Pop Culture Mondays/3.13.23
The “WE NEED A DRINK” Edition
Well, hello, everyone, and happy Monday. I mean, it is a somewhat happier of a Monday than I thought it would be (time will tell)…or that we really deserve it to be, for that matter. But here we are. And frankly, we are all entitled to a stiff drink, and if you don't drink, that is totally ok…what is your treasured treat? Candy? Chocolate cake? Pizza? Fondue? I don't care…whatever it is, go have it. You deserve it. We all do. The last few days, though, made me really wish the Internet actually DID NOT exist, and I know that’s ironic since my entire business is related to the Internet, and I have been in the tech industry for 25 years, so the hypocrisy is real, I get it. But I did want to burn it all down after the madness of the last few days, specifically unfolding on Twitter. But we are here, and we will get to the whole Silicon Valley Bank stuff below, but I think we are all entitled to a break. And just as a way of protest, I will not be using caps at all in this edition, and that is hard for me. I use caps to emphasize words because that's what all caps do. Make us in our brain see a word stand out, which becomes louder. I am removing my favorite way to emphasize from this edition as a way to protest the yelling in all caps we were confronted with over the weekend. No idea what I am talking about? Well, thank goodness you are here. And let me be clear, the crisis continues but did it really have to get to this point?
So with that, here is a quick look at what we will have this week. We have SVB, we have the Oscars, and from across the pond, we have Gary Lineker and the BBC. And we have some memes/trends.
Deep breaths. Calming words. Quiet voice.
And if you missed last week’s pod, it was an amazing one with reality /unscripted expert and podcast superstar Kate Casey, who helped break down all the Vanderpump Rules drama and the fall of society.
Xx,
Brooke
RIP SVB:
I never thought I would be writing about a bank in PCM, but here we are. I am exhausted, tbh. I am depleted. I am a ball of anxiety who just wants to stay in bed in sweatpants with a bottle of wine on the bedside table and watch like Murder She Wrote. But look, I am not here to explain what went down really, as I am no expert. Neither were the gazillions of people on Twitter weighing in and causing panic and confusion and spreading misinformation, by the way. So let me just give a Cliff’s Notes version of some of what happened. For those who had never heard of Silicon Valley Bank until the last few days or maybe even until today, it was a favored bank among the tech set. Start-ups and Venture funds alike. There was a certain caché, if you will, to banking with SVB. And SVB sponsored lots of tech events and conferences and spent a lot of money on that type of branding. Now, I am not an expert, as I have said, but here is a good explainer:
I will say that much of this was caused by bad communication — which I am an expert in. Not to say all of it, but the fact there was a run on the bank (meaning everyone ran to get their money out at the same time) was due to piss poor comms on the SVB side. From how it communicated it would undertake a $2.25 billion share sale after selling $21 billion of securities from its portfolio at a nearly $2 billion loss to its CEO Zoom with concerned investors and so forth, it was a mess. I heard many reports from people on that Zoom last week that the CEO looked pale and sickly, almost like he had taken a cyanide pill. And said something along the lines of, “we have been there for you, and it is now your turn to be there for us…” Yeah, just what you say to calm people down.
And then we had Twitter. From well-known voices to unknown voices looking to cash in on clout or whatever the fuck they were chasing…it caused an utter panic. And many people just assumed SVB was catering to the rich and therefore, the rich got less rich and little sympathy was had. What no one was communicating effectively really was how this collapse was impacting so many non-rich people who were not going to get paid and live paycheck to paycheck. The trickle-down aspect of this was intense. Employees were not going to get paid. Payroll couldn’t happen as the bank was closed. Industries outside of tech, like winemakers, who have to pay their workers — banked with SVB. Pension Funds and Foundations were victims as well. It was a hot mess.
But the big fear was largely due to the screaming (literal screaming) on Twitter by many people, including people I know and genuinely care about. But you know, we all handle crises differently. I think there were bad actors out there looking to promote their own solutions, aka products, but I also think there was genuine terror, and people used Twitter as a way to express that, and it just became a total and complete panic. A panic could have real-world effects because getting people afraid that all banks were going to fail and getting people to make a run on their banks was dangerous. And this is where we are now. But, suggesting people should load up on guns and so forth was not the best use of our thumbs…full stop.
