The Weekly Roundup (week of 11.6)
the theme of the week is fragmentation
1. Is the Web Actually Evaporating?
A brilliant piece from Ryan Broderick about the state of the internet, media, and politics. The weaning influence of legacy media and the destruction of a singular, top-down narrative-distributing apparatus has made the internet fractured and amorphous. 2024 is the year of the nowhere election, where the savviest political candidates are hopping on Joe Rogan, The Breakfast Club, etc. to reach people in their algorithms. Expect a piece from me about the evaporating internet and what this means for brands and the fashion world as a whole. Read here, I highly recommend this one.
2. “Looksmaxxers” are a booming online community creating new terms for age-old insecurities.
Dear reader, have you ever heard of “mewing”? It’s “a technique that involves placing the tongue on the roof of the mouth, which Looksmaxxers believe makes the jaw grow squarer and stronger.”
Like many internet communities of the young and very online, the world of looksmaxxing is shot through with a kind of self-deprecating, facetious humor, in which obscure references and jargon function as a form of in-group signaling. There is “mogging” (looking better than someone else) and a slightly tongue-in-cheek fixation on something called “canthal tilt,” which refers to the angle of the eye. Lest this seem the fixation of only a group of very self-conscious boys, the canthal-tilt fixation has also made its way to the world of beauty magazines.
And a frequently alluded-to technique called “bonesmashing,” in which a Looksmaxxer breaks his own jaw or cheek bones in order to make them grow back stronger, is regarded by many Looksmaxxers as a joke. (Bonesmashing has elicited many alarmed news articles, but few examples of young men who have actually attempted it.)
3. Fashion Logos are Cheesy
Another banger from BBSP in which he gives a scathing review about the nasty use of logos in fashion.
4. Throwing Fits with Jon Caramanica
This was a really fun conversation that was over 3.5 hours long……. i know it’s a lot. If you’re on a long flight or drive though i promise it’s a good one to throw on. They chat with the NYT culture writer Jon Caramanica about a wide range of topics, from his famous ALD article which includes Teddy Santis’ reaction to the meme-ification of the brand, to a potential Kanye comeback. Peep the snippet below to see if it piques your interest.
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