Pop Culture Mondays/8.7.23
The “GIRL SUMMER” Edition
Happy Monday, my darling pop culture junkies! We have survived another week. I have made this week’s title GIRL SUMMER because on the heels of Barbie, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, and Women’s Soccer….it sure has that feeling.
Women’s soccer…I was asked by a few people why I didn’t include them in last week’s newsletter, and the answer is simply this….I should have. I have to admit, I am not a big sports fan…girls or guys, and unless I happen to experience it myself, like seeing Wimbledon this summer or if it is a big pop culture moment like Riri at the Super Bowl, I DO tend to ignore it. And I shouldn't. The US team in the FIFA Women’s World Cup was knocked out this weekend, which was painful, especially at HOW it went down. This year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup is in Australia and New Zealand, spread out across multiple stadiums. And the US team lost to Sweden in a penalty kick which, even as a non-soccer fan, I know is not awesome. But the thing is, more people than ever before are watching women’s soccer. Did you happen to see the French ad for the World Cup? I should say, the WOMEN’S World Cup? Well, there you go…and you will notice, yes, it’s men playing….but just wait…and watch…
I’m not crying.
YOU ARE CRYING.
We love 🇫🇷
So that’s where we are, and I dedicate this PCM to all the GIRL power we have going around. And don’t take my word for it:
BUT…just before you get too comfortable in it… don't you worry…there are plenty of insecure and deeply out of touch and unhappy men who will try to bring their toxic masculinity in because they are like, “WAIT…what about ME, you guys????”
And no better to bring this point home than Space Karen and the briefly (like for a week) popular Mark Zuckerberg, who has decided that being a toxic Marvel villain IS JUST MORE FUN.
OK, to be fair, Zuck’s initial response was a good one:
But then he couldn't resist…
I mean, I initially said if they do it to raise money, then all is not lost. But some very smart people pointed out that two of the richest men in the world should just give money to charity without having to make a circus of everything. It’s just embarrassing at this point and such a waste of our time, and honestly, is there another industry that would adopt me? I AM READY.
We have a much more entertaining and satisfying brawl coming up, so BUCKLE up for that one.
Well, summer is dwindling, so for those trying to get the very last moments out of your summer days, I will keep this week’s edition brief. If you missed last week’s pod….CHECK IT OUT HERE:
So grab some coffee or a chilled glass of rosé, some headphones….and enjoy.
Xx,
Brooke
IT’S ME, HI, I’M THE PROBLEM IT’S ME:
WHY is a white chair the problem? Or was it the solution ultimately? Ok, let me back up. I am guessing about half of you know what this is in reference to or at least have HEARD of the ALABAMA RIVER BRAWL this weekend….and the rest of you have no idea what any of this means. So let me explain the situation.
Picture this…a hot summer day in Montgomery, Alabama. People are having fun on the river. The story goes something like this. On the river is a big party boat — a party riverboat — filled with people having a good time. At the dock is a small little personal boat that was docked where it was NOT supposed to be. APPARENTLY, the boat owners had been told not to dock there, but they gave zero fucks. It seems, from everything I have been able to put together, that a lot is going on at the dock. Bars, restaurants…a place where people are. OK, back to the story. So one of the employees of the riverboat company, who had apparently already told these people they couldn't dock there, needed to take matters into his own hands as he had a big riverboat filled with people ready to exit onto the dock. SO, he started moving the boat himself by, I THINK, untying it and pushing it down the side of the dock.
WELL…the owners or caretakers of said personal boat came running onto the dock and screaming at the riverboat employee.
Now, before I go on, there is something else to note about this story.
The people on the big riverboat were black. The Riverboat employee moving the personal boat was black. The owners/whatever they were of the personal boat were white.
Mind you, all of this is on video, which we will get to. But the employee was like acting like an umpire in a baseball game, like all “GET OUT OF HERE” and it sort of looked like that sort of encounter between a pissed-off player and umpire. But then the white dude took a swing, and his buddies joined in, and the employee was trying to hold his own but was getting his ass kicked because it was like seven on 1. WOMEN TOO, my friends. WHITE KARENS are getting their racist rocks off. ANYHOO….the black community was like NOPE, and people from the surrounding businesses came in, and even a passenger off the boat JUMPED in the water and swam across to help the guy out.
