Cultural Forces #55

talking the conclave internet obsession, hard launching (or not) at the met gala and the flakiness of young people.

🙏 “POPE CRAVE”. THE GIRLIES LOVE A CONCLAVE.

✨ "Tiktok is very ready for the start of the Papal Conclave"

✨ "The characters are going through it". The founder of Pope Crave explains why we resonated with the film Conclave so much

✨ The internet wondered, what if Tyra Banks was on the panel to choose the pope?

✨ "Deep Dish Eucharist". We have a pope from Chicago, and the memes won't stop

---

Flora’s take: The conclave has given us everything a good high school movie contains; religious levels of speculation, iconic aesthetics and, ultimately, a Queen Bee (the pope).

---

🚀 THE MET GALA, HOME OF THE HARD LAUNCH.

✨ A 'hard launch' is an "explicit or purposeful announcement"

✨ They're not always about relationships. Hard launches are key to cutting through the internet's noise for just about anything

✨ Maybe that's why Doechii flipped out when her Met Gala outfit was revealed before the red carpet

✨ What about the 'soft launch'? Is Lorde setting people up for her new album launch?

---

Flora’s take: To make a headline, celebrities need to think carefully about how they can make the launch of some news as good as the news itself.

---

❄ ARE YOUNG PEOPLE A GENERATION OF FLAKES?

✨ "People feel they don't owe anyone anything". Are we making too many plans that we know we'll eventually cancel?

✨ Cancelling plans feels good.. it helps us feel like we're reasserting control

✨ And maybe cancelling sometimes is the less selfish thing to do... and the Tiktok comments agree

---

Flora’s take: Obligation is a bit of a dirty word for younger people. But how far should we take our disdain for it when it starts to make us just plain unreliable?

---

🗣️ BEST OF MY X TIMELINE