Pop Culture Mondays/7.13.20
The “Scream Inside Your Heart” Edition
Happy Monday my pop culture junkies. We are almost half way thru July and all I can say is TIME IS A STRANGE THING. March and April seemed like endless months where 24 hours seemed more like 48..like HOW many hours are actually in a day?? And now it seems like 24 hours is 8 hours and the days have just fallen away . This past week had a hodge podge of things rise to the surface but I think my favorite thing was the “Scream inside your heart” directive by a Japanese amusement park asking people not to scream on roller coasters as that spreads the virus. Yeah or maybe DON’T OPEN AMUSEMENT PARKS quite yet (I am looking at you DisneyWorld…) but I digress. I think we have ALL been screaming inside of our hearts for a LONG LONG time so we are connected on that level with those Japanese amusement park officials.
Welcome to my new subscribers and please know this newsletter is not going to make you much smarter…maybe more aware of trends or pop cultural moments that have risen to the surface but really it’s just meant to be a fun escape, a sugar-free calorie-free trip thru your favorite candy store (or wine and cheese shop…) and I try and try to keep this Trump-Free to give us all a much needed break.
Also, so many people loved the mask links last week (be safe AND stylish) so here are a few more:
COUPLE’S THERAPY:
We have people of all ages here at PCM so for those of you under 30…maybe under 40…Will Smith has been a part of our culture since I was a kid. There was a period of time whenever I was asked to do something by my parents or we got into any sort of “disagreement” I would respond with lyrics from “Parents JUST don’t understand” the song and video that launched DJ JAzzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince (Will Smith) into the pop culture world.
IN case you need a refresher or never saw it to begin with may I present the iconic duo here with what I am pretty sure is the only “rap” that talks about “slacks” :
ANYWAY, Will has gone onto superstardom (Sorry DJ JAZZY JEFF) and he is married to Jada Pinkett-Smith who starred in one of my fave movies “GIRLS TRIP” so I HIGHLY recommend seeing this movie at some point if you have not. They are also the parents of Gen Z icons Willow and Jaden who I used to see at TED when they were like KIDS and I am telling you they A. asked really astute questions and B. Had a brainiac entourage and when I was sitting at home when I was 12 watching cartoons, they were at TED asking scientists about quantum physics but OK I digress.
There has always been a lot of speculation about Will and Jada’s relationship so when news came out the other week that singer August Alsina (27) and a friend of their son’s had admitted to having an affair with Jada with Will’s “permission” it was just another gossip cycle. But this one had legs…maybe because he was so much younger than Jada (YASSSSS Queen) or because there were red carpet pics of these two beautiful people seeming REALLY cozy or maybe just because people just like drama, it continued to get a lot of oxygen. There were denials issued by the couple’s rep (which apparently were not approved by them or issued by them) but truthfully I was like who cares….UNTIL Will and Jada did what brilliant media manipulators DO…they turned it around to be THEIR story and took control of the narrative and used Jada’s Facebook show “Red Table Talk” where Jada has become the modern day non-rapie Charlie Rose and interviews people around a table which turns into really intimate and honest conversations. And so they had their very own discussion about it where Jada confesses to it as they were “separated at the time” and she calls it an “entanglement” and Will calls her out on it and honestly it’s really smart and honest and hopeful in terms of people being honest with one another and showing the world everyone goes thru shit. They decided to come out and address it as it had taken ahold of “Black Twitter” and really ALL Twitter to be honest. It’s a fascinating approach and one that feels truly authentic (awkward AF which is authentic…) vs the old school celeb spin. I urge you to watch the whole video via FB so I cannot post it but here’s a small snippet:
BUT to be honest, there is another video to watch that has made me laugh non-stop for 2 days. For anyone who has spent any time in Jamaica or has Jamaican friends…this will hit you hard and make you smile. Thank you to my Jamaican friends who sent this to me!
So with that…we close the chapter on this for now…see you in Jamaica post pandemic!! #ONELOVE
I AM DESTROYED:
I say this, but I mean in only the best of ways. This show on HBO Max IS everything but let me back up a minute because there is SO much context to it and the story within the story is so breathtaking it deserves a stand alone discussion. Michaela Coel is an incredible force of nature talent who is so incredible to watch on camera you just become mesmerized. I will admit I did not know much about her — though I had heard of her show Chewing Gum a while back — before I read last week’s incredible New York Magazine profile and from there I have been consumed. First, let’s back up and check out Chewing Gum for a second which she wrote and starred in but was given NO control over and had no producer role on it..a show she created, wrote and starred in? Yeah…NO.
So, this profile by E. Alex Jung gets into this experience and her journey as an actor and writer and creator and then her own personal rape trauma that led to this mostly autobiographical new series “I May Destroy You”. After reading this profile I was like yeah so I have accomplished nothing in my life comparatively and yet not in a “I feel bad about myself” kind of way but in a really inspired “WHAT CAN I DO?” kind of way. I inhaled every word of it:
And while her new series is GUT wrenching and unsettling and maybe triggering to some, it is also captivating and real and I am sure there are MANY experiences many of us can relate to in some way, shape or form like I mean if you have EVER run off to Italy for a random weekend with a lover you just met YOU WILL RELATE LIKE I DID. Michaela is extraordinary in her performance but truthfully the whole ensemble is extraordinary and I cannot say enough about it.