It got bad, though. It became a full-on brawl. And it only ended when one of the dudes hit a woman over the head with the chair. I mean, the cops were like sort of letting it happen, but the minute the lady got hit by the chair, it was like, nope, everyone is going to jail.
I am not going to lie…finding the video in full without long voiceovers and podcast hosts talking throughout it is hard. You can CLICK HERE to see it on YouTube, as the only version that shows the whole thing I have been able to find is not portable. THAT’S HOW CRAZY IT IS.
But here are some socials on it which, if you don't want to watch on YouTube, will give you SOME idea.
This part is the one with the chair and is hard to watch. But gives context.
And thanks to TikTok creators for finding the humor:
And yet, this is perfectly said:
It is sad to watch. While the white dudes were 1000 percent wrong, and it was wonderful to see the community come to support the guy they started beating up, it was clearly racial, to begin with, and then it got so out of hand with mayhem, and the crowds were clearly egging everyone on.
And then we have Elon and Mark.
Lovely.
A LITTLE OF THIS, A LITTLE OF THAT:
I mean, I said we were going to speed through this one, but also, I am not sure I have the heart to write anything at length. While the brawl is viral, the issues behind it are terribly sad and frustrating and I just want to move into fun, light, silly pop culture-y things.
LIKE THIS BEAR.
THIS guy. Or I think I should say, GAL. This is Angela, a SUN BEAR in a zoo in Eastern China who has said the world on FIRE wondering if it is really a human in a bear costume. While my heart hurts because I just assume most zoos are terrible places for animals, Angela seems very happy to see people and likes to engage with her audience.
Angela herself…well, via the zoo, put out a statement on WeChat assuring everyone she was, in fact, a real bear:
“I got a call after work yesterday from the director of the zoo asking me if I was being lazy and found a human to take my place. It never occurred to me that while I was in my den, interacting with tourists, there was this trending topic on Weibo calling me a bear portrayed by a human in costume.
“It turned out that my humanlike posture while I was standing and my small stature even fueled visitors’ speculation. That was totally uncalled for. I’m a sun bear, not a black bear, not a dog, a Malayan sun bear …”
I mean…how brainwashed am I that I find a Chinese zoo having a sense of humor totally surprising and shocking? I really have to take a look at how the media is damaging my brain and making me think that ALL CHINA IS BAD AND OUT TO DESTROY EVERYTHING when in fact, this is just simply NOT the case.
BUT, let’s look more at Angela’s moment and a little about SUN BEARS in general. I have been to Hangzhou, the town where the zoo is…loved it. Loved it.
Grateful for the Internet:
So let’s be clear…we LOVE THE SUN BEAR. DEF a bear.
VIRAL FOOD ON TIKTOK:
Look, I will not deny I get some of my favorite food things off of TikTok. This whole raw veggies trend with mustard and cottage cheese is my JAM. I fell for the feta pasta, OBVIOUSLY back in the day, and so so many more. I wrote about it at the time when the US CMO was fired from TikTok. I was so surprised because he had this idea of bringing FOOD TikTok to life, which I thought was genius. Ghost kitchens serving all the TikTok viral food. Remember those fruit roll-ups with ice cream??
BUT move over fruit roll-up snack, as we have a new viral recipe that's taking over. And it involves a TikTok FAVE ingredient…FETA.
I mean, this video has 12 MILLION views.
And other creators are running with it:
CHILI OIL…the recipe just gets better as creators add their own spin.
ANYWAY…you get the idea. LMK if you like them — I mean, I KNOW you are going to give them a shot!
Running is HARD:
I am not a runner. I mean, you could literally add up all the times I have ever run, and that includes running through airports to catch a flight, and I am pretty sure cumulatively it wouldn’t add up to over a few miles. I AM NOT A RUNNER. So I have empathy for those who also find it challenging, and I am awed by those who push through it and seemingly enjoy it.
But no one beats this lady from Somalia who gave ZERO fucks last week in this race where she competed in China against amazing runners.
Zero. Fucks.
