#001 Hello world
My first substack newsletter - how exciting!
A bit about me:
I am recently beginning my journey as a freelance creative / strategist while trying to resuscitate my own writing projects on the side, so I thought it would be a good idea to begin a little substack. I’m not 100% sure on the format but it seemed a better idea to plunge straight in and iterate from there - what I will roughly do is round up culture stories and provide a critical lens to them. Sometimes I might post my own writing, reviews or interview people - let’s see. So nothing that doesn’t already exist but I hope you enjoy anyway!
Quick news:
More of us now get our news from the internet (largely led by social media), overtaking TV as the main news source. - If this is true, then we need to see education respond by showing young people how to critical assess online media, bringing visual literacy into the fold as much as verbal.
Harvey Weinstein rushed to hospital in the midst of his retrial - Makes me ponder how much we should continue to report on criminal celebrities. I want him OUT of the public eye, the longer we continue to report on everything about him, the more we perpetuate the views of those who idolise him as some kind of wronged man.
Former partner of Ugandan athlete Rebecca Cheptegi, who set his girlfriend on fire, dies of burns sustained in the attack - This story is beyond harrowing, highlighting not only domestic violence in East Africa but globally. When events like this happen, I fear the racist dialogue that tries to other such extreme acts of violence, when there is a “national emergency” here in the UK too. Young men are more right wing THAN EVER, this huge ideological shift (crowbarred open by online hate speakers such as Andrew Tate) will undoubtedly have violent ramifications that few politicians yet seem to have taken seriously.
Online:
Whats happened: People are paying other people to go on runs for them (“Strava Mules”), so they get all the clout on Strava without leaving the house.
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My take: Wow I don’t know quite where to start with this one. As a keen runner, my brain does go to: “Hmmm, maybe you could make some money by offering this service?” But this voice is readily countered by my overwhelming shock that people would be so vain as pay for a service so superficial. We should be exercising for the mental, physical and emotional benefits of it despite how tough it can be to get out the door. Strava is meant to bridge the online and the offline, using social validation as a tool to promote this exercise. There is no gain if you don’t actually get out the door yourself. To pay someone else to run so that you get some kudos on Strava speaks to a level of insecurity in society that we are nurturing by spending too much time on social media and that we have gotten too comfortable with lying.
In culture:
What’s happened: Apple Dance creator Kelley Heyer was NOT invited to the VMAs despite Apple being nominated for best trending video. Thankfully, after a call out to the brands of the world on TikTok, Bacardi (a major sponsor of the event) are now taking her to the event (hurrah!) but not without a fight.
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My take: Kelley is insanely polite in her video. I would not be like this. Kelley should have been invited in the first place (whether that be the VMAs or Charli’s team, someone failed). This feels in sync with the tendancy for brands to steal the work of interns (i.e. Spotify Wrapped). Kelley has every right to be angry, she created a viral trend that went global, and now is seeing her work nominated for an award without getting any credit. I am a huge Charli stan but I think we need a clear response from both her and the VMAs.
From brands:
What’s happened: The new iPhone, iPhone 16, is coming out later this month, complete with one extra button (a button to operate the camera on the outside of the handset). In recent years, apple have prioritised reducing the number of features and ports, but this changes marks the first addition we’ve seen in some time. The new phone is also to make greater use of AI. Apple’s share price and sales have been dropping in recent times, so do these changes represent Apple conforming to norms set elsewhere in the market rather than Apple setting the norm?
My take: I think we will see the decline of apple as we push further into this decade. The fist iPhone was released in 2007 - power ebbs and flows so there is only so long we can remain in this chokehold. It is a fair assumption to say that AI technology will define where we go next, and Apple seem to have already fallen out of step with other mobile tech products. They will now be on the backfoot, so will be resting on the aesthetic monopoly of the brand to retain their cultural hold over society, but my bet i that this will only keep them ahead for so long.
Viral throwback:
What am I thinking of today: Alien goo toys, all the lore that went with them, the mark they left on walls and their unforgettable smell. The original iPhone was released in 2007, since then mobile phone have taken over our daily lives (to the point where we are reliant on these device to help us reduce the amount of time we spend on them).
Why am I thinking about it: It is interesting to think about how an item like this becomes a phenomenon. I don’t remember any adverts, and (like the Vapes of the toy world) seem to remember they cropped up in Toys R Us, markets, or maybe even corner shops. Either way, they were cheap and unpretentious and yet utterly gripped a nation of young Brits. And my questions are how did my friends who grew up in different parts of the UK still share the same lore about how to get them pregnant? Where was it marketed? Was there a children’s TV show we all saw that we’ve forgotten?
Loved this!