Pop Culture Mondays/7.22.24
The COCONUT Edition
Well, well, well…HAPPY Monday, my darling pop culture junkies. How are we all doing? I mean, besides Space Karen, Bill Ackman, and that David Sacks guy who are all literally melting down on Twitter, I mean X. Like they have all the money in the world, and these boys are just melting down with their thumbs for the world to see. So cringe. Go on boat and relax guys…deep breaths.
But we have had a crazy week, no question. From an assassination attempt on a former President and current Republican nominee to the current President announcing he is not seeking re-election on a Sunday afternoon. Oh, and just to add a little SPICE….we had a Y2K-style meltdown that showed us how fucked we all can be when some dude on a Friday afternoon pushes a software update that has a bug in it and literally shuts down the world. But the memes WERE good, I will say:
But moving on. We are NOT a political newsletter…we are very much a pop culture one. BUT sometimes, the worlds do collide. So this week, we obviously are talking about Kamala and why she is a BRAT (see, you guys get that reference, don’t you? MANY of you get it because of PCM, so….you’re welcome.) But we also have some other political matters to discuss, so we will make it one big story. Then a few other things to touch on, like how Addidas fucked up, but Nike did it right.
And if you missed last week’s pod, check it HERE, my darlings…it’s a good one:
Grab some headphones and some Haribo and enjoy…
BRAT GIRL SUMMER UNLOCKED:
Where do we EVEN begin?? There is a lot to unpack. I mean, we also have to discuss Matt Gaetz's face, the ear pad cult, the meaning behind Coconuts and Kamala, Mark Zuckerberg, and how he plays into all of this, and basically…I am just going to say right now that none of what I write will be linear. This is me just free writing while also jacked up on a lot of coffee. Brace yourselves.
Let’s put Kamala on hold for JUST a moment. Because I do think it is only fair to show you some of my favorite memes from the Republican Convention because that shit was CRAZY.
Let’s start with the best of the best Matt Gaetz memes. I think we are all up to date enough to know that due to some crazy injectionist, who clearly hated him or perhaps was some young girl he hired off of Craig’s List, Gaetz had all his fillers and botox settle in on the day of his speech. I feel like this could be a Reese Witherspoon, Legally Blonde moment where she is able to figure out his timeline and fake alibi because he claims he got his Botox that morning, but she announces to the court who gasps, “EVERYONE KNOWS YOU NEED AT LEAST FOUR DAYS FOR THAT SHIT TO SETTLE…”
CASE CLOSED.
But here are some for your entertainment:
There are so very many more. But these all gave me a chuckle. This guy….I cannot wait for this guy to get shown the door one day.
OK, moving on….but we MUST address EAR PAD CULT. I just cannot stop thinking about these people.
There are more, but I don’t have the spirit.
In other Trump-related news, which I promise to really move on from ASAP, we saw tech titans really come out swinging for him last week. And I am not going to lie; this tweet really made me chuckle:
IYKYK.
It does have me thinking… I am not a doctor or a scientist, but I am an observer of people and a carrier of many a secret. The one thing these billionaires have in common besides their money and love of their money…is that they are pushing their bodies to do things that have never been done before. Seeking eternal youth, life, health, strength, vitality. Gone are the days of just eating right and working out. NOPE. Now money can buy you anything. Human Growth Hormones, for example. Stem Cell stuff, for example. Things they are taking via injection, IV, pill, or powder that have not been researched enough. They are ALL taking it. It is why their heads change shape. And their bodies look different.
And I have to think….we are dealing with BILLIONAIRE ROID RAGE. The equivalent thereof. It’s like all these motherfuckers are on some juice, and it is making them SO angry and worked up and over the top and reactionary, and it is really lame to watch. These things will be studied long after we are all gone…and those boys will be floating in some cryo tanks somewhere, dead but STILL angry.
And here is one morphing before our eyes…though I am not sure we can blame HGH on the gold chain… everything I said last week on my pod about having a soft spot for Zuck (I know, I know), I take back. Because this was just BANANAS.
So many ways he could have addressed this. But once a WANT TO BE frat boy….always a WANT TO BE frat boy, I guess. Still trying.
OK….so now we can move on to the SUNDAY MASSACRE, if you will. You will all remember where you were when you learned that Biden would not run for a second term. And the billionaire boy conspiracy theorists went nuts as to why Biden posted a statement on platforms INCLUDING X but not limited to X vs, address the nation via broadcast. The dude has COVID, but of course, they are calling that a lie. Sigh. Again, I am not a political writer…just here to show you some of the responses and explain some of the things you might not connect the dots on.