The person many in tech were talking about was Jason Calacanis, who is a very smart and generally thoughtful guy. Jason is an amazing dad and has an amazing wife, and he has stood up for me against some pretty awful people. I care about him a lot. But this was not his finest moment, and while I know he intended to help people, it caused a lot of unnecessary panic, tbh. I also think the all-caps were unnecessary.
Then there was this asshole out there spreading misinformation and getting notable people to buy into his lies and bullshit. And man, did he get called out for tweets like this:
Hello SEC…we are waiting for your arrival here.
So, many of us woke up Sunday morning with anxiety I had never experienced. No, I didn't bank at SVB or First Republic, which was becoming the next victim of a bank run, but the impact it would have across the board was going to be profound. And so much of it was avoidable which was all the more infuriating. And notable Libertarians — who literally advocate for less government involvement — were out there advocating for government involvement but without thoughtfully explaining to people how this meshed with their philosophies was a real headscratcher.
The world, as of now, has not ended. People will get their money. Payroll is happening. And my gues sis a lot of BIG banks got a lot of new customers. But we are still very much in a moment that could go either way. I am not commenting on Peter Thiel because we need a break from jackasses.
Here is some comedy to alleviate the anxiety:
This one may be a fave of mine:
And then, inevitably, this was posted:
and of course….
I usually like to end these posts on a good note. But not this time. This time, I would like to call out the fucking Wall Street Journal for allowing this garbage to be published. Not sure who is worse, the zero who wrote this, who literally has not been laid in decades, or the editor for not cutting it? YOU decide.
This Op/Ed starts strong as a measured explainer on what happened. But then it goes off the rails. CAN YOU IMAGINE BELIEVING THIS? WRITING THIS? PUBLISHING IT? I cannot, and I am sorry I broke my rule already, but it deserved all caps I could not stop myself.
“Was there regulatory failure? Perhaps. SVB was regulated like a bank but looked more like a money-market fund. Then there’s this: In its proxy statement, SVB notes that besides 91% of their board being independent and 45% women, they also have “1 Black,” “1 LGBTQ+” and “2 Veterans.” I’m not saying 12 white men would have avoided this mess, but the company may have been distracted by diversity demands.”
GFY Andy Kessler and the WSJ.
(That means go fuck yourself if you were unfamiliar with this acronym.)
WHO IS THIS DASHING MAN?
Ok, ok, for bajillions of people, this seems like a silly question. Of course, this is Gary Linekar…but for Americans, he might be a new face. So let me explain. Gary is a former star footballer and current sports broadcaster on the BBC. Now I may get some stuff wrong here, and I apologize, as it is not my world but I believe his program is called Match of the Day and it is the longest-running sports show on the BBC. Almost 30 years!!!And the BBC is a public station paid for by the taxpayers, so that plays into what has happened.
Gary is also active on Twitter and that is where this particular story begins. Gary, like many, was outraged by the UK’s new migrant policy. I am not a policy expert, but many believe the new policy could be illegal, but at the very least it is inhumane and depraved. We all know that refugees — people fleeing their homelands because of war or persecution or abject poverty, among other reasons, tend to find themselves on small boats and unseaworthy vessels to escape their homelands in search of a safer and better life. And yes, the boats are a problem, and people are losing their lives due to these boats. But the UK’s belief that a crazy policy that will deport people seeking asylum in a blanket law. And Gary took to Twitter to share his concern:
Gary himself is viewed as a humanitarian and walks the walk as he took in a refugee himself and as many have called him, a national treasure. And while we have Harry and Meghan talking about how racist the UK is, the reaction to what happened to Gary shows that this is not the case.
Gary is by all accounts, the face of the BBC. And while the BBC previously had a policy that allowed its talent to share other views on other platforms, this changed here and they suspended Gary due to mounting Tory pressure that his statement was out of line and funding would be pulled if action was not taken. The BBC is so worried about remaining “impartial” because of how it’s funded that it made this decisive and bonkers decision.
