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End Times Update 5/8/2021: Dogecoin, J. Cole, and Caitlyn Jenner

One clone's perspective on pop culture.

Caitlyn Jenner at the Web Summit in Lisbon

By G Holland (Shutterstock)

Each week one of Popdust's disposable clones — grown in a vault deep beneath the Mojave desert — is exposed to the outside world through a relentless feed of news, pop culture, and social media.

The arduous process accelerates their dissolution back into an amorphous clone slurry. But before they go, they leave behind a document of what they've absorbed and what they've learned — a time capsule preserving a single moment in the slow-motion collapse of civilization. We call these End Times Updates...

End Times Update 5/7/21: Dogecoin, J.Cole, and Caitlyn Jennerwww.youtube.com

Transcript: [Clone]: Oh hi! Welcome to another End Times Update, presented by Popdust. I'll be your clone host for this week, Sir Shh! Ronin.

Unfortunately, as a defective clone, my actual appearance would be far too disturbing, which is why I'm being depicted by the alien from Contact, being depicted by Jodie Foster's father, being depicted by actor David Morse. Okay, maybe just one quick shot… Did you catch the little bit of brain popping out of my nose?

As always, we'll be sifting through the week's news, pop culture, and social media to pick out the latest indicators of global dissolution. So, if you find yourself overwhelmed at any point by, you know, the onrush of mankind's inevitable downfall, just pause the video…long enough to smash that like button! And don't forget to subscribe for more existential dread.

This week has been chock full of sinister omens and disturbing portents. But where better to start than with Ben Affleck?

[Ben Affleck]: We were awaiting your arrival.

@nivinejay Sorry Ben 🥺🥱 ##raya ##benaffleck ##dating ##fyp
♬ original sound - Amir Yass

TikTok star Nivine Jay shared a video message that the Gone Girl actor sent her after she unmatched him on celebrity dating app Raya -- believing that he was a catfish. While Jay claimed that she was embarrassed by her mistake, and didn't find Affleck's message creepy, other people, uh...watched the video.

[Music]

[Ben Affleck]: Nivine, why did you unmatch me? It's me.

[Clone]: People who found it creepy may also have been informed by Affleck's documented history of groping women.

In financial news, this week the joke cryptocurrency Dogecoin, surpassed a 50 cent per DOGE price, up more than 200 times from a year. This puts the total value of Dogecoin around 60 billion dollars.

Spurred on by memes and hype promoted by the likes of Elon Musk, there's no telling how high the currency's value might climb. Especially after the Tesla CEO -- AKA the Dogefather -- appears on Saturday Night Live this weekend.

In the world of music, this week rapper J. Cole announced his forthcoming album, The Off-Season, and on Friday shared the first track entitled "I n t e r l u d e".

[J. Cole]: I be comin' in peace, but **** me. Best beware of the others. This s*** deep, undercovers creep. This Southern heat make unbearable summers

J. Cole - i n t e r l u d e (Official Audio)www.youtube.com

[Clone]: The hosts for this year's Met Gala were also announced this week. Widely recognized as the fanciest, most fashionable party in New York, the event will be helmed by an all-star crew of up-and-coming talents, with Call Me By Your Name actor Timothée Chalamet, Tennis Champion Naomi Osaka, inauguration poet Amanda Gorman, and "Bad Guy" singer Billie Eilish.

In political news, this week has been especially eventful for California Republican candidate for governor Caitlyn Jenner. Perhaps the most famous trans woman in the world -- because Laverne Cox, the Wachowski sisters, and about a million other trans women are badly underrated -- Jenner was once an Olympic champion decathlete known as the greatest athlete on Earth.

So it's only natural that people would want to know her opinion on the controversy that has recently been drummed up about trans girls competing in sports.

[Caitlyn Jenner]: This is a question of fairness. That's why I oppose biological boys who are trans competing in girls' sport in school. It just isn't fair, and we have to protect girls' sports in our schools.

[TMZ reporter]: But if someone transitions and now identifies as a girl, isn't it delegitimizing their identity to prevent them --

[Caitlyn Jenner]: Have a good day.

