok just trying to live her best life. Apparently, she renovates homes and was just having fun on TikTok when this video went viral, but for all the wrong reasons:
A lot of people dueted it and all were making fun of Sabrina in various ways:
People started going thru her videos and picking them apart and I am not going to show them here but there was a lot of SILENCE OF THE LAMBS talk and comparisons and accusations she was a serial killer and her life was seemingly turned upside down. One of the top creators who made a series of videos on this came out this weekend with an apology:
And humanity started to win out and creators came to her defense so that’s good.
She also is using her TikTok fame to showcase awareness for her life and put out positivity and love:
But it is not all good news…apparently, people are growing more concerned for her as the pressure gas gotten to her and there’s a lot more to this story to come:
AND JUST A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS (AND SOME DESPICABLE ONES TOO…)
Woo boy. That’s a lot. And there is more! While we had a lot to celebrate this past week from Thanksgiving to our justice system FINALLY getting it right with the conviction of all 3 men responsible for murdering Ahmaud Arbery…there were a few other things that went down.
- Dancing with the Stars ALSO got it right by awarding the trophy to the person who took us all by surprise THE MOST (vs trained dancers who were competing) and that was NBA player, Iman Shumpert. I HAVE NO WORDS FOR THIS MAN AND HIS SKILLS but OMG. Forget TikToks…you need to see the whole thing so here are some of his dances and why he is GOAT of DWTS (Dancing With the Stars):
From his contemporary dance which was inspired by the terrifying film “US”:
And then their freestyle which WON THEM THE PRIZED MIRRORBALL!
Honestly, I have never been a DWTS person but this one gave me ALL the feels. The whole point of the show is to see someone who is not a dancer…BECOME a dancer. It was amazing.
- OK, Madonna. I don’t really know what to say. But she posted some pics to Insta. One, in particular, went viral but not maybe for the reasons she hoped? Or maybe just exactly for the reasons she hoped I don't know:
This is the pic:
Yep. So the Internets had a field day:
- OK if you missed THIS article in the New York Ties about PT Anderson’s new movie, “Licorice Pizza” well here is your chance. Starring Cooper Hoffman (the SON of the late great Phillip Seymour Hoffman) and Alana Haim of “Haim” and Sean Penn AND Tom Waits AND Bradley Cooper (OH MY), we go back to the OG “BOOGIE NIGHTS” era. Look, I can write a lot about PT Anderson. There once was a night MANY MANY moons ago that he and I hung out after a U2 how and literally a LIFETIME ago and all I know is I had one of my most genius moments that I am still unsure about — about why it didn’t end up in ONE of his movies.
The Setting: The W Hotel in San Francisco (get your mind out of the gutter it was basically innocent)
The Scenario: After the show and afterparty, the party continued with a few people back at PT’s suite at the W. It was about 3AM now Sunday AM. We went thru the booze in the mini-bar so I pressed the “WHATEVER, WHENEVER” button on the phone.
“A bottle of vodka, some tonics, and some glasses and ice please,” I said.
That’s when the nice person on the line informed me that they could bring everything BUT the vodka because it was technically Sunday AM and they were not allowed to serve alcohol on Sunday AM before noon (some out-of-date Puritanical law I am not sure is still in effect).
The Outcome: I scoffed. I pleaded. I finally said, “Sir, I am so sorry but I pressed the WHATEVER, WHENEVER button. I did NOT press the SOMETIMES, MAYBE BUTTON!”
We got the vodka.
This movie looks rad.
- OK I leave on this note….I DO NOT CARE if you haven’t watched this week’s “Succession” yet..it’s awesome…but for the love of all that is good and holy please please do yourself a favor and watch “TICK TICK BOOM” which is an incredible movie starring Andrew Garfield as Jonathan Larson, the writer and composer of the musical “TICK TICK BOOM” and of “RENT” and who tragically died from a heart issue similar to the one I had….and he died on the night of his FIRST Off-Broadway preview performance of “rent”. He never saw its success. He was 35. He was from Westchester where I grew up. He worshipped Stephen Sondheim who is played by Bradley Whitford…and Sondheim died just as this movie (directed by Lin Manual-Miranda) is released. It’s incredible. It pays homage to Broadway in the most beautiful way…spot all the stars in the diner scene. It brings us back to a different NYC…one with cockroaches and blackouts and where the Moondance diner still stands (vs a luxury hotel) and one that brings tears to my eyes. Andrew Garfield IS EXCEPTIONAL:
THAT IS IT my darlings. This week was a lot.
Have a beautiful week my lovelies. Be safe. Be kind (to others but ALSO TO YOURSELF!)
If you aren’t already a subscriber (PLEASE PLEASE SUBSCRIBE!!!) and please do SHARE this with all your friends…and IF want this in your inbox please send an email to:
subscribe@popculturemondays.com
Or CLICK SUBSCRIBE below!
