I'm here to comment on possibly the least important and least interesting thing in this whole important interesting newsletter, which is your note at the very end about the hollowing out of the media and dead images from an article in 2014.
The impermanence of online media is remarkable. I see mainstream media publications filled with link rot even in internal links, and my mind was blown when The Awl (a widely read respected publication from Choire Sicha) accidentally let their domain expire. Oops!
Sometimes I think I keep my old publications live just out of a sense of commitment to the bit, a cultural archive of how the web was, going back to 2007... but I recognize that very folks see it that way.
Ultimately, we're all responsible for archiving our stuff. I vote you put your vids on both insta AND YouTube. Shamelessly enjoy those 0 views and know that you're doing your work as a cultural archivist.
Thank you! I’ve started uploading stuff to YouTube and aggressively ignoring the views. It’s odd that so many websites that were formative for a generation of writers are just gone- The Awl is one of them, but all the old blogs are gone too. It’s bleak out there.
Absolutely gleeful to hear you were a podcast guest, since I listen to your TikToks wishfully like they're podcasts. If it were up to me, full-time podcasting would be your post-TikTok pivot (selfishly).
Maybe I’m being too optimistic but I don’t think they’ll ban TikTok. But if they do (which would be totally ridiculous) starting your own podcast would be a great idea! Maybe even writing a book? 👀
With the "it's no longer 1937" line, Zegler isn't just taking a dig at the source material (not the literal source material but you know what I mean... I'm sure she would agree it's no longer 1812 either). She's saying the whole trope of the damsel being saved by the prince is outdated. I'm not going to defend that trope, but that's a bigger claim than just saying the original movie is outdated. Now, obviously she and Gadot are going to highlight how Snow White is strong and independent in this adaptation if that's one of the main themes. That's great, but it's still crass to put down the original movie to hype up the new one. I believe I'd have the same reaction to a guy doing the same thing but I guess I can't prove that.
All that said, I could see a lot of different people expressing the same sentiment. Whatever, it is indeed no longer 1937. I was more taken aback by Zegler's comments about her costar; "All of Andrew's scenes could get cut. Who knows? It's Hollywood, baby!" Edgy joke that didn't land? I'm quite sure this is not a double-standard and male leads don't have a pass to talk that way about their female costars (also, that's great promotion for your movie to say that a lot of screentime is wasted on a pointless character).
I don't always agree with your views, however I absolutely love your commentary and dissection. Always a good read. Kind of like what the New Yorker and Atlantic were about 30 years ago, but sharper.
Reading your newsletters is therapy. Like time isn’t going too fast or too slow, it’s just right.
On the subject matter though, the double bind is real, and a genuine cause of deep anxiety for me (I work in a job that is entirely dependent on my being perceived as personable, but a boss, and authoritative, but funny and easygoing). It’s possible to be like this, but not around the clock, not every day on every week on every year.
I’m not even an actress (I do work on set and cast-adjacent), but that fear of an open season “that lasts years” among the people I know grows and clutches at me.
It’s difficult to summon the kind of strength it has to take to push past the internet turning on you for not wanting to share what you and Anna Wintour might have quietly said to each other.
Thank you so much! The double bind is horrible, and there seems to be a lack of any progress made on it despite the research around it. Some sociologists believe all of life is performing but performing in this way can easily tire anyone out.
I am not on this side of the internet in any way, but your writing always leaves an impression on me and I always feel like I’m learning more about the person I would like to be: kinder and more empathetic.
ohhh wow I am amazed by the analysis! Especially of Anna Kendrick. I am an awkward millennial too, and she's up there in my fave actresses' list. Actually, she is the one I'd pick to play me in the movie about my life (pfffhhhh as if). Haven't spared a thought about Anne Hathaway though, or the Real Housewives, but I see your point!! Thanks for writing this :) (aaanddd have you thought of threads?)
When Anna Kendrick did one of my favorite shows ever (Love Life on HBO-- you should watch if you haven't!), they did interviews after each episode, and I remember loving her but hearing negative comments about her seeming "uptight" and like a "know it all." I never got that impression. But I understand now that must have been a common way she was perceived.
I couldn’t find a way to bring up Love Life but I was OBSESSED WITH IT. She was cast so perfectly and I loooooved the conceit of each episode being a separate relationship. S2 was so well done and so beautiful UGH i’m devastated it didn’t go on longer!
I feel like people really forget that celebrities are real people and not just entertainers. They don't exist just to have the "vibes" people want; they have actual lives and feelings.
Having just read all the plot created to assassinate Blake Lively's reputation, everything you wrote days before this came public is shockingly on point.
Also, it is very much relatable to the experiences lived by Britney Spears, Fiona Apple and Alanis Morrissette in the 90s... how the last two denied in many ways to play the part media wanted them to and suffered as fuck and how the first one initially gave everything they wanted from a celebrity and years later, well, suffered the hell of it... there's no right way on being a woman.
it’s terrifying that I wrote this and was apparently on some psychic wavelength. You’re naming examples from the 90s and it’s so sad how little has changed since then! So, so bleak.
The idea of having to turn to either IG or YT to engage with you and your content is genuinely stomach turning. Potentially a real Hobson’s choice. I am curious to see where my favorite content creators go to next, though. I am an old ass millennial and no longer have my finger on the pulse of up-and-coming platforms.
I'm here to comment on possibly the least important and least interesting thing in this whole important interesting newsletter, which is your note at the very end about the hollowing out of the media and dead images from an article in 2014.