Have you seen this one around? If so, and you are not sure what it references…man, this is a good one. This is a SEX AND THE CITY reference…the dreaded POST-IT. Carrie Bradshaw had a really terrible boyfriend, you see. We call him Berger. He was a writer naturally. He was a full-on narcissist, and he just couldn't handle Carrie’s success. But she loved him. But he couldn't take it, so he broke it off. With this POST-IT.
I mean….funny.
So, let’s discuss how Kamala got wrapped up in the whole BRAT theme we wrote about here a few weeks ago. Do you remember the genesis of BRAT?
CHARLI XCX.
And Charli XCX took to Twitter and Instagram:
Let me be clear….this is a massive moment. And now people turn to Taylor Swift and Beyoncé for their move. COME ON LADIES.
How did people respond to the BRAT tweet?
And the campaign itself has embraced it — remember, lime green/fluorescent green is BRAT:
And we have a few other things to explain that might not make sense to you… this entire video shows this, so watch this first, and then we shall discuss:
Let’s try to sort out coconuts AND context all in one place. And rather than me repeat what has been written, I have taken this from this Time Magazine article:
Coconut context
The @KamalaHQ account bio — “Providing context” — references another popular meme associated with the Vice President.
The meme has its roots in a May 2023 speech Harris gave at the White House in which she relayed an anecdote: “My mother used to — she would give us a hard time sometimes, and she would say to us, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?’” she said with a laugh. “You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.”
At the time, the GOP War Room, an arm of the Republican National Committee, shared the clip in an apparent attempt to mock her.
But Harris supporters have reclaimed the coconut tree. As pressure ramped up in recent weeks for Biden to step aside and Harris to take his place at the top of the ticket, a Democratic operative described themself as “coconut pilled” to CNN (a play on the “red pill” alt-right meme). Social media users joked about “Operation Coconut Tree” and a “Coconut Republic,” and Washington-area bars began serving coconut-inspired cocktails.
In a matter of hours, The Dems GOT THEIR MEME GAME ON. Now maybe Boomers will be highly confused…but Gen Z are going to be ALL in.
AND….the video also gives you insight into the line that the Republicans have tried to turn against Kamala for a while now, “UNBURNDENED BY WHAT HAS BEEN…” which is NOW…the rallying cry for the ENERGIZED Dems.
From 2020:
The memes were good:
So, hopefully, that explains that for most of you….
And just a few more images/memes that shook me:
With regards to who her VP will be:
With reference to Trump’s moronic BLACK JOBS statement:
And Time Magazine’s cover:
AND yet another Simpson’s prediction that we all love:
And perhaps a VEEPS prediction?
And how the Dems are feeling:
And we will ALL have this to look forward to, we hope:
A LITTLE OF THIS, A LITTLE OF THAT:
Bella Hadid and Adidas:
Was it intentional? Hard to not think it was. Adidas launched a shoe campaign referencing the 1972 Munich Olympics, where 11 Israeli athletes and one German police officer were killed in an attack by Palestinian militants. And the star of the campaign was Bella Hadid, who herself is part Palestinian and has been outspoken against Israel.
I mean a reference to the Munich 1972 games in this environment is BANANAS.
Which led to memes like this:
Adidas has pulled the campaign and apologized, and it is alleged that Bella Hadid has hired lawyers.
But, like, really? How on earth this ad campaign ever saw the light of day, regardless of whether Bella was the spokesperson, is BEYOND me.
And then we have Nike, who launched an amazing ad campaign around the Olympics narrated by Willem Dafoe:
THIS is how it is done.
AND lastly…because we all need a little feel good at this moment…I urge you to go and watch “THELMA” on Apple+.
I loved it. You will laugh. You will cry.
June Squibb is a LEGEND.
THAT IS IT, my darlings…
Woo boy, that was one for the ages. I need to have a BIG COLD BREW right about now, TBH. But I hope this PCM helped clear up any confusion around memes you might have had.
And BTW, if you DO want a cold brew in the comfort of your own home, look no further. Cumulus, a company I advise, IS COMING. Pre-order your machine now, which will make you cold Brew and NITRO cold Brew AND cold espresso shots with a press of a button.
It’s my newsletter, so I can promote what I want! But trust me…this is the real deal.
We are switching off of Medium SOON….so expect an update there. NOT SUBSTACK, so do NOT worry. IT IS COMING…
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Xx,
Brooke
