Big Tech's "$2,500 Thought Crim Fine", Kanye's "White Lives Matter" Just a Fashion Marketing Scheme?, Jennifer Lawrence Returns, Jack White's Most Unlikely Musical Partnership (The Five for 10/09/22)
Hey, welcome to The Five.
This one is a little late, but again, I had to choose between half baked and two days delayed, and I went with the latter.
Let’s dive into Culture & Commentary.
[one]
A tech giant attempted to implement a policy that could fine you thousands if they didn’t like what you said…and got caught.
PayPal has backtracked on a published policy that would have fined users $2,500 for spreading “misinformation,” claiming the update had gone out “in error.”
“An AUP notice recently went out in error that included incorrect information. PayPal is not fining people for misinformation and this language was never intended to be inserted in our policy. Our teams are working to correct our policy pages. We’re sorry for the confusion this has caused,” a spokesperson told National Review in a written statement.
The course reversal comes after the policy changes had started to attract media scrutiny as well as criticism on Twitter. Former PayPal president David Marcus even blasted the company over the implication that it could seize customers’ money for finding their views objectionable.
“It’s hard for me to openly criticize a company I used to love and gave so much to. But @PayPal’s new AUP goes against everything I believe in,” the cryptocurrency entrepreneur said Saturday. “A private company now gets to decide to take your money if you say something they disagree with. Insanity.”
Tech titan Elon Musk replied, “Agreed,” in a comment that got thousands of likes.
To summarize…Paypal really wanted to fine you for ideas they don’t like, but they got caught.
So they apologized.
Kinda.
[two]
This week, Kanye West created a tidal wave of controversy by debuting a “White Lives Matter” shirt worn by the rapper as well as conservative podcaster Candace Owens.
I could link to the bajillion think pieces about this and the exhaustive “what lives matter”/ “back lives matter” / “blue lives matter” debate…but you’ve read it all before already. Suffice it to say, the same talking points are back in the headlines.
Kanye West is among the best in the world, perhaps THE best in the world, at driving attention.
What is “genuine 'Ye” vs. public theater is pretty difficult to sort out, but it’s clear that West has brought the eyes of the world onto his new apparel venture after a split with GAP, in which the rapper/designer/mogul has promised to make fashion “affordable” and has made multiple references to manufacturing in the US instead of overseas.
If you missed West’s interview with Tucker Carlson this week, it’s once again an example of how good the Chicago native is at getting everyone talking about, and paying attention, to whatever he wants.
Simply put, the media is a cat and Kanye holds the laser pointer.
The media may hate him, but they chase that little red dot of light.
Every. Single. Time.
[three]
One of the biggest box office flops of the year raised some controversy this week after the “star” (using the term pretty loosely) more or less called all of America homophobic for not seeing his movie.
Some of the tweets were deleted, but here’s a sampling of what Billy Eichner had to say about Bros., the first wide release gay rom-com. Superstar producer Judd Apatow (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Knocked Up, the 40-Year-Old-Virgin) was attached to the project, but other than that…the movie doesn’t have actors the average Joe and Jane has even heard of.
Eichner had bit parts in the live action Lion King remake, the sort-of Netflix hit Friends From College and had a decent run as a minor character on Parks & Rec.
That’s not enough of a resume to carry an entire film, and as The Hollywood Reporter points out, rom-coms are dying at the box office, and moving to streaming content.
To Mr. Eichner (who is funny in the limited screentime I’ve seen him on)…bro, you were out over your skis with Bros.
That doesn’t make America homophobic…it means you made poor decisions while making this movie.
(For my rare rom-com recommendation, check out segment 5—but the rom-com I recommend has guns).
UPDATE: The Hollywood Reporter claims…
No, idiots. A $7M box office means the movie was spurned by major markets too. This is just another excuse to falsely paint the Midwest and south as stupid and backwards.
Nope. Again, this movie…was not set up for success from the beginning.
That doesn’t make it a bad (or good) movie…how would I know? I haven’t seen it.
Mainly because I don’t have time to get to the theater at all, with a newborn at home.
Which, according to Eichner, makes me a homophobe, I guess, because I didn’t support his movie. I should have known better than to time my second child right before his first starring role.
[four]
Trying something out here on The Five, and featuring a piece from another writer, because I thought it was so timely and vital.
My friend Haley Shane is one of the best professionals I know in the branding space (check this out), and a contributor to the popular Gays Against Groomers social media channel (well, they’ve used her stuff, anyway).
