Pop Culture Mondays/6.3.24
The CONVICTED FELON Edition
HAPPY Monday, my darling pop culture junkies. I hope you all had a magical week and weekend. I hope you're enjoying your gorgeous and sunny summer for those not in LA and for those of us IN LA, just doing a mental health check-in with you. We have had little sun…when we DO have it, it usually graces us with its presence around 4 PM for just a little bit. I live in a 100-year-old house in the hills, and even though I have new walls, a new roof, and new insulation, it still needs sun to warm it up, so I have had my heat on, which is BONKERS.
ANYWAY, I digress.
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. The title of this week’s PCM. PCM IS and will remain TRUMP-FREE. We need that. This newsletter was born during the Trump administration as an escape from all the madness and sadness, and kids locked up in cages (NEVER forget).
BUT….I could not ignore the OBVIOUS news, and the idea of Baby Yoda in prison was too hard to resist, TBH. And I am writing nothing else about this, but please forgive me as I have ONE meme…ONE that is so relevant to our work here at PCM that it cannot be ignored. So allow me this ONE breach of my promise because…BECAUSE it is so good:
I mean….
If you are new here, this might not make sense to you, so a little refresher. A year ago or so, our girl GP was in court fighting for her life — aka a lawsuit with a skier claiming she caused his life-changing injuries and was demanding gazillions from an incident YEARS before. Anyhoo, GP won her case, and it was televised, so there were a lot of fun moments, but none greater than her wishing the guy well when she left the courthouse after he lost his case.
GOD, I love this meme so much.
OK, let’s get into it. We had a light week because so much of the stuff was political, and other than the above, I am ignoring it.
But do me a favor. Check out my podcast. THIS week will be my 100th EPISODE! And I have been doing it for fun, really, but it is getting there, and I want you to listen and share, and IF YOU CAN, give it five stars wherever you listen to your pods! It is on Apple and Spotify, so please check it out.
Grab your headphones and some popcorn and enjoy!
AI-GENERATED PHOTO TAKES ON LIFE OF ITS OWN:
This is our future. Or I guess you could say, this is us NOW. This is our present. We live in a world where an AI-generated photo garners over 45 million shares and even more likes and causes even more division in a divided world. AND IT IS A FAKE PHOTO. Also, the message — I AM SORRY IF YOU DISAGREE — is hateful toward other places facing horrible violence because no one was out there saying this when so many others have suffered. ALL EYES ON THE HOSTAGES. ALL EYES ON SUDAN. ALL EYES ON….I am not saying we should not be horrified by war and innocent lives lost and what is happening in Rafah, OF COURSE. But it is crazy to make this about picking a side…
As my friend Lara said SO beautifully:
I don’t believe everyone who shared that image believes one group deserves to live more than another. BUT, the message makes it seem that way for sure. But here are some of the memes that came from this image:
And of course…there are horrendous things happening to people all over the world. What is happening in SUDAN is astonishing and heartbreaking. But the world does not seem to have the same sort of creation to this….
I wonder why. 🤔
So here we are. The point of this summary is to show how an image created by AI can set off a firestorm of emotion and divisiveness and also tell us a lot about where people’s attention is and IS not.
For more insight, I found this very good:
GENERATIONAL DRAMA!
ONTO some fun stuff. And I love this…Gen X and Millennials have been brought together in a rare moment of unity to rally against and laugh at the sensitivities of Gen Z. And what got us here?
EMINEM baby. Slim Shady is BACK.
His new single, Houdini, brings us back to a simpler time when Eminem ruled the airwaves and shocked parents. Pre-September 11th, when we were all so innocent.
First, let’s watch the video. IT IS SO GOOD. Also, my heart is full with the STEVE MILLER BAND sample.
I cannot tell you how happy this makes me. Which will upset a lot of the kids. Hence the point of his song. Also, HOW FUCKING BRILLIANT IS EMINEM? I am here for it….sorry (not sorry.)
Let’s see some reactions.
My fave is this one:
And honestly, they make a good point. DO YOU REMEMBER “KIM”????
Just take a listen…
So they do have a point!
OK…BUT…I have actually YET to see any Gen Zer ACTUALLY upset, and I have searched and searched. I mean, some try to point out certain lyrics and whatnot, but for the most part I am mostly seeing them make fun of the controversy they see as contrived.
But BACK to my Steve Miller moment…MAN, I do love me some nostalgia, especially in this moment in time. It brings comfort. Like MALLOMARS (IYKYK).
