[from @newyorkercartoons]
SO, THERE’S THIS “ELECTION”
“Happy post-Halloween: The nightmare continues!” was the opening line to my personal journal entry dated November 2, one day before the Presidential election of a lifetime — a disheveled country’s lifetime. What sounds like the title of the sequel to a cheesy Halloween movie is, unfortunately, an ode to the impending apocalyptic reality we’re all wallowing in. Spooky season didn’t end when we took off out costumes (for me, an edgy cowgirl) and nursed a hangover; if anything, the beloved holiday was a teaser, a send-off into the chaotic unknown.
Though this intro was admittedly a bit doom-and-gloom, I can assure you that tone is not my goal for today’s edition. I’ve refrained from making this newsletter a bombardment of recent major news events because, frankly, no one needs more of that on their screens right now. Instead, I am here to briefly deliver a few strung-together musings about the role of Gen-Z in the present socio-political climate, with a handful of accompanying tweets and TikToks to drive the message home.
[from @overheardla]
As this year was my first opportunity to vote in a primary election and this entry is a testament to that experience, I’d like to first recall a relic both stored in my individual memory and burned into our collective conscience: Election Day 2016.
To set the scene: I was still a senior in high school living in my deeply conservative hometown located along the Florida Panhandle, where identifying as liberal is a hot take. I was not nearly as woke as teens today for myriad reasons, but I always knew I skewed left without having the resources to understand much else. (One of my favorite political anecdotes from high school is we had a Young Republicans Club but nothing for aspiring democrats). On November 3, 2016, between AP classes and disucssions about college apps, students paraded around the hallways with Trump signs and even held a mini rally out front, while us few left-leaning kids muttered among ourselves and kept our heads downs. The next day, as Trump’s victory sunk in, I distinctly remember sitting in my AP U.S. Government class, as my teacher, a self-identified democrat, looked up at one of my notoriously republican classmates and simply said, “You won.”
Fast forward to today: I’m now a senior studying journalism at the University of Southern California, where I’m surrounded by a diverse array of like-minded peers who encourage me to use my voice, despite many people’s (fair) criticism that USC is politically apathetic relative to other similar schools. I remember doing the math early on in my college career and being excited to cap off my undergrad years during an election season, especially because USC Annenberg (our J-school) is known for putting on some invigorating election watch parties. One pandemic later, however, and circumstances have changed, leaving me to mostly fly solo with absorbing the non-stop stream of election news.
In absence of my usual physical community, I’ve largely subsituted it with an online one, like most have been relegated to in this COVID-sticken alternate reality. The community of choice? In 2020, the answer is almost always TikTok. Teens nowadays — who already have the edge of being hotter than I ever was during peak adolescence — are impressively educated and proactive about their political stances on the short-form video app, and my 17-year-old self just scrolling aimlessly through Twitter in 2016 (not much has changed, it seems) pales in comparison.
While I’m writing this section of this newsletter, it’s the evening of November 3, and the election results are starting to roll in. I’m about to head off to get wine drunk with my roommates, so I will leave you with a few of my favorite politically-oritented TikToks (click on the photos to watch the full videos) that accurately capture the feelings of Gen-Z on this historical night. (Side note: I’m tired of living in this chapter of a history book).
Flying across the country last minute to vote when your mail-in registration won’t process? Seems crazy (and expensive), but I’ve heard of a few friends actually making the brief trip home because this election is just that important.
Major cities boarding up in preparation for post-election riots… no words.
This TikTok captures the essence of the entire semester: Trying to complete assignments while the world around us is seemingly burning to the ground. The election (and its impendign aftermath) are just bringing what was already a bad academic situation to a new tragic peak.
Trump’s theoretical punishment in hell being him getting tortured by all of the fallen COVID victims? Sounds appropriate.
@glamdemon2004 has been one of my favorite TikTokers since quarantine started for her sassy, narcissistic and direct content. If I were on a date and someone told me they voted for Trump, this is the best way to navigate that conversation.
ON MY MIND
Need some distractions from the election? I’ve got you covered.
My classmate Natalie Oganesyan writes a dope newsletter about all things marijuana for Gen-Z users, and her content is needed now more than ever to cope with the post-election world.
Another read I’ve been enjoying is Mary Retta’s "close but not quite” essay-style newsletter, and her last entry about the “how it started vs how it’s going” meme in relation to American Individualism is an insightful take on our digital political atmosphere.
I stumbled across this SNL monologue by Trump from when he hosted the late-night show in 2015. Many of Trump’s characteristics this 2015 audience found entertaining are the same ones we’ve grown to despise, and comparing the two Trumps is terrifying.
Another freaky random Internet discovery: This clip of David Bowie predicting Internet Culture before the Internet even understood itself.
I just finish reading The Queen’s Gambit by Walter Tevis before binging the new Netflix original TV show, and it’s absolutely worth the hype (confession: I could not follow the detailed chess plays in the book whatsoever). What can I say, I’m a sucker for a good story about a brilliant yet neurotic young girl.
Per the recommendation of my tattoo artist, I’m currently reading In the Dreamhouse: A Memoir by Carmen Maria Machado, which follows a same-sex couple as they unravel amid an abusive relationship.
The movie Wildlife beautifully tells the tale of a working-class family in 1960s Montana, where the father loses his job and their only son finds himself mitigating his parents’ crumbling marriage. As an only child whose family was affected by the 2008 recession, it hit a bit too close to home.
Want to listen to the most chaotic soundtrack that will absolutely remove you from the surrounding world? I highly recommend this genre-bending playlist my friends and I made the night before the election (yes, there are 200+ songs).
This TikTok of a French-Canadian girl saying “blanc claw” (instead of White Claw) had me laughing for probably 10 minutes straight.
A TikTok of a family pregaming a funeral? Sounds about right, and very 2020.
That’s all! Until next time, see you online.
xoxo, Rowan <3
Have insight into the world of Gen-Z? Connect with me!
twitter: @rowan_born // instagram: @rowanborn