The impermanence of online media is remarkable. I see mainstream media publications filled with link rot even in internal links, and my mind was blown when The Awl (a widely read respected publication from Choire Sicha) accidentally let their domain expire. Oops!
Sometimes I think I keep my old publications live just out of a sense of commitment to the bit, a cultural archive of how the web was, going back to 2007... but I recognize that very folks see it that way.
Ultimately, we're all responsible for archiving our stuff. I vote you put your vids on both insta AND YouTube. Shamelessly enjoy those 0 views and know that you're doing your work as a cultural archivist.
Thank you! I’ve started uploading stuff to YouTube and aggressively ignoring the views. It’s odd that so many websites that were formative for a generation of writers are just gone- The Awl is one of them, but all the old blogs are gone too. It’s bleak out there.
Well thank gawd Offbeat Bride (now Offbeat Wed because inclusivity) is still online!! (...said nobody, but I'm still determined to keep it up)
Absolutely gleeful to hear you were a podcast guest, since I listen to your TikToks wishfully like they're podcasts. If it were up to me, full-time podcasting would be your post-TikTok pivot (selfishly).
Aww, thank you! Figuring out what I’m going to do after the ban but I’ll announce it here for sure.
Maybe I’m being too optimistic but I don’t think they’ll ban TikTok. But if they do (which would be totally ridiculous) starting your own podcast would be a great idea! Maybe even writing a book? 👀
With the "it's no longer 1937" line, Zegler isn't just taking a dig at the source material (not the literal source material but you know what I mean... I'm sure she would agree it's no longer 1812 either). She's saying the whole trope of the damsel being saved by the prince is outdated. I'm not going to defend that trope, but that's a bigger claim than just saying the original movie is outdated. Now, obviously she and Gadot are going to highlight how Snow White is strong and independent in this adaptation if that's one of the main themes. That's great, but it's still crass to put down the original movie to hype up the new one. I believe I'd have the same reaction to a guy doing the same thing but I guess I can't prove that.
All that said, I could see a lot of different people expressing the same sentiment. Whatever, it is indeed no longer 1937. I was more taken aback by Zegler's comments about her costar; "All of Andrew's scenes could get cut. Who knows? It's Hollywood, baby!" Edgy joke that didn't land? I'm quite sure this is not a double-standard and male leads don't have a pass to talk that way about their female costars (also, that's great promotion for your movie to say that a lot of screentime is wasted on a pointless character).
I don't always agree with your views, however I absolutely love your commentary and dissection. Always a good read. Kind of like what the New Yorker and Atlantic were about 30 years ago, but sharper.
this means the world to me- thank you so much.
Reading your newsletters is therapy. Like time isn’t going too fast or too slow, it’s just right.
On the subject matter though, the double bind is real, and a genuine cause of deep anxiety for me (I work in a job that is entirely dependent on my being perceived as personable, but a boss, and authoritative, but funny and easygoing). It’s possible to be like this, but not around the clock, not every day on every week on every year.
I’m not even an actress (I do work on set and cast-adjacent), but that fear of an open season “that lasts years” among the people I know grows and clutches at me.
It’s difficult to summon the kind of strength it has to take to push past the internet turning on you for not wanting to share what you and Anna Wintour might have quietly said to each other.
Ban the internet. But not this substack.
Thank you so much! The double bind is horrible, and there seems to be a lack of any progress made on it despite the research around it. Some sociologists believe all of life is performing but performing in this way can easily tire anyone out.
I am not on this side of the internet in any way, but your writing always leaves an impression on me and I always feel like I’m learning more about the person I would like to be: kinder and more empathetic.
Thank you! That’s always my goal.
ohhh wow I am amazed by the analysis! Especially of Anna Kendrick. I am an awkward millennial too, and she's up there in my fave actresses' list. Actually, she is the one I'd pick to play me in the movie about my life (pfffhhhh as if). Haven't spared a thought about Anne Hathaway though, or the Real Housewives, but I see your point!! Thanks for writing this :) (aaanddd have you thought of threads?)
Please join Bluesky.
When Anna Kendrick did one of my favorite shows ever (Love Life on HBO-- you should watch if you haven't!), they did interviews after each episode, and I remember loving her but hearing negative comments about her seeming "uptight" and like a "know it all." I never got that impression. But I understand now that must have been a common way she was perceived.
I couldn’t find a way to bring up Love Life but I was OBSESSED WITH IT. She was cast so perfectly and I loooooved the conceit of each episode being a separate relationship. S2 was so well done and so beautiful UGH i’m devastated it didn’t go on longer!
I feel like people really forget that celebrities are real people and not just entertainers. They don't exist just to have the "vibes" people want; they have actual lives and feelings.
I hate the Overton Window :((
Having just read all the plot created to assassinate Blake Lively's reputation, everything you wrote days before this came public is shockingly on point.
Also, it is very much relatable to the experiences lived by Britney Spears, Fiona Apple and Alanis Morrissette in the 90s... how the last two denied in many ways to play the part media wanted them to and suffered as fuck and how the first one initially gave everything they wanted from a celebrity and years later, well, suffered the hell of it... there's no right way on being a woman.
it’s terrifying that I wrote this and was apparently on some psychic wavelength. You’re naming examples from the 90s and it’s so sad how little has changed since then! So, so bleak.
The idea of having to turn to either IG or YT to engage with you and your content is genuinely stomach turning. Potentially a real Hobson’s choice. I am curious to see where my favorite content creators go to next, though. I am an old ass millennial and no longer have my finger on the pulse of up-and-coming platforms.
I know! I’ll keep you guys posted as soon as I decide what the next move is!