[Clone]: In 2015 Jenner received ESPN's Arthur Ashe Courage Award for coming out as a trans woman. But that's nothing compared to the courage of her latest stance, especially considering that Jenner herself has competed in women's golf tournaments, and also said this while receiving that award:

[Caitlyn Jenner]: I also want to acknowledge all the young trans athletes who are out there, given the chance to play sports as who they really are.

[Clone]: Whoops…

Another fun campaign trail highlight involved Jenner's appearance on Fox News' Hannity, where she made it clear why she's running for governor, championing the plight of California's beleaguered private plane owners, beset on all sides by the oppressive institutional power of, uh… homeless people.

[Caitlyn Jenner]: My friends are leaving California. Actually, we're -- my hangar, the guy across [unintelligible] airplane, he was packing up his hangar, I said, "Where are you going?" And he says, "I'm moving to Sedona, Arizona. I can't take it here anymore. I can't walk down the street and see the homeless."

[Clone]: Okay then…

Well, that does it for this week. If the world survives longer than I do, we'll send another clone with more updates. Until then, byyyyyyye...

From Your Site Articles

Meghan Markle's Interview with Michelle Obama Is a Disappointment for Women's Media

They're two of the world's most powerful and inspiring individuals, after all.

Meghan Markle Interviews Michelle Obama For British Vogue | TODAY

www.youtube.com

What can't Meghan Markle do?

She's a new mom, a royal, and fervent defender of freckles—and now, she's the first ever guest-editor of British Vogue.

Image via Daily Express

Markle lent her editorial sensibilities to the magazine's September issue, which isn't too far of a departure from her comfort zone—she used to run a lifestyle blog called The Tig before royal duties called her away from the digital sphere.

Entitled "Forces for Change," the upcoming Vogue issue focuses on strong, game-changing women. It highlights the voices of some of the world's most inspiring, powerful ladies, and includes a number of awe-inspiring features, including an interview between Markle and Michelle Obama herself.

Michelle Obama has done her time with Vogue. Image via E! News

In the interview, Markle asked Obama a variety of questions, ranging from inquiries about what motherhood means to her, what advice she would give her daughters, what inspired her to start her girls' empowerment foundation, what she would tell her 15-year-old self, and more. While Obama's answers are eloquent and full of compassion, the interview is still somewhat disappointing in that it revolves mostly around classically feminine issues—motherhood, Mother's day, daughters, advice, kindness—when it could've gone much deeper.

Markle can be forgiven for focusing on motherhood, as she just gave birth to her first child. Plus, the issue itself is incredibly inspiring, featuring a variety of extraordinary women—many being women of color—on the cover. It's an amazing achievement, one that magazine editors across the globe should be scrambling to replicate.

Still, Markle and Obama's interview could've been so much more. These women are a lot more than wives and mothers: They're some of the world's most powerful and intelligent people.

To her credit, Markle offered a self-aware disclaimer in the introduction. "Had I known Michelle would be so generous in making this a comprehensive interview, my questions would have been lengthier, more probing, more engaging," she wrote.

Admittedly, criticizing women for talking about motherhood does the same kind of disservice to feminism as criticizing women for wearing pink. Obama and Markle had the right to focus on motherhood and women's issues, not on politics or more rigorous or personal ideas. Additionally, the two women clearly have a tremendous amount of mutual admiration for each other, and that fact alone makes the interview worth reading.

For her part, Obama seemed to want to push the conversation beyond the boundaries of gender. "My parents, particularly my father, taught my brother and me at an early age to treat boys and girls exactly the same," she responded when Markle asked if she would give different advice to sons than daughters.

In spite of its limited topical scope, the interview between Obama and Markle is important representation, and the British Vogue issue—from its cover design to its emphasis on diverse voices—is a wonderful achievement by Markle. Hopefully, we'll see more content like this issue from here on out. Soon enough, we'll be reading conversations between other female world leaders, such as Beyoncé and the next female U.S. president, that traverse more substantial territories. Perhaps, in the near future, women's voices won't be relegated to fashion magazines, and we'll see covers like this issue's on newsstands across the country. Markle's issue is a huge step in the right direction, but when can we see her guest-edit Time Magazine or take over the BBC?