And for anyone who thinks Steve Miller might not be pleased? THINK again… He wrote this on Insta:
ALL THE FEELS.
A LITTLE OF THIS, A LITTLE OF THAT:
We have a few more things that made its way onto my shortlist.
CHIPOTLE DRAMA:
It is what it is. I am a Chipotle girl. Maybe this makes me basic, but I do not care. I love me a burrito bowl when I am in the mood. And their brown bag of chips. It brings me joy. But the kids who also love themselves some Chipotle have found themselves TRAUMATIZED over some irregularities in portions. There is a belief that Chipotle has cut their portions back….but not their prices.
I mean this TikTok alone has over 17 MILLION views:
WELL….the CEO is going on a press tour and look…maybe some think it ‘s fine nothing to see here. But as a communications professional, I WANT TO HIDE UNDER MY BLANKETS AFTER WATCHING HIM.
Here’s my fave… “Our guys…AND women…”
Like the media training just kicked into his brian at that moment and he was like oh shit what do I do.
Well, you don’t do that, my dude. You don’t do that.
The reaction was GREAT. My Fave:
THE TROUBLE WITH JLO:
I don’t have the time or the energy to write a dissertation on this topic — BUT I COULD. I could. I also am not in the business of ganging up on someone who is being knocked down. But I am here to bring you up to speed on what has been happening, and I have a couple of thoughts as to why…
There have been rumors swirling for a couple weeks now that Jlo and Ben Affleck are divorcing. Everyone has been analyzing everything from when they were last seen together to whether they are wearing rings to how they air kissed one another the other day. But there were also rumors about her big summer tour not selling well, and then, on Friday, the bomb dropped that she was canceling her tour to spend time with her kids. And that’s a bomb because canceling a tour is a big deal. But the hate has been growing around JLo, whether it was her documentary/movie that she self-funded that was all about her love story with Ben. I mean we saw the memes around that…like this one:
And her apparent rudeness at the MetGala:
And her apparent diva behavior when the man opening the door blocked her for a second:
And people have been searching for signs others are over her too:
My quick take is this: JLO does not understand the new generation. The kids demand authenticity…not contrived authenticity like she was trying to do with her documentary. The fact is she has had high-profile relationships and showcased diva behavior and lives a very extravagant and glam life but wants to be seen as Jenny from the Block, and that doesn't fly with the kids these days. Her movies and doc seem to be thirsty in the minds of the kids. She carries her Birkins and lives in an $80 million dollar house and flaunts her lifestyle but then wants to be seen as relatable, and we know how the kids feel about the uber-wealthy at this moment. And it just seems to have spiraled, and whether her fault or not, the only way to stop it is to take a step back from the public eye for a bit. Because right now, the sad truth is people are rooting for her to fail — which sucks.
THE KIDS ARE LOSING IT OVER THIS:
Natalie Portman apparently is 42 which I cannot get my head around. Paul Mescal is 28. This picture of them has video as well where they seem to be enjoying a fun convo whilst smoking some cigs. And the vibe is FLIRTY and we love to see it.
But apparently…they are JUST pals. But keep an eye out for older woman, younger man content. LOVE to see it.
WHO IS CALEB SIMPSON?
You may or may not have seen “Apartment Tours” on your socials. Basically, an unseen guy asks someone — usually someone with a public profile — how much they pay for rent in whatever city they are in. He makes it look like a random caught-you-on-the-street moment (when we all know IT IS NOT RANDOM, but people eat it up anyway). The person being asked usually says something like, “I don’t pay rent, I own…” and then offers them a tour. Sometimes, though, people do say how much they pay either for rent. The person asking is Caleb Simpson, and he has been welcomed into many people’s homes. It's like a modern-day MTV Cribs/AD Home tour but done in the TikTok way.
LOTS of people watch. The numbers are wild.
This one has over 37 million views:
Our girl Stacey Bendet just showed off her amazing home:
An LA look:
You just can’t stop watching!
ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER CULT DOC:
This one is getting a lot of buzz. I watched it. I mean, I didn’t know anything about this cult or the people involved, so I was riveted…but the doc left me with way more answers than questions which annoys THE FUCK out of me, tbh. But you decide.
THAT IS IT, my darlings…
That’s it! At least that’s what I decided to focus on. Now, go back to work, you lazy bums! 🫶🏻
Have a beautiful week and HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!!!!
🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈
We are switching off of Medium SOON….so expect an update there. NOT SUBSTACK do NOT worry.
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Xx,
Brooke