The country erupted. And people reacted.
My favorite line came from my friend Chrysi Philalithes:
“Gary has always been a legend. And this makes him legendary.”
The artist Fatboy Slim praised Gary during one of his shows:
And as always, we have Alistair Campbell to thank for being so thoughtful:
And the BBC got the message and Gary was reinstated. But amazing of him and his supporters and colleagues to stand up for what is right:
A LITTLE THIS, A LITTLE THAT:
Let’s look at some highlights (and lowlights) of some OTHER pop culture-y things that have gone down this week. I cannot cover everything because there is a LOT — there is ALWAYS a lot, but here are some of my chosen ones.
Yes, we had a drama-free Oscars! Well, we had the right kind of drama, I should say. I have not cried that much at an Oscars show, maybe ever. It was emotional in all the right ways. A great moment for us ’70s kids, tbh with many of the people who won. I am sure you have all seen the commentary and speeches, and fashion highlights. So I am just here to show some of my fave or least fave moments.
- First, a big congratulations to my friends Charlie Mackesy and Matthew Freud for their Oscar win of Best Animated SHort Film for “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse.” I have highlighted this beautiful short film before and that preceded the film. But I would like to highlight their speech. Those who know Matthew know there are very few people who give better speeches than he. It is one of his superpowers, and he delivered. Knowing how shy Charlie is, I thought it was so beautiful for Matthew to speak first to give Charlie time to collect himself and then to hand it over to Charlie, who delighted us with the story of his dog staying in a hotel. But who also showcased how good and kind a human he is and hence why his book and movie touched us so. These two men love their dogs very much, which is a big reason why I love them.
- The “red” carpet this year was what they called “champagne,” which was basically off-white with a hint of yellow or beige. This is the first time in decades they have changed the color of the carpet. Some reports I saw said it was because the red carpet was in a tent this year, and they thought they would change it as a result. But everyone was coming from the street ultimately, so you had a dirty carpet that was also just a sad color. Especially because so many people wore white or a variation of white this year, it all was kind of meh in an image-popping sense.
- Look, Hugh Grant is an asshole. I mean, I don't know for a fact…I have friends who are friends with him, and I assume he is not an asshole to them, but who really knows. I usually like his salty humor, and even so, after he got so visibly annoyed with me years ago when I was walking out of the Crosby St. Hotel in NYC and he was walking in with a handbag, and I dared to walk out vs holding the door for him before walking out. Meaning I held the door for him after I had exited. It was a situation. I rolled my eyes at his huffing and puffing…very much like he rolled his eyes during this interview. The whole thing is cringe from Ashley Graham not knowing what “vanity fair” means, but also, like Hugh, my man…don’t do interviews if they annoy you. You scrotum. (Don't get mad, that’s what he called himself on air!)
- The speech that had me utterly in tears was Ke Huy Quan. I think for everyone but especially for those of us who grew up with him in The Goonies and in Indiana Jones. I mean he was our childhood.
Grab your Kleenex if you haven’t yet seen this:
And this made me cry:
- I think this dress was sensational, I really do, and it was worn by Nigerian singer-songwriter, Tems. HOWEVER, I wish the designer had made it so she could have removed the cape part just so the people sitting behind her could have seen the Oscars. It is not every day you get to sit front and center at the Oscars, and my heart broke for the people sitting behind her. The Internet went wild. People who pointed this out — myself included — were accused of being racist for pointing out the fact people could not see…because that’s what social media does. BUT ALAS….
- There were some funny Andrew Garfield memes:
- And while I loved Riri and Gga and marvelled at how gaga could get her make-up off so elegantly for her performance, I have to say this performance blew me away and the song won the Oscar. “Naatu Naatu” from the movie “RRR”.
OK OK…moving on to some non-Oscar-related things.
People, the seals are going to take over:
And this talented singer is all over the socials from her American Idol audition.
And lastly, thanks to his outfit choice at this concert, Imagine Dragons has fast become everyone’s must-see live show:
THAT IS IT, my darlings…
I now have to go back to reality and see what kind of shitshow we are in now. but thank you for joining me on this little escape.
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Xx,
Brooke
