On Sunday, June 2, 2013 at 9 pm, I’m pretty sure I was in my Hello Kitty pajamas, with a glass of wine, tucked in to watch episode nine of the third season of Game of Thrones. Officially titled, “The Rains of Castamere” but more commonly referred to as “The Red Wedding” episode.
Some who’d read the book, which came out in 2000, knew what was likely to happen in the episode, so they recorded their friends and families watching to get their pure reactions. It was a particularly brutal and shocking episode, and many of the reactions went viral on YouTube.
These videos captured the attention of the psychology major in me, and I started watching them regularly as companion pieces to content. Now, there are social media creators whose sole and lucrative content is to just react to the release of television shows, music videos, album releases and movies.
Operating under the assumption these are all mostly authentic reactions, I like watching because I can gauge how other people from different demographics are thinking and feeling about something in relation to my own reaction. There is a wide diversity of age, race, gender, sexuality, etc…friends, Gen Z male friends, specializing in horror content, couples, an entire bar because of patrons, etc. It’s interesting to see if this thing that we are watching moves us all in the same way – did we laugh / cry / scream / cover our eyes?
I also like watching these reactors because this is before the “experts” show up with the deep dive analysis to tell us what we should think and feel about what we just saw.
On Thursday, June 27, 2024, I was definitely in my Hello Kitty pajamas shorts set, with a mango margarita, watching the sun set over the ocean in Virginia Beach. Against my better judgment, I decided to watch the U.S. presidential candidate debate.
It was like the Red Wedding episode all over again. My immediate reaction was a combination of stunned clutching of pearls and the Whoopi Goldberg gif from Ghost, “Molly? you in danger, girl.” I went to the Threads app to see everyone else’s reactions. Am I the only one thinking this was a hot mess? (No, I was not alone in my despair. Yes, I try to take into account foreign bots with vested election interference.)
Related: On MSNBC, the mood turns somber following Biden’s debate performance
Our reactions and feelings are valid – should our incumbent President stay? should he step down? As I was told when I learned how to play spades, you should be play to win, period.
I’m infuriated there are those in his “inner circle” who apparently also had the same concerns many months ago but couldn’t or wouldn’t address this before we got to the 11th hour. His team asked for this debate! Was this political malpractice or was this their way of forcing his hand?
I’m mad at that we haven’t heeded Elizabeth Warren’s warnings about big money donors. Billionaires have an outsized influence on how we live, love, learn and die in this country, and instead of being united against that, the masses continually fight each other.
I’m exasperated that reporters, pundits and spokespeople try to control the narrative and pull the ole Obi-Wan Kenobi okie doke, “these aren’t the droids we’re looking for…” by trying to shut down valid public thoughts, questions, concerns and discussion.
I’m frustrated with him, for not taking the Lyndon Johnson route a year ago, and preventing us from being in this position now. We are suffering the consequences of Ruth Bader Ginsburg not resigning when Obama asked her to. He’s not a King and we don’t owe him anything, but he and his team owes us everything. They work for us! If certain leaks are to be believed, he’s giving Effie White “and I am telling you I’m not going” ego.
I’m stressed that the electorate is constantly being put in a dumpster fire of a “lesser of two evils” situation, which shows no signs of abating for the foreseeable future. The GOP is out here playing 3D chess with a 50 year plan for world domination (Project 2025), while the Bad News Bears DNC can barely figure out what game is being played.
This is all a shit show to say the least, but here is a perspective worth watching from New York congresswoman, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez.
Finally, as a gentle and depressing reminder, there are six major media corporations controlling how the news is presented to you. They want views for their advertisers and revenue for their shareholders. That anchor you like, is trying to hold on to a job and an audience. Your favorite social media platform is also owned by an oligarch who is also controlling how content is being presented to you. Their reactions to this is different than the Joe Q. Public voting class because our interests don’t align.
ADDITIONAL WATCH / READ / LISTEN
WATCH: The Trial of the Chicago Seven (Netflix) – Apropos of absolutely currently everything, this is worth a watch. This Aaron Sorkin film is based on the true story of some of the aftermath of the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago (protests over an unpopular war, the incumbent President not running for reelection, civil rights unrest and more). And, if you didn’t know, the 2024 Democratic National Convention is back in Chicago in a month, almost 56 years to the date and the parallels are unnervingly apparent.
August 2 is the centennial of James Baldwin’s birth. The New York Public Library, Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture and more all have programming scheduled to celebrate his life and works.
READ: Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own by Eddie S. Glaude, Jr. This book came out in 2021, but just like James Baldwin, it is still relevant. Visit your local library or purchase from an independent library.
LISTEN: The Baldwin 100: a podcast about the life and work of James Baldwin. Spotify | Apple
Kimfinite Possibilities 