Dystopia, ‘she-cession,’ TikTok dances: We’re over you, 2021 | Way of life
NEW YORK – The pandemic, politics, the ever-present fear for the climate and the economy. Has 2021 left us any time to think about something else? As we limp into the New Year, there are a few more things we’d like to leave behind, from pop culture obsession with everything apocalyptic to the well-meaning but exhausting amateur dancers on TikTok.
A list of what we have behind us in the search for renewal and hope in 2022:
DYSTOPIA PALOOZAWar, destruction, catastrophe: popular entertainment has certainly reflected, expanded and imagined the downfall of it all. But does it have to continue in the same fast-paced clip? The latest “Squid Game” was a huge hit for Netflix. Its creator cannot imagine a future without a second season of the deadly Korean series. Fans were happy. However, dystopia is just a genre, a narrative technique. Wouldn’t we benefit from an equally large dose of stories focused on solutions and, dare we say, inspiration? We’re talking about the middle ground between zombies and The Great British Baking Show. Just think about it.
TIKTOK DANCEATHONYou seem like a nice person, but you are a registered nutritionist, not a dancer. And unfortunately you will never be. Yes, we could scroll right on and not stare at your barely there movements. Yes, we know you’re having a great time and just trying to entertain. But there are so damn many of you. TikTok was built on crazy dance trends (remember the raft?) But the short video platform has gotten too much, much more as millions signed up during the pandemic. So where is all that dancing? Light and thankfully subdued for those tired of dance madness.
THE YOU CESSIONThere is no doubt that the pandemic has touched all of our lives in different ways and continues to have devastating effects around the world. There is also no doubt that women were disproportionately affected as they struggled to get everything working from home. And yes, men did things, but women had more job losses and more responsibilities. The economic consequences have been referred to as the “you assignment”. The thing is, what’s the alternative, an “he-cession”? Lower Austria. Some women find the gender term demeaning and ask the media and economists to remove it. And while we’re on the subject, can we get rid of the term great resignation, also known as great quit, for all of the people who have voluntarily retired from the world of work? Well then good luck.
SHAPEWEARIt made Kim Kardashian West a bunch of money to go with her other mountains of money. Her shapewear brand Skims, which evolved into loungewear during the pandemic, is valued at $ 1.6 billion, according to The New York Times. It comes in a range of styles, colors, and sizes. Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon are among Spanx’s new investors. But didn’t the life we’ve lived at home teach us how to hide our bumps, bumps and whatever else we’re trying to hide with shapewear? Can’t we all just go back to our old life and feel good in our own skin? Not to mention the idea that there are some health risks from intensely compressing our organs over an extended period of time. Let it fly people! After all these months in cozy clothes and the de-escalation of hangers, don’t let the old constraints of the fashion elite overtake you. #FreeOurBodies.
NFTSWill they be over before so many people find out what they are? So some naysayers predict, while Stans is driving the headlines and selling the little bastards for millions. Non-fungible tokens are basically digital art, or just anything else in digital form. They are stored on blockchains (digital ledgers). The point you ask? Good question. NFTs are practically digital certificates of authenticity, like the declaration in the physical world that your original Van Gogh is unique. The rest of us will head to the non-digital gift shop to purchase the poster or fridge magnet while the world finds out the metaverse. Offered: The NFT of the Merriam-Webster Definition of NFT, with net proceeds going to the global nonprofit Teach for All. Alleluia.
There are a lot of level ups in a world where level off and level out already exist. And by level-up we mean the gamer term for reaching the next level. The phrase has become mainstream in a number of contexts. The absolutely good and generally understandable alternatives? How about progress, development, improvement, advancement, growth and, we dare to improve. Can we simply celebrate our work successes, our upgrades, our escalations, our impressive advances without the sake of reinvention? How Ciara sings: five, four, three, two, one …
What Zima started with was White Claw. Now we’ve got enough tough seltzer to make it through the end of the days. Almost any flavor profile can be enjoyed in a bubbly, peppery preparation in a can. There was a cucumber flavored variety until it was sold out by two companies working together to market it. Do not worry. You still have your Bud Lites, your Pabst Blue Ribbons, your Topo Chico. You have your pineapple limes, your honeydew and your apple pear. You have your tequila-based grapefruit, your ultra-organic and your watermelon chilli. Still not available as faked on Saturday Night Live: the JC Penneys and Jiffy Lubes, Exxons and Verizons. Can we spend the day drinking the old school please?
MILLIONAIRIES IN SPACEThe billionaires at the Space Boys Club caught a lot of attention in 2021 when the rest of us thwarted our lives here on earth. There’s a lot to chew on in relation to the many millions that have been spent to achieve this, on a suborbital edge of space that hovers in weightlessness for a few minutes at most. And of course there are the weird jokes. About the size and whether it matters. And there are the big thoughts about Elon Musk and why he’s not a member of the club despite his founding Space X. Richard Branson went into space on July 11th aboard his Virgin Galactic rocket. Branson beat Jeff Bezos, who was making his supersonic excursion aboard his Blue Origin ship July 20. Billionaire Jared Isaacman led the first purely private orbital mission, which crashed thanks to Space X in September after three days in orbit. Because commercial space travel is the future, you don’t know. Likewise, food insecurity, income insecurity, barriers to access to health care and homelessness for people without a ticket. Aim higher.
The global supply chain is under pressure. Factories have had to close amid spikes in COVD. Shipping containers are few in number and inaccessible to those who cannot afford them. Small businesses cannot pay for alternative shipping methods. Ports and warehouses are secured. There aren’t enough truckers. Prices soar as US households become exuberant with economic controls, booming stock markets, and fattened home stocks. Really expensive as all of this leads to shortages of goods. Oh my. Happy New Year, one and all. About it.
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