The 2014 Tumblr-core late-stage capitalist hellscape
Wake up babe, a new white girl aesthetic just dropped.
Keep scrolling for the Michael Cera collaboration sweeping SkinTok. (Yes, Michael Cera.)
The Barbie snub outrage proves that when it comes to diversity, we’re only thinking of white women
After Barbenheimer dominated viral culture last year, the 2024 Academy Awards were always going to be a big deal. This week, fans were shocked to find out that Margot Robbie (Barbie) and Greta Gerwig were excluded from the "Best Actress" and "Best Director" categories. In a new piece for Refinery29, Alexandra Koster explains why the outrage around the snub is an example of white feminism in action.
While Robbie and Gerwig missed out on two categories, Barbie wasn’t completely shut out. The film picked up an impressive eight nominations overall.
Robbie earned a nod as a producer in the best picture category, where Gerwig picked up a nomination for best adapted screenplay.
As for the performances, Ryan Gosling (Ken) and America Ferrera (Gloria) were nominated for best supporting actor and best supporting actress, respectively.
Amid the uproar about Robbie and Gerwig's exclusion, internet users are labelling the 2024 Academy Awards as anti-feminist and exclusionary. Koster points out the irony, noting that this year’s nominations are some of the most diverse yet.
“What our rage about Barbie fails to take into account is that this year, we're seeing one of the most diverse sets of nominations by the Academy since its inception,” she writes. “Where is the celebration for the first Native American woman to be nominated? Why is hardly anyone even mentioning Ferrera's achievement in the same breath as Robbie and Gerwig's snub?”
While numerous social media users argue that the snub feeds into the very patriarchal norms that Barbie criticises, Koster asserts that many are “far more concerned with pedaling the rhetoric of white feminism" than acknowledging the achievements of women of colour.
“We have a serious issue if we're more passionate about a white woman not being nominated than celebrating the women of colour in the film who actually were nominated — and against the odds,“ she adds.
Rather than only focusing on gender equality, Koster concludes the piece by calling for a greater focus on intersectionality throughout the 2024 award season.
“Let me be clear — I'm angry too. I'm angry that women are still fighting for breadcrumbs in an industry that has historically hated us,” she clarifies. “But honestly, I'm angry that we've used our anger to show that diversity matters — but only if you're white.”
Read the full story via Refinery29.
Someone make the TikTok “aesthetics” stop
From “Clean Girl” to “Mob Wife,” TikTok users love subscribing to a particular “core.” While identifying with a specific subculture may offer a sense of identity, the rate at which these TikTok “aesthetics” are popping up is becoming slightly out of control.
A video by TikTok user @hellobilzyb — whose real name is Nabilla— explores the proliferation of these online "aesthetics." She highlights how many of these “cores” come across as shallow, lacking personality, and a distinct socio-political mission.
“It just doesn’t make sense that every 14 working days or so… there is a new aesthetic that has a name, a term, a look, a vibe around it but no personality,” she says. “Previous subcultures, as well as aesthetics, were named after they had a vibe and personality attached to it… they had their names after they had social and political views aligned with each other.”
It appears that these TikTok aesthetics have swapped any deeper meaning associated with a subculture for a focus on appearance, performance and beauty — a phenomenon propelled forward by young white women, Nabilla notes.
“The reason I say young white women is because we know this app loves beauty, this app loves desirability. Unfortunately, the people who are positioned at the very top of that totem pole are young white women,” she goes on to say. “Clean Girl aesthetic, quiet luxury, cold girl winter… all these things are driven and led by white women.”
Nabilla's video has amassed over 900K views, where thousands of users have commented and stitched the video, sharing their perspectives on TikTok's "core" epidemic.
Many have pointed to the influence of COVID-19, noting how isolation “left a chunk of young women without a chance to learn how to navigate trends outside of a vacuum/social media.” In a similar vein, others have suggested that embracing a popular aesthetic might just be a bid for virality.
All things considered, the way internet users are replacing identity and community with different labels is a symptom of late-stage capitalism — where users are constantly forced to purchase products and clothing to keep up with the fast-paced trend cycle.
“It is going to drive our consumerism, it’s going to drive capitalism and make us want to acquire all these products for this look that doesn’t have a statement, or personality attached to it,” Nabilla concludes. “We need to stop chasing these aesthetics that we think then reflect our socio-economic value, they don’t.”
Watch Nabilla’s full video via TikTok.
Darcy McQueeny & the controversial PR unboxing taking over TikTok
Speaking of TikTok consumerism, content creator Darcy McQueeny has gone viral after posting a (very excessive) PR haul. While YouTubers of years past were praised for this type of content, Darcy is facing a lot of hate. So, what changed?
Earlier this week, Darcy posted a TikTok sitting among piles of PR boxes, explaining that she received these packages over two months. In the video, she promises to unbox them over the next four days.
The first video of the four-part series has since accumulated over 5 million views.
@darcymcqueenyyyDAY 1🫶🏻✨💌🥹 OH. MY. GOSH. so insanely grateful!!!! @K18 Hair @L’Occitane @functionofbeauty @Mugler @Versed Skincare @Poppi @Conair @Nudestix @Youth To The People @Reebok @DOLCE VITA @Hello Molly @Wander Beauty @Shop Colorful Natalie 💖 @Coco & Eve #prhaul #unboxinghaul #haultok #makeuphaul #beautytok #prpackages #haulseries #drunkelephant #glowrecipe #laneige #skincare #fyp #prhauls #haul #unboxwithme #asmrhaul #asmrsounds
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While Darcy’s followers appreciate her transparency, many TikTok users question why influencers still receive copious amounts of PR.
Of course, Darcy isn’t the first creator to post a PR haul. Beauty gurus like Laura Lee, Manny MUA, and Tati Westbrook practically invented this genre of content. However, when they posted these hauls, their viewers responded positively.
The criticism levelled toward Darcy show how much internet fame and audiences have changed. There are two key reasons for this shift:
The instant nature of TikTok virality.
TikTokers gain followers quickly, whereas YouTubers had to put in a lot of effort to grow their fanbase. The fast-paced nature of TikTok often leaves viewers lacking a sense of community.
Even though these parasocial relationships can be toxic, they are a significant reason viewers enjoy this type of content. Watching creators slowly build their public profile fosters a sense of connection and fulfillment.
Internet users are fatigued by consumerist culture.
The 2010s marked the first time users got a behind-the-scenes look into the lives of the rich and famous. But now that we understand the perks, it doesn't sit well with many viewers.
Most people are grappling with the cost of living crisis, and this hyper-consumerism just feels inappropriate.
That being said, the backlash toward Darcy isn't so much about her PR haul specifically, but rather what her content represents.
Watch the full breakdown via TikTok.
From Addison Rae to King Kylie, 2014 Tumblr is back in a big way
Internet users may not be ready to return to the overconsumption of 2010s-era YouTube, but many are feeling nostalgic for 2014 Tumblr. In a new piece for NBC News, Daysia Tolentino breaks down how the ~2014 vibes~ are back and better than ever.
Tumblr was launched in 2007 and quickly became famous for its focus on visuals and its creative community.
Between launching and its peak (around 2015), Tumblr held significant influence over popular aesthetics, akin to TikTok's role today. The platform was dominated by various trends— from pastels to grunge to vintage aesthetics.
Since then, the term "2014 Tumblr" has come to represent these trends and the overall energy of this era.
There is no denying that some corners of Tumblr were extremely toxic. However, for Millennials and older Gen Zs, Tumblr symbolises a "bygone era" — a time when the internet was slightly less of a capitalistic hellscape.
“I’d say people just miss having fun, and Tumblr was a lot of fun… People haven’t been having fun online for a while. It’s like a job for everyone. You don’t even have to be trying to be famous and it feels like a job for people,” digital creator Gabi Abrão, also known as sighswoon, tells Tolentino.
With Kylie Jenner re-entering her "King Kylie era," posting pictures with pink hair, it seems that a 2014 renaissance has arrived.
Tolentino also references a video by TikTok creator Sapida De Souza, who positions Addison Rae at the forefront of the 2014 Tumblr revival. This comes after Addison’s recent Instagram posts taken on an old iPhone and her slightly edgy aesthetic.
Some current TikTok "cores" seem to be drawing inspiration from the 2014 Tumblr era, suggesting that this trend is here to stay.
“The rise of the ‘mob wife aesthetic’ and ‘indie sleaze,’ two recent trends that look grungy and edgy, are distillations of popular Tumblr trends updated for 2024,“ Tolentino explains. “The desire for these looks has increased as the ‘clean girl aesthetic,’ characterized by its minimalist, pristine style, has started to fall out of style.“
Read the full story via NBC News.
Michael Cera partners with CeraVe
Michael Cera is going viral after being “spotted” by the CeraVe display at a local pharmacy, leading many internet users to believe that the actor is collaborating with the skincare brand.
The buzz began when TikTok creator and CeraVe brand partner Haley Kalil posted a video of Cera signing his name and placing a sticker of his face on CeraVe bottles.
The video, which now has over 500K views, captures Cera in the act. As Haley approaches him, he casually says, "some lovely cream here."
While it may seem like an odd collaboration, internet users have joked about Cera owning CeraVe for years, given that his last name is part of the brand name.
Social media users have already given this partnership their approval, with many enjoying seeing chronically online humour making its way into a guerrilla marketing campaign.
Watch Haley’s video via TikTok.
The -core discourse is fascinating ... I have to think these aesthetics flow mainly from TikTok's platform dynamics.