Investigating Pop Culture: Summer 2024 Highlights
As a person who does not bother to keep up with trending topics and is now in charge of the Life and Times section of our campus newspaper, I know that I need to spend some time conducting research in order to live up to the role. That being said, for this first article, a highlight reel of pop culture in the summer of 2024, I can safely assume that whatever did make it onto my radar was the trendiest of trends. I’ll be covering May to August, based on category and not month, some of the biggest moments of pop culture this summer.
Starting with my specialty - movies.
Inside Out 2
Inside Out 2 was released in June and is an interesting sequel to the critically acclaimed Inside Out. Okay, so there weren’t any breakthroughs with the naming convention, but it had a very interesting way to continue to handle topics that people experience but aren’t often talked about, especially with kids who are experiencing them. Riley, the primary person whose head we see inside throughout both films, has now turned 13 and is heading into high school. Not only that but she’s got some new emotions to grapple with on top of struggling to find her place between the friends she has and the people she admires. The topic of anxiety was, in my opinion, handled really well and, like the first movie, I cried during the emotional high point of this movie. It has a critic score of 91% and an audience score of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, and is an 8.1/10 on IMDb.
Deadpool & Wolverine
Deadpool & Wolverine is the third movie in the Deadpool franchise and was released in July. In this movie the comedic duo, portrayed by Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, team up to save the universe from the Time Variance Authority. The film was well received by fans, although some critics called it tedious or bland. Currently, it has a critic score of 79% and an audience score of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, a 95% on Fandango, and an 8/10 on IMDb.
Next up - music.
Kendrick v. Drake
It was difficult not to notice the rap battle between Kendrick Lamar and Drake. As my brother explained to our mom, “You know where you were when ‘Not Like Us' dropped.” There’s a long history between the two, dating back to 2011, one of both collaboration and controversy. Starting in March this year Kendrick Lamar released “Like That” in which he responds to a line from Drake’s 2023 song “First Person Shooter” in which J. Cole proclaims himself, Drake, and Kendrick Lamar as the ‘big three’ greatest modern rappers. In “Like That” Lamar shoots back saying there’s no big three, “it’s just big me.” J. Cole releases the diss “7 minute Drill” but less than a week later removes it from streaming and apologizes; he doesn’t make another appearance in this drama. In April, Drake released “Push Ups,” in which he points out several artists who he thinks are better than Kendrick Lamar, disses people who supported Lamar, and essentially calls the other man short. He also put out “Taylor Made Freestyle” but it used ai generated vocals of Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg and was legally threatened and forced to be taken down just two weeks later. Kendrick Lamar later that month in response released “Euphoria” and three days later on May 3rd, also put out “6:16 in LA.” Later that day on May 3rd Drake released “Family Matters” in which he insinuates Kendrick Lamar is a domestic abuser, unfaithful, and one of his kids isn’t his. Just 20 minutes later Kendrick Lamar snapped back with “Meet the Grahams.” It instantly becomes a bigger hit and within the song he speaks directly to Drake’s family, saying Drake is a bad father, mentions a second secret kid, brings up thoughts about Drake being a ‘colonizer of rap music,’ and alleges he is a pedophile and a sex trafficker. The next day Kendrick Lamar drops a fourth track, “Not Like Us,” in which he primarily expands on the previous song’s allegations. Drake denies these allegations in “The Heart Part 6,” and in it he claims he’s won the battle. Among the public most people believe Kendrick Lamar came out on top of this round of rap battles.
Chappell Roan’s Rise in Popularity
Chappell Roan received a bigger stage at Lollapalooza Chicago after her music blew up into widespread public view with hits like “Good Luck, Babe!” and “HOT TO GO!” The pop star made previous appearances at other large-venue concerts such as Coachella as well as being invited out on stage during Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour. Chappell Roan would teach the audience the HOT TO GO Dance and then perform the song with Olivia Rodrigo. Roan is also well known for her various iconic stage outfits. With her rise to fame she has been harassed and taken to the internet to point out how that sort of behavior is not okay, sparking new conversations about how poorly fans treat celebrities. She won a Moonman for “Best New Artist” at the VMAs (MTV Video Music Awards) and, while accepting it, said “For all the queer kids in the midwest watching right now, I see you, I understand you, because I'm one of you, and don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't be exactly who you wanna be.”
