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How Conservatism Infiltrated Pop Culture

matt bernstein

722,452 views

Quiet luxury. Clean girl. Old money. Trad living. Kylie Jenner’s