I'm not sure if the "outrage cycle" really moves that much quicker in 2025. I think it's more like there's no monoculture so the outrages stay isolated. For example, I recently mentioned Netflix in a conversation and someone got angry at Cuties. If you spend much time browsing twitter, you'll often find someone angry at some random post from years ago. Maybe all those outrages got subsumed into politics though. I don't think the nipplegate complaints were very partisan.
I don't think The Onion is blaming Janet Jackson at all and is entirely targeting the people that had an issue with it. And I could imagine them writing a similar story today (or at least during Oscar season) about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock. Something about how it was an entirely inappropriate display of violence at a ceremony meant to honor James Bond movies or that his behavior was disgusting compared to other academy members like Roman Polanski.
I think that "technophile" or "gadget fan" is still an archetype that people talk about, but I can't think of the exact term used. Wired had a gift guide for "techies" but that seems dated. I think people just put -bro on stuff now. What was the term for the people using Vision Pros in their teslas?
Robert, appreciate your thoughtfulness and keen observations, as always! Re: Janet Jackson, that's my bad if I implied The Onion blamed her -- I simply meant that the in-universe article blames her, hence the poor afflicted children.
I think the partisanship was less modern red/blue and more of a 1980s-era alliance of staid conservatives and the Tipper Gore-esque left. And they had a friend in the Bush-era FCC, which seemed determined to fine every stray obscenity in prime time. The truly surprising part, to me, is that SCOTUS unanimously tossed the FCC's fine of CBS years later (https://www.cnn.com/2012/06/29/us/scotus-cbs-fines/index.html).
And yeah, "-bro" seems like the appendage nowadays. I guess it's the new form of adding "gate" to every scandal.
Got a great note from an eagle-eyed reader regarding the "copyedit" usage:
"As unlikely as it may seem, Merriam-Webster supports "copyedit' as a closed verb but "copy editor' in the nominal form!"
I'm not sure if the "outrage cycle" really moves that much quicker in 2025. I think it's more like there's no monoculture so the outrages stay isolated. For example, I recently mentioned Netflix in a conversation and someone got angry at Cuties. If you spend much time browsing twitter, you'll often find someone angry at some random post from years ago. Maybe all those outrages got subsumed into politics though. I don't think the nipplegate complaints were very partisan.
I don't think The Onion is blaming Janet Jackson at all and is entirely targeting the people that had an issue with it. And I could imagine them writing a similar story today (or at least during Oscar season) about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock. Something about how it was an entirely inappropriate display of violence at a ceremony meant to honor James Bond movies or that his behavior was disgusting compared to other academy members like Roman Polanski.
I think that "technophile" or "gadget fan" is still an archetype that people talk about, but I can't think of the exact term used. Wired had a gift guide for "techies" but that seems dated. I think people just put -bro on stuff now. What was the term for the people using Vision Pros in their teslas?
Robert, appreciate your thoughtfulness and keen observations, as always! Re: Janet Jackson, that's my bad if I implied The Onion blamed her -- I simply meant that the in-universe article blames her, hence the poor afflicted children.
I think the partisanship was less modern red/blue and more of a 1980s-era alliance of staid conservatives and the Tipper Gore-esque left. And they had a friend in the Bush-era FCC, which seemed determined to fine every stray obscenity in prime time. The truly surprising part, to me, is that SCOTUS unanimously tossed the FCC's fine of CBS years later (https://www.cnn.com/2012/06/29/us/scotus-cbs-fines/index.html).
And yeah, "-bro" seems like the appendage nowadays. I guess it's the new form of adding "gate" to every scandal.