And the creators had fun. It turns out the girl is the niece of the President or Chairman of the Somali Sports Foundation (story varies) who pulled strings to have her very unprepared and untrained niece compete:
Bless.
SIMONE IS BACK, BABY!
YES GIRL. Simone stepped back from the world of gymnastics back in 2021 due to mental health struggles during the Tokyo Olympics, she announced at the time. In a surprise to many, Simone came back ROARING this weekend and took our hearts and breath away…again.
And let’s get some chills:
JUST amazing.
Another week….another TikTok drama or two:
I mean, we have had a LOT of dramas unfold on TikTok, and this past week is NO exception. And these are really niche but going mainstream FYP so everyone has been brought into them.
First, we have DIY crafter drama. HOLD ONTO YOUR HATS!
It started when this DIY creator known as TayDeeBoop posted a petty video calling out another DIY creator for “copying” her. Now the irony is that you are a DIY creator SHOWING people what to do with DIY, so by that very definition, people will replicate you. But this creator missed that aspect of herself. And the comments went nuts:
I mean, this creator had her own wallpaper line that she SOLD and somehow criticized this other creator for having the audacity to buy it and use it? OK…well, it unfolds more.
So the creator who TAYBEEBOOP was going after responds, and her response, from a crisis perspective, was flawless. She creates empathy, and we are all going to run to her defense:
I LOVE wallpaper…I mean I love all wallpaper. Whether fun peel-and-stick wallpaper from places like Wallshoppe or Otto to VERY fancy, incredible artistic handpainted wallpaper from Gracie Studio — I LOVE IT ALL.
This is the wallpaper that TayDeeBoop made and the other dared to use:
And it was being sold exclusively through Otto Studio. However….
It is no longer sold there.
Yes, the brand put out a statement via their Instagram:
Wild stuff, kids. WILD stuff.
But wait…I said there was another one.
And yes, this is even wilder. For it involves the unlikely groupings of BOOK TOK vs. the NHL, aka The National Hockey League.
You MAY not know it, but BookTok is a BIG deal. It sells BOOKS, baby. And one of the big genres in books, long before BookTok has been romance novels. And RomanceTok is a big deal and a niche of that… is HOCKEY ROMANCE NOVELS.
Look, I am not going to lie. I grew up in Rye, NY where the NYC Rangers all lived and practiced. There is a group of girls I may or may not have been witness to, known simply as “PUCK BUNNIES.” I mean, you get it…MUST I spell it out for you?
ANYWAY, this book is the start of this particular drama:
That’s because this book got creator Kierra Lewis all hot and bothered by the NHL players. She became an NHL super fan after reading this book, and posted a ton of fun and viral videos about hockey, like:
And in particular, she loved the boys who play for the SEATTLE KRAKEN. (PS, like if I KNEW that there was an NHL team called THE KRAKEN, I would have never stopped watching hockey, but I digress…)
Here is an of the girls crushing on the NHL boys as a result:
Now, the NHL LOVED what was happening. They saw that BookTok was driving people to become fans and they rewarded Kierra and the community all the time. But then a wife of a Kraken came out about how appalling it is her husband and others are being sexualized.
GIRL PLEASE. I mean…please.
But here is ana amaze explainer:
So the wife in question, Felicia Wennberg, took to Insta Stories to call out these videos. But the creator Kierra and EVERYONE else lost their minds on her and the team. SO much so the hockey player husband, Alex, took to Insta to defend his wife:
And his wife tried to clarify her point:
See, the issue was that while this fan was definitely pushing boundaries and maybe being a bit graphic at times, the wife called her a sexual harasser, and things just went dark from there.
And that…is that.
THAT IS IT, my darlings…
I am not talking about the Lizzo drama because, as far as I am concerned, there is a lot more to learn. She hired powerhouse lawyer Marty Singer so the shit about to get REAL.
If you have a direct connection to Zuck (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE, and I know you are subscribers…) please tell him to end this fight nonsense. Please and thank you.
Have a magical week, everyone!
If you aren’t already a subscriber (PLEASE PLEASE SUBSCRIBE!!! to MEDIUM) and please do SHARE this with all your friends as I am trying to grow this little thing…BUT IF you want this in your inbox for NOW, please send an email to:
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Xx,
Brooke