Brat Summer
Charli XCX released her 6th album “brat” in June. The cover featured a lime green cover with the title in low-res graphics; it began to gain traction with the hashtag #bratsummer, especially on TikTok. The trending aesthetic featured ideas of partying, ‘cool-girl’ style, and lime green styled into various outfits. Additionally, off of the “brat” album, Charli XCX’s song “Apple” trended on its own with an associated TikTok dance created by content creator Kelley Heyer.
Of course the Paris Summer Olympics were on tv, and it was especially good for some memorable memes.
First (and last) Breaking Olympic Medals
Breaking, better known as breakdancing, debuted as a new sport this year, although it’s been said that it will not be making an appearance in the 2028 Los Angles games. We still got some exciting performances, and one interesting one from the Australian Olympic team. Rachael Gunn, better known as Raygun was noted for her clothes and dance being different from fellow breaking competitors. She was clipped for the famous ‘bunny hop’ move, but she was really trying to bring in a different creative style, mixing in some elements from her own country. It was a strategic effort on her part, she believed she couldn’t compete athletically with the other dancers (which did end up being reflected in the technical scores). Despite what the memes would make you think, she has had an extensive history with dance and won the Oceania Breaking Championships which earned her a spot on the Olympic team in the first place.
Sharpshooter Swag
Sharpshooters Oh Ye-jin, Kim Ye-ji, and Yusuf Dikeç brought unusual attention to their sport of 10 meter air pistol shooting. Kim Ye-ji, representing South Korea, and Yusuf Dikeç- who both won silver in their respective events- had images of them shooting placed side by side in a sort of comparison meme. Kim Ye-ji used more tech-like equipment while Yusuf Dikeç, dubbed the Turkish dad, shot with both eyes open. People took to drawing them as rivals in an anime-like style, although they were technically competing in different categories. It’s important to note that the device Kim Ye-ji used is primarily for comfort and the technology does the same thing as closing one eye and squinting the other. Yusuf Dikeç has an unusual technique of keeping both eyes open, which he says is more comfortable for him- but one is not better than the other. A funny rumor went around for a while that Yusuf Dikeç was recently divorced and had taken up shooting in his spare time, accidentally making it onto the Olympic team and, when on the podium for winning a silver medal, is quoted to have said “Sharon, if you’re watching this, I want my dog back.” In all reality he has competed in the last five olympics and is hoping to win gold in his sixth. Oh Ye-jin, representing South Korea, won gold and was noted for her cheery attitude in photos, but more impressively the fact that she’s only 19 and set an Olympic record with her final score of 243.2.
Snoopdog Side-quests
Several photos of Snoop Dogg attending various Olympic events circled around the internet. Many people wondered why he seemed so involved and it turns out he is just pretty passionate about the Olympics. It became a sort of fun ‘Where’s Waldo’ type game to see if you could find him in the crowd.
And, finally, some general trends.
Demure and Mindful
You’ve heard in the last few weeks the phrase “very demure, very mindful,” and it seems to me it has appeared not just in online videos or captions but to have made its way into some people’s everyday phrases. It all started with Jools Lebron, @joolieannie on TikTok, making a video that talked about being professional at the workplace. She opened the video saying “You see how I do my makeup for work? Very demure. Very mindful.” She revealed in interviews later that she had made the video in response to how she used to do her makeup very dramatically at an older job and had since decided to go with a more natural look. Demure in general means reserved, modest, but in this trend it tends to mean professional and put together.
Hot Girl Summer Forever
“Hot girl summer” is a phrase that comes from Megan Thee Stallion. She released a track by the title “Hot Girl Summer” back in 2019, her fans are known as The Hotties, and she’s even trademarked the phrase. Megan Thee Stallion defines it as both women and men “just being unapologetically them.” But what happens when summer comes to an end? Well a brief trend went around that had people saying goodbye to hot girl summer, and hello [new phrase] fall. The brackets are substitutes in this article because many different people put whatever specific energy they were wanting to bring into this next season there. Usually the phrase is somewhat humorous as a contrast from the high impact and party vibes ‘hot girl summer’ tends to bring. For example: Goodbye hot girl summer, hello deranged possum fall.
We Are the World, We are the Miku
Coming as a late entry in early August is an art trend; started by @thecat_mitsu on X (Twitter) drawing Hatsune Miku with a Brazilian take. Artists worldwide took up the idea and drew the famous virtual singer by combining her traditional anime look with elements of their own cultures.
I hope you enjoyed this breakdown of summer trends that were so popular they made it onto my reclusive timeline. Did I miss anything? Feel free to let me know!
