The Pop Culture Cold Brew is a collection of pop culture adjacency news that’s sincerely piqued our interest with frivolous diversions during these wildly unprecedented times— only without the celebrity worship culture. The Cold Brew also comes with a side of candor in critique pieces on pop culture and societal mores. This week is a round-up of the inevitable speculation of celebrity triviality that we can’t get away from— or enough of, seemingly. Get into it below.
This week has been overwhelmingly long, as I’ve been wintering despite the seventy-degree weather. I’ve been excitedly watching new films again; not all are stellar, but there have been some distractions, like Triangle of Sadness, a grossly hilarious voyage. I even rewatched it with my little sister last night.
Asking to describe the film beforehand as my sisters and I always do with each other with a quickdraw judgment for cinema, I replied Bob’s Burgers’ Mutiny on the Windbreaker episode meets The Simpsons’ Das Bus episode based on Lord of the Flies. She cautiously agreed, and then I watched the madness unfold. The uproarious laughter of THAT scene was a mashup of disgust and giggles while noting the hilarious Woody Harrelson portrays himself in most roles. Ironically, this isn’t a sanitized look at societal hierarchies— more caricatured like other westernized Hollywood eat-the-rich films. They try their best to deconstruct the unbalanced power structures and inequalities, but it simply recalls the great philosopher Dolly Parton “it costs a lot of money to look this cheap.”
Half of this past Sunday’s double feature was a rewatch of Bones and All, another splintering Luca Guadagnino film. No slight to the internet’s victorian twink boyfriend, Timothée Chalamet, but Mark Rylance ate him right up. Not that Chalamet isn’t used to being overshadowed, but his charisma seems to be no match to those of his leading ladies who dominate him onscreen. Every Chalamet starring film I’ve seen has been for his counterpart, as he’s just a charming setup along the way. Yet there is something about a man who knows his role while supporting and staying out of women’s business.
Rounding out the teen tearaways of Guadagnino’s Badlands is Mark Mylod’s The Menu. A deliciously wicked tale that I haven’t stopped thinking about (despite some challenging scenes for me). Maybe it’s the way that Anya Taylor-Joy mocks and teases the frivolity and precision of Michelin-star dining while cunningly slinking around in a slip dress with chunky boots alongside the banal uppityness of Nicholas Hoult as Tyler that got me. Or maybe it was the poised control of Ralph Fiennes as he delivered his best stoic Gordon Ramsay or the Midsommar-ness of it all— either way, I want second but not necessarily third courses. There haven’t been many films that have packed a punch, but it’s been entertaining to witness. The Menu is akin to Triangle of Sadness, but the film’s caliber is nowhere near Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite, which transcends.
🧊 Pop Culture Round-Up
Here’s a pop culture round-up with a side of candid takes during these sociopolitical times and why we can’t get enough— only without celebrity worship.
One of the original authorities of insecure white males pre-Joe Rogen, Howard Stern, expresses his discomfort with how Oprah manages her Instagram. Stern’s not quite the billionaire that Oprah is, although he’s close— so the fact that these former working-class people are now one-percenters richer than old money is extraordinary. At least to those who look up to or measure obnoxious amounts of monetary value as success. Perhaps Stern felt called to use a Black woman’s name was smart— but if he had thought more critically, he could’ve chosen far richer and more damaging people. Jeff Bezos deserves so much more smoke, not Oprah for her gardens. Still, women— especially intersectional women of color— are often punished or decried when doing the same things as men. Except sure, Oprah’s wealth makes him “uncomfortable,” the fragility of his ego is apparent with this insecure lame energy. Undoubtedly, this snake eats its tail as far as the rich being whiny while problematic via Variety.