From her Substack entitled “I Thought About Transitioning.”
I started a Twitter account. And I signed up for a dating app.
We'll come back to the bird app in a moment, but this dating app I signed up for was a lesbian only dating app.
I sifted through dozens upon dozens of accounts of men in dresses with lipstick, claiming the title, before I finally got so fed up I deleted it.
The narrative that plays in your head now is that you're a transphobe. But the thought of maybe wanting to transition at the same time is a hard concept to grasp.
Something wasn't right.
Bird app: I start being more active on it, while these thoughts are running through my head. I come across a tweet, talking about "same sex attracted only" lesbians. The comment section was a shit show. But, this was a slight glimmer of hope I'd soon see.
Shortly after this a friend of mine transitions. MtF. I supported it. Until I saw a post with the caption. Something about "your friendly neighborhood lesbian"
It infuriated me.
My entire life I have competed with men. The only time I didn't have to, is if a woman was a lesbian. We don't even get that now? We don't even have that title? We get no space to ourselves?
I highly recommend reading the rest of the piece here and subscribing to Haley’s Substack.
[five]
As always, let’s wrap up the weekend with a pop culture roundup.
I’m definitely not mad at the Santa-Clause-as-action-hero trend continuing this year (following in the tradition of Mel Gibston’s Fatman). David Harbour (Stranger Things, Black Widow) and kills people with a sledge hammer and blows stuff up to save a little girl or something in Violent Night.
Nobody is gonna watch this for the plot, so why should I bother summarizing it?
That’s not a knock…I am so watching this.
In theaters 12/01.
It’s here…Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy, The Terminal List) is voicing the most famous plumber from Brooklyn in the latest ideation of Super Mario Bros. to hop from the video game console to the big screen.
The IP has been adapted into various cartoons and live action projects in the past—never particularly well. This version looks fun enough.
Jennifer Lawrence essentially took a three year break from 2019-2022, returning with Don’t Look Up last Christmas, alongside Leonardo DiCaprio (I skipped this one, as I hate almost everything director Adam McKay has ever done).
(Arguably) once the most prominent actress in the world, Lawrence was the lead in a trio of consecutive box-office duds, Mother! (tied for worst movie I’ve ever seen), Red Sparrow, and X-Men: Dark Phoenix.
Don’t Look Up was a straight-to-streaming affair, and was bolstered by DiCaprio as the co-star…so Causeway appears to be the test of Lawrence’s cultural relevance and box office draw in 2022.
It’s clearly Oscar-bait, with the story revolving around a soldier (Brian Tyree Henry of Immortals and Atlanta fame) who returns from Afghanistan with a traumatic brain injury.
This looks good, but movies that are so heavy often don’t reach a wide audience. Perhaps Lawrence is fine with that, but I doubt this one will put her back at the top of the box office.
In theaters 11/04, then heading to Apple TV+.
For being really famous, I don’t think J. Lo is particularly good at anything (except maintaining the attention of the public via a continual marriage/divorce/drama cycle), but this rom/com-action (with the heaviest emphasis on the comedy), but Shotgun Wedding looks like one of Prime Video’s best offerings.
This one goes straight to streaming in January, and looks like it could be a hit in an entertainment-starved month.
The action-y elements here may be enough to pull in a wider audience, and probably why I think this one looks pretty watchable.
Hits Prime Video 01/23/22.
Believe me, no one is more shocked that I care about the Netflix Addams Family reboot/spinoff, Wednesday, than me.
But the murder/mysterye element and the comedic moments in the trailer…dang, I want to watch this. Plus, Christina Ricci (who played Weddnesday in the 90’s), SNL alum Fred Armisen (Portlandia, Anchorman) and Katherine Zeta-Jones (The Mask of Zorro, Chicago) is a heck of a cast.
Hitting Netflix 01/23.
MUSIC NEWS:
One of the most influential artists in the history of country music died this week…Loretta Lynn finally slipped away at the age of 90. She recorded her final album just a few months ago…which is incredible.
If you’re not familiar with Loretta, her 2004 partnership with indie rock icon Jack White (The White Stripes, The Racentours) is a great place to start…somehow Van Lear Rose makes classic country paired with early aughts garage rock work quite well.
For some reason, this one isn’t on Apple Music, but you can check it out over on Spotify.
Until the next one,
-sth