However this nostalgia of ours depends on cherry-picked reminiscences of the previous, stubbornly seen by rose-colored glasses. The movie star tradition we’re craving for is now not seen as moral. Actuality wasn’t so cool; on the peak of their fame within the 2000s, the Olsen twins had just about no privateness, had been the butt of numerous inappropriately sexual jokes (don’t watch the Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget, I urge you), and had been a tabloid goal for body-shaming. Although they haven’t spoken a lot about their selection to depart the leisure trade, their staunch avoidance of the general public at the moment speaks volumes.
Typically talking, again then eating regimen tradition was rampant, mirrored by the ubiquity of weight-loss ads, broad size-exclusion in style, and a media obsession with well-known girls’s our bodies. Consumerism amongst younger individuals was itself a wierd, aggressive interest whereby we roamed aimlessly round malls, praying we might sooner or later afford (or match into) a pair of Hollister denims. Racism, xenophobia, sexism, fatphobia, and ableism had been all default punchlines for mainstream comedians, who had been promoting out stadiums on world excursions.
A lot of these good and dangerous vibes from the 2000s had been unquestionably tied to political turmoil, terrorism, and battle, and the identical factor is going on in our standard tradition now. It simply seems to be totally different as a result of expertise has superior a lot. Issues transfer quicker, certain, however the underlying reality stays: When politics fail to progress, so does our tradition. We simply have Ozempic as an alternative of Orlistat, Stanley cups as an alternative of the George Foreman Grill, and TikTok as an alternative of MySpace. These all function handy methods to distract us from the political injustices inside our authorities we see or hear about each single day.
For those who suppose that sounds a bit tin-foil-hat, I can’t blame you. To be clear, I don’t suppose the NSA is planting Ashley Olsen make-up tutorials on-line to brainwash society into complacency (however that might make an exciting sequel to my favourite film, 2001’s live-action Josie and the Pussycats). I simply suppose that, as the following Trump administration approaches, now’s a greater time than ever to guage simply how a lot our nation’s politics inform our aesthetic tendencies—and simply how a lot energy these tendencies have to harm individuals, whether or not they’re celebrities or on a regular basis individuals. I’m not saying you may’t put on smudgy, Olsen-twin-inspired eye make-up in any respect (you very properly may even see me doing it a few times), however simply to do not forget that whereas the 2000s make-up is price romanticizing, the 2000s tradition very a lot shouldn’t be.