Queen Consort, Camilla is attempting a guise of control and relatability by modernizing the title “ladies in waiting” to “Queen’s companions.” I’m sad that minions, cohorts, and henchmen were left out since Camilla’s “companions” will be taking on a less formal position than once before. Perhaps if they took less time on a contemporary title and more time on a screening process— except who are we kidding, with an institution like the monarchy, bad behavior is ever-present and ignored. Sweeping skeletons under the carpet and hiding mysteries in secret passageways that still lurk in the halls of Buckingham Palace throughout the years as royalty’s true favorite is turning a blind eye. A blind eye is a disservice yet a cultural norm that most Brits continue by denying historical facts or events because it’s uncomfortable— America shares this toxic trait. Great Britain and its sixty-two century-long monarchy have historically done gruesome and horrific things, as has the United States with years of destabilizing and interfering. Acknowledging and admitting this helps to remove the societal blinders of expectancy. Asking a Person of Color repeatedly and peppering in a “where are you from, really” isn’t a vetted interest or innocuous. It’s an old-school coded way of asking about race without openly asking. Most know this as microaggressions, yet they’re easily dismissed because of the seemingly innocent vernacular. In reality, the person continually asking is trying to reduce someone’s identity by judging and lumping them by social group, race, religion, or culture. This only magnifies the unbalanced power structures that royalists and conservatives wilfully ignore because of the years-long shame of colonization. America shares a shameful past that it also chooses to ignore, which only means repeating history as time ages but doesn’t truly change. So what kind of spinning web will the institutional monarchy try to sell to the public this time? Only time will tell if it won’t fizzle on its own. Reports that Lady SH has resigned, but that’s still dust to the apology Ngozi Fulani from Sistah Space deserves. Sistah Space is an award-winning non-profit that supports women and families affected by domestic abuse while educating them on intersectional issues like racism. At the time of writing, this spidery web has only become more problematically entangled. The Royal Family and their companions continue their flop era.
Speaking of the Royal Family, the first part of Harry and Megan’s Netflix documentary is out and fascinating. The responses have been just as polarizing as ever. The relentless British media rightfully shows itself as the villains they’re portrayed as they seemingly never let the public forget the duo while throwing back the privacy narrative— I guess they forgot the age-old adage of either they tell our stories, or we do. Two people daring to live on their terms while showing supportive love for each other is practically anarchic for their bland and loveless traditions of standing by each other while secretly hating their spouses.
Families are meant to keep you physically and emotionally safe in most cultures. Yet, H & M were callously ignored by the Sussexes’ own— that’s a devastating betrayal. It’s evident that unlike his brother William, Harry doesn’t want to repeat the vicious cycle of history that tormented and ultimately cost his dear mum’s life. The depth to which this isn’t understood is colossal, and while Kate Middleton’s had her fair share of abuse— it’s ashes to the ongoing treatment of Meghan’s mere existence.
Like Princess Diana, Meghan is a charmingly likable and more confidently outspoken woman with glowing popularity— a direct threat to the status quo of what’s expected from centuries-long traditions of a powerful institution like the British Monarch. The Sussexes are courageous for wanting concrete change and proactive measures, as no one is above accountability— or karma. Speaking out on the harmful and reductive microaggressions and the neglect of getting helpful resources for themselves— the Sussexes with income that most of us can dream about couldn’t get the help they needed from their own “family.” This occurred as the duo faced endless backlash and racist attacks from the British media and the loser lemmings that still defend them online. Harsh, but there’s no other word for defending actual royalty online with a history of violence toward other countries while denying atrocious behavior— get real. Yet as most royalists and traditionalists are, hateful disdain is an MO for festering insecurity; as the tweet below suggests. The monarchy and those pesky royalists fanatics like the notorious pearl-clutching and brittle-boned for criticism, P*ers M*rgan, who excuse horrid behavior and accountability because sitting with discomfort in favor of the status quo are easier. Except it’s not