On the whole, Markle's issue, which features a variety of incredible people, including Chimamanda Adichie, Greta Thunberg, and Laverne Cox, is a simply extraordinary achievement for humankind.

Now, it's time for women's media to move past gendered, women-only spaces and into positions of even greater power.

The fact that Obama and Markle spoke at all is still a gift and a blessing. Regardless of its content, the conversation reveals two extremely intelligent, sensitive, and inspiring women who have already given so much to the world—and who have only just begun.

— (@)

From Your Site Articles

Taylor Swift Only Sees the Glitter in LGBTQ+

While her intentions are well-meaning, the "You Need to Calm Down" video is a missed opportunity to highlight the narratives represented by the queer icons.

Just when Taylor Swift gives us hope, she lets us down.

Her latest music video features almost every mainstream queer celebrity you could imagine. While her intentions are well-meaning, the video is a missed opportunity to highlight the narratives represented by the queer icons. Instead of throwing a trans flag at Laverne Cox, Swift could center the video on the activist and her perspective rather than on her own.

The Todrick Hall production capitalized solely on the culture of the LGBTQ+ community— celebrating it and taking the song a bit too literally. But uplifting these voices means more than a feature in a video or tagging them on social media.

— (@)

The music video highlights the visual aesthetic that "signifies" gay culture. There are rainbows and dancing and glitter. We follow a white cis, straight woman parade around with her LGBTQ+ friends. It's a party, a celebration of being yourself, fighting against "barbaric" homophobes with love and positivity. Yet, here, the biggest takeaway from this video is that at last, pop's biggest feud between Taylor Swift and Katy Perry is over. They embrace in the video— which will be sure to cause conversation. It overshadows the video's intent. It's also marketing genius.

The video ends with an image of text advocating for the Equality Act. The Equality Act was passed by the House of Representatives but now sits idle in the Senate. The law would extend civil rights protections to people of any sexual orientation and gender identity. Swift urged supporters to sign her petition asking for Senate support. The petition already has over 200,000 signatures, converting the single's success into political support for LGBTQ+ issues.

While Taylor Swift has contributed to the LGTBQ+ community through donations and recent political support, she's misinterpreted what an ally should be. Leading up to the video's release, Swift addressed a rumor that she would share a kiss with Perry:

"That is ABSOLUTELY false. To be an ally is to understand the difference between advocating and baiting. Anyone trying to twist this positivity into something it isn't needs to calm down. It costs zero dollars to not step on our gowns."

It's difficult to forget the days when Taylor Swift refused to comment on politics, to the point she threatened to sue over white supremacy allegations. Now, she's attempting to be a part of the conversation while lacking the language to be effective. What Swift cannot seem to grasp is that advocating for and offering a platform to the LBGTQ+ community should be greater than featuring them in a music video. Uplifting their stories and normalizing their experiences goes a lot further than a straight woman's celebration of pride. Expecting an immediate embrace from LGBTQ+ members after years of silence and quiet donations is asking for more credit than she deserves. It takes time to earn the trust of queer people, and just maybe, Taylor Swift should take several seats and listen.

From Your Site Articles

End Times Update 5/8/2021: Dogecoin, J. Cole, and Caitlyn Jenner

One clone's perspective on pop culture.

Leave Rihanna Alone, You Vultures

Rihanna deserves better than this.

As Rihanna walked the red carpet prior to her NYFW Savage X Fenty show on Tuesday,Entertainment Tonightjournalist Rachel Smith had something besides fashion on her mind.

Meghan Markle's Interview with Michelle Obama Is a Disappointment for Women's Media

They're two of the world's most powerful and inspiring individuals, after all.

What can't Meghan Markle do?

Now, it's time for women's media to move past gendered, women-only spaces and into positions of even greater power.

Taylor Swift Only Sees the Glitter in LGBTQ+

While her intentions are well-meaning, the "You Need to Calm Down" video is a missed opportunity to highlight the narratives represented by the queer icons.

Just when Taylor Swift gives us hope, she lets us down.