TIKTOK CONSPIRACY THEORIES:
There is a lot of craziness in the world today so the fact that conspiracy theories started by teens on TikTok have led some people like Howie Mandel to have to comment on it is not as surprising as say it might have been a year ago. We are living in CRAZY TIMES. Last week I talked about the #FreeBritney campaign that has arisen and that many were saying she was sending signs via her social videos like wearing yellow as a call for help. So we go now into a world of PizzaGate QANON MADNESS being perpetuated by the innocent minds of TikTokkers.
Let’s first start with Wayfair, the US retailer that people already started cancelling because apparently it supplies ICE with its “furniture” to migrant centers. SO YEAH NO (and I am not talking about The Goya drama here today because I just cannot but here is a link for more info). This was headline news a year ago:
SO here we are in 2020 so things are about to get weird. It turns out there are metal cabinets and pillows that are being sold at a normal price but then also for astronomical prices of over $10K to $12K…for a pillow. The metal cabinets that have weird names attached to it are the ones that are selling for a crazy price vs the non-named ones. TikTokkers and Redditers began researching the names and apparently the names are all attached to missing girls. The pillows on Wayfair start at a normal price but if you try to customize with a name they jump to $10K…for a pillow. I believe if you type ANY word it changes it but TikTokkers only typed girls names THUS in their mind proving this is some underground sex trafficking ring that people in that world would know about and thus right out in the open go onto Wayfair and buy kids. Woo boy. Here is a video explaining THIS:
It has become SUCH a hot topic that Wayfair had to actually come out and deny this but it has not stopped the conspiracy theorists in ANY way.
AND this is not just happening to Wayfair. Poor Howie Mandel, the germaphobe comedian and host of a show called “America’s Got Talent”, doing what so many of us olds trying to do now…posting TikToks. And apparently people started seeing hidden messages in his TikToks like maybe WHY IS HOWIE MANDEL ON TIKTOK…but I digress and he has like almost 8 million followers so there you go. ANYWAY, they believed their beloved Howie was pointing out that he was kidnapped and needed help by pointing to the letters SOS in one video. It gets stranger from there:
It takes off and every other TikTok I was served on my feed was someone pointing out that he was in need of help and their proof of their “investigations”. SO, Howie had to actually address it in a video addressed to “the people of TikTok” to deny that he was in danger and denying there were any signs in the video while wearing a shirt you needed to “decode”:
So, while there are some amazing things about the InterWebs…the ability to spread false news, conspiracy theories and hate are NOT the highlights of the Internet by any means.
MIND BLOWN:
Generally I like to cover things that go viral, not have something go viral myself but this past week a TikTok someone ELSE made so blew me away that I shared it on the Twitter and it took off and over 200K people watched it when it really belonged to Mallory Ellis who’s TikTok it was which got over 2 million views. And I told the media who reached out to me that THIS WAS NOT MY STORY. But here’s what happened. Back to TikTok and all the conspiracies….a lot of people are talking about what THEY interpret the ending of Hamilton to be when Eliza gasps. Mallory (and many others) believe a theory that Lin-Manuel Miranda at the end STOPS being Alexander Hamilton and instead becomes himself the writer…the one who TELLS Eliza’s story and then leads her to the top of the stage where she sees the audience and sees her story is told and gasps before she leaves. Some transcendental shit I will tell you and the way Mallory tells it, it just felt like OMG YES THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED. And I tweeted it and people were SHOOK. And yes there are other theories and Lin-Manual doesn’t ever totally explain but leaves it open for interpretation but COME ON…HOW GOOD IS THIS THEORY??
I mean the little hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I then read everything I could and watched even more to understand there are a few interpretations of this…but let me say this…I HAVE SEEN HAMILTON 9 times in person and 3 more on Disney and NONE OF THIS EVER OCCURRED TO ME.
And you want to know what else never fucking occurred to me? THIS. The fact there was a character in Hamilton called THE BULLET and she was the actual representation of the bullet and the omen of death…like she LITERALLY flirts with Phillip before he dies.
AND THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS….
You made it this far…PROUD of you. I hope it was an enriching experience for you. While I have to get back to my day job which BTW is working with amazingly innovative companies with incredible CEOs who are thus far patiently OK with my PCM pastime…for now. But since I cannot write all day, below is just a few of my other fave things from this past week!
- Kara Swisher is NOW a hero amongst all the Phish-heads across the land which I am also pretty sure is a band she has NEVER ONCE LISTENED TO. In joking that this pic was a picture of the lead singer of Phish, Trey Anastasio, when in fact it is of her producer Eric, I called her out for not knowing what Phish was.
When she then dropped a bomb that was heard by many…she in fact was in a carpool growing up with Trey…like SHE NEVER EVER MENTIONED THIS BEFORE is what I call highly suspicious but yet another mystery entangles our SWISHA.
- This is just like “Groundhog Day” but with 2 people in on the experience and sex and drugs and Andy Samberg and was satisfying.
- And I haven’t seen this yet but I will this week because no matter what we LOVE Charlize as action star:
Until next week, my Pop Culture Junkies. If you have ANY FEEDBACK or suggestions please lmk and as always please share this with EVERYONE!
Anyway, please stay SAFE. Wear 😷 when you are out in public and be kind to one another.
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