when there’s a history of racism that continues to be shamefully ignored by royalists and company. Accusing and pointing fingers at Harry and Meghan ‘whining’, otherwise known as recanting their experiences, when the whining comes from someone insecurely yelling at others about how to behave or live their lives with entitled authority that’s quietly been purchased. Isn’t there someone’s arse he should be kissing instead of a fixated and unhealthy amount of time hating as Harry and Meghan live carefreely?Anyone with a grounded critical eye can see Meghan Markle’s become a target for trivial things and a set-up to make an example of her and Harry by the media and their so-called families, both of which utilize different MOs. Then there are the justifications from royalists and conservatives online, who are insipidly blind because of their unjustified hatred for Megan’s ‘breaking the rules,’ ergo their disapproval of Harry’s life— which they’re not a part of and don’t have anything to go on, other than planted stories and the centuries-long institution with extended resources to aide their narrative and PR strategies. Image as a currency doesn’t elongate itself just to Hollywood. Optics are everything, especially archaic ones like old money. Even thumbing through tweets of royalists’ distaste for Megan, there’s no true reason but an accumulation of many reasons to use them as a vessel for their hatred, which reeks of misogynoir racism, “don’t bite the hand that feeds you,” except neither Harry nor Meghan owe Great Britain anything other than reported taxes, and yet so does the Queen. However, the latter is often excluded, even during the country’s ongoing cost of living crisis. The Accounts for the Sovereign Grant, which funds the Queen and her household’s official expenses, released a report this past summer, showing that the monarchy cost the taxpayer £102.4m ($114.6m) during the 2021–22 financial year— an increase of 17% from the previous year. Yet, Meghan is being punished, like most trailblazing women, for wanting better for herself and her family. Having the gumption to execute and steer their narrative back on their terms continues to disintegrate the monarchy’s control over their story, especially after the monarchy ignored and protected Harry’s uncle, Prince Andrew, and his penchant for alleged pedophilia. Unraveling a spidery web of lies has many interconnected threads— and I’m I, for one, am captivated to hear more from Harry and Meghan.
Jennifer Lawrence and Viola Davis sat down with Variety for their Actor on Actor spotlight, except in an attempt for views, they completely mangled a pull quote for clicks and then deleted the original tweet in favor of the video below for Lawrence’s entire quote because of how hard online reactions have been. While Lawrence is no stranger to saying out-of-pocket things during interviews, she isn’t entirely wrong. This is how studio execs’ marketing ploys worked— until recently. Similar sexist marketing undersold Jennifer’s Body in 2009 when the trailer/press deserved much more. Lawrence’s original hypothesis of being told boys wouldn’t identify with her character isn’t far-fetched, whether told by society or studio higher-ups. However, the erasure of incredible leading ladies in action roles is where she lost me. Thanks to my dad, I was introduced to powerhouse actors in action films such as the prowess of Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley and Pam Grier’s Foxy Brown, paving the way in the seventies— and who can forget the badass that is Sarah Connor in the eighties? Angelina Jolie dominated roles like Lara Croft in Tomb Raider or Salt (re-written for HER after Tom Cruise backed out). My dad’s a big Michelle Yeoh fan, so seeing her on-screen always sparks joy. Many women and women of color were trailblazers before Katniss, so saying, “nobody had ever put a woman in a lead of an action movie,” is kind of egregious. Her misspeaking shouldn’t have been magnified as it was when her overall subtext point was valid.
As Taylor Swift continues her relentless world domination with a foray into filmmaking, her unhealthy relationship with parasocial stans unrooted in another dimension continues to terrorize journalists online. Whisperings online continue as any journalist or inkling of disagreeing with their overlord has been met with harassment, hexing, and even doxxing. This isn’t new behavior but ongoing and bizarre intimidating behavior with a powerful entity and the galvanized fandom that act as soldiers. Swift has, again, yet to respond.
Look out for our Youthquake gift love list coming to inboxes soon, along with a bonus White Lotus theme edition. You’re seriously missing out if you’re not watching or haven’t yet watched; season one was an absolute trip. Season two has been a simmering Sicilian disarray served tableside, which we adore.
Con Amor,
Naomi x