Pop Culture Mondays/9.19.22
The LITTLE MERMAID Edition
Happy Monday my darling pop culture junkies. Well, here we are AGAIN. Another week, and another moment in time we see the worst of humanity and the best all at once. From racists freaking out about there being a black Ariel to a young woman being killed in Iran for not wearing her hijab correctly, to Marjorie Taylor Greene finding a way to make racist statements around electric airplanes to the theme of Quiet QUITTING that won’t quit to a TikTok of a girl singing about her period that gives me nightmares and more Olivia Wilde hate that I am calling BS on. There were some good things too like the response to the woman being killed in Iran to the reaction videos of little kids to Ariel and the reactions to Timmy Chalamet on the cover of VOGUE.
THAT and more, so buckle up and grab some headphones. I know you have all spent the day watching the SEASON FINALE of the Queen’s Funeral which was likely ruined by the various newcasters and pundits who felt the need to gab throughout vs just letting us BE but I digress.
And in case you missed last week’s podcast…it was amazing to sit down in front of a live audience at the Future Proof Festival and talk to powerhouse DJ, Mick Batyske. He talks about what it takes to be a DJ and how to navigate this TikTok trendy music world. We also talk about the drama around the movie “Don’t Worry Darling” and my belief that society cannot handle a woman dating a younger man and that is why all the hate towards Olivia. So check it out…
Ok, let’s do this!
THE GOOD & THE BAD — LITTLE MERMAID EDITION:
Last week, I showed you the MUCH buzzed about trailer for THE LITTLE MERMAID where Disney knew exactly what it was doing. It was not so much a trailer as a it was a teaser as the familiar iconic Ariel song starts and then we finally see Ariel, played by Halle Bailey, swimming in the sea to the reveal that she is Black. It is a BIG deal for Black girls to see themselves represented on the screen like this. It should NOT be a rare OMG occurrence but here we are. For as much joy this new Ariel brings, it also brings the hate. The SHOCK AND AWE some racists feel in a FICTIONAL CHARACTER of a MYTHICAL CREATURE being played by a Black woman is WILD. JUST imagine if these same people figured out that the original VERY DARK AND SAD tale of the Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen was really a metaphor for his unrequited love of a man and the disdain for homosexuality at the time. JUST IMAGINE. These people won’t know to be more outraged by a Black woman playing Ariel or the fact the Little Mermaid was made at all! Best of luck racists/homophobes….🙄
For more on the backstory on Hans:
BUT, let’s first look at some of the beautiful reactions to the teaser:
OK, so wipe your tears away and while I HATE showing the negative, it is important to see some of the OTHER side of it. This guy is getting a lot of heat, rightfully so, and TikTok only JUST removed his account but it remained long enough for many people to capture his video. Pretty awful but the creators have called him out:
A racist used AI to “fix” Ariel and thankfully was banned by Twitter but again, not fast enough:
But that’s enough of giving them attention. The reactions to racists were pretty great:
So, while social media unfortunately shows us the ugly side, goodness prevails.
MAHSA AMINI AND THE REACTION TO HER DEATH:
If you have missed this story, I suspect it will be on your radar soon as the response and outrage is growing like wildfire and for a country such as Iran which is most definitely not accustomed to its people protesting is probably growing more and more concerned.
So let me explain what happened and what IS happening.
Last week, 22 year old Mahsa Amini was arrested by THE MORALITY POLICE (that’s correct) outside a train station in Tehran for apparently not wearing her hijab CORRECTLY. She was brutally detained and ended up in a coma from her injuries and died on Friday. The police claim there was no brutality and that she died due to a health problem she had prior to her arrest. BUT….there is video. And you cannot dispute the brutality:
This is very hard to watch so be prepared.
That was her mom throwing herself in front of the van trying to stop them. It is heartbreaking. JUST utterly heartbreaking:
But the response IN Iran and globally has been remarkable. Protesters have taken to the streets of Iran which poses considerable risk to them:
It is a law that regardless of race or religion, if you are a woman in Iran, you MUST wear a hijab at all times. It is incredibly brave of these protestors. #MahsaAmini is trending on Twitter. This is a good explainer:
People are also cutting their hair in protest and it is a pretty powerful message:
It is a powerful moment and one to watch as the outrage is palpable and global and the power of these voices is truly awe inspiring. Has there been a great deal of US media coverage on this? NOPE there has not. Once they see it is a trending topic, that will change. 🙄
AND NOW FOR SOME OF MY FAVORITE THINGS (OR SOME OF THE DESPICABLE ONES…)
We have a LOT of ground to cover here…some good…some despicable…and if anything I missed (I cannot include everything!) just shoot me a note and I can see if I can include NEXT week!
- Quiet Quitting. UGH for the love of god I tried ignoring this one as BEST as I could but it just will not go away. I mean it has taken a life of its own and some now refer to it as a fake trend but frankly fake or not it is now real because of the fucking attention it got. SO the term is not about you actually quitting. Like I first saw it and I imagined it meant someone writing a polite note, leaving it on their boss’s desk after they left and then walking out the door, never to come back. BUT alas, I was wrong. It refers to doing your job within the absolute confines of the job description and not going above and beyond. Like your hours are 9–5 you do not stay a minute past 5. You do not answer emails after hours or do more than what is expected. BUT there are two sides (or three or four) so here are some of them…
Truthfully, I wish I had the courage these kids have. When I was 23 and had just lost my parents, on a hot day in San Francisco (a rare thing!) at 8AM as I arrived at the office, I was told I was not allowed in the office as I was wearing “open toed shoes” aka SANDALS. I lived 40 minutes away across the Golden Gate Bridge at the time, and I had to drive home and get new shoes. I DID IT and had to pay the toll twice….I am still in a rage overit tbh.
ANYWAY…quiet quitting has moved into our OTHER favorite topic here at PCM and that is all the drama around the still unreleased film, Don’t Worry Darling and its director and co-stars Olivia Wilde, Harry Styles, Miss Flo and Chris Pine (cone). More on that in a second but here is what Miss FLo is being called:
Yes, she's being hailed the ICON of the QUIET QUITTING movement for doing the bare minimum in the promotion of the film which was her showing up on the red carpet in Venice but doing nothing more.
Anway, please don’t make me write another word about this moment. Though this amused me:
- DON’T WORRY DARLING backlash continues. Wow the GOSSIP keeps coming and I think we are bracing for even MORE DRAMARAMA this week as we lead up to opening weekend for the movie. I personally cannot wait to see it though, despite all the drama. I had a hot take last week on the podcast that MY BELIEF is people are turning on Olivia Wilde because she started a romance with the lead of the film she was directing who is ten years younger than her. What is considered a perfectly acceptable and frankly, EXPECTED out come for male directors BUT apparently not for A WOMAN. NO no, this is unacceptable. I understand the release of the Shia messages and her video to him were not helpful and did in fact turn people into thinking she was a liar BUT the trend of hating on Olivia was already growing:
An oldie but a goody. Harry fans would refer to Olivia as “Grandma” in TikToks and there was a collective dumping on her once the relationship was revealed. Despite the Ted Lasso star, Jason Sudeikis having his ex served with custody papers WHILE Olivia was on stage — amove that is the very definition of bullying — the public turned on her and celebrated Jason. It’s all so gross.
People are speaking out…not enough but some:
- And bravo bravo bravo to Ryan Reynolds for getting a colonoscopy done on camera to raise awareness for colon cancer. Not only was this VERY impactful, he also may have saved his life as the doctors found a polyp.
The awareness this brings cannot really be measured it is monumental. And the press coverage was incredible. WELL DONE TO FRIEND and PCM subscriber Chrysi Philalithes for making this happen!!! BRAVO GIRL.
- I hate putting Trump-related wackjobs in here but this one deserved a little attention as I mentioned at the top because this shows not only how DUMB Marjorie Taylor Greene is but also how excited she is about being racist and just ignorant and awful.
I LOVE this Candian creator’s take:
Manwhile, we also got video of the “esteemed” racist politician from Georgia, KICK a teen who is an activist protesting guns and schools. NOTHING but class Marjorie. NOTHING BUT CLASS. 🙄
VOTE HER OUT, GEORGIA.
- I am so sorry to do this to you but if your kid is singing this song this is why…this girl has gone viral viral viral and it is why we dont deserve nice things:
But creators are having fun with it:
We will make this girl a star no doubt.
- If your kids start talking about the ONE CHIP CHALLENGE literally ground them, take all their devices away, lock them in their rooms and keep them home from school. I mean I joke but you would be saving them fro a world of hurt. CLOUT CHASING continues to baffle and kids (and adults tbh!) are putting themselves through crazy pain to see how they handle the spiciest chip ever.
It actually was started by a BRAND…the brand trying to cause a viral movement to sell their chips, obviously.
And if this is in your house you know why:
This has become an annual challenge where PAQUI sells these one chip kits. GOD SPEED KIDS.
- The Emmys were last week. Like 5 people watched them but there were some good speeches…these ihn my opinion were the best:
Sheryl Lee Ralph is an icon and currently is one of the stars on “Abbot Elementary” a show you MUST WATCH IMMEDIATELY. And her speech was JOYFUL:
And Jennifer Coolidge was chaos and genius all at the same time:
- And lastly, some will call this brilliant and others will call it terrifying. What do you think of our TIM TIM and his Vogue pics which is the first time in apparently 106 years of BRITISH VOGUE, a man has been solo on the cover….there is a LOT of talk. My collective group says THUMBS DOWN to the cover and thinks the picture it is “BASIC”.
THAT IS IT, my darlings…
Have a beautiful week despite the days getting shorter and shorter. If you need a pick me up, we have a playlist for PCM made by MICK that is awesome and gives you a little of everything:
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