Clockwise from top: Netflix documentary series Cheer; Jackson Wang, “100 Ways”; Ziwe Fumudoh’s Baited Photo: Netflix
To state the obvious: 2020 has mostly sucked. But pop culture, as always, remains a small respite in our increasingly miserable world. So we’re concluding our Best Of The Year So Far coverage with an AVQ&A:
What new pop culture has entertained you the most this year?
10 Comments
‘What do you like the best about black peoples?’ That reminds me of the time my friend said, seemingly out of nowhere, ‘Man, I hate black people.’ What?!? ‘I mean look at that. They can wear the most ridiculous fit ever and make it look good. Bright ass orange shirt? I could never, but that dude was looking tight.’ The greatest conversational rip-a-dope I’ve been involved in.
So let’s be real for a minute here. Is this place dying?
The dead can’t die.
I mean, it’s not *not* dying.
You’re kidding right? It was dead the minute it was brought over to the Gawker-shit-verse. We’re just the suckers going down with the ship.
When it first happened I truly thought it was an earth shatteringly awful event that was going down. (Hey, I’m a passionate person.) Boy, did I not know what else was in store.
So this piddly website’s continuing descent into fetid madness is barely noticeable anymore.
I liked Dickinson. The Great was OK. Dispatches from Elsewhere was amazing.Slide shows are fucking garbage.
Holy fuck was “Cheer” in 2020???!? Omg this fuckin year
I know lots of people loved Cheer, but man, I just fucking couldn’t. It was recommended to me by my team lead at work, thinking that it would inspire me to be more vocal and more of a cheerleader at work (she specifically cited Jerry in her recommendation). I watched the first episode and I was so enraged by the exploitation of these kids, I thought I was going to have a stroke if I tried to watch on. The kids themselves are great, and I absolutely adore Jerry. BUT just in that first episode, watching the adults push and pressure and guilt the squad into continuing to practice a dangerous maneuver when they were clearly exhausted made me want to smack them. The practice wasn’t halted until all of their flyers were grounded with concussion diagnoses from the onsite doctor, and even THEN, the coach laid on a passive-aggressive guilt trip.The coaching staff makes no bones about the fact that they’re pushing these kids to their breaking points physically, emotionally, and mentally, all to bring their junior college the prestige of winning this big competition, which they can use to lure more kids to their school. They admit point-blank that there’s no future in cheer for these kids to compete at this level once they’re finished at the college. If they want to stay in cheer, it’ll either be go into coaching and never participate themselves, or join one of the NFL cheer squads and just be dancers. If y’all could enjoy it, that’s great. I just couldn’t bear it. This in contrast to Tiger King where I was fucking enraged most of the time, but at least I had the consolation of knowing that the guy wound up in prison for the things he was doing.
Yeah, 100 Ways is a damn perfect marriage of infectiously catchy song and visually arresting MV.
I’m going back to the pop culture I’ve missed B.C. (before Coronavirus). My Dear Friend wants to start at the first episode of a series. So we’re now viewing “Brooklyn Nine Nine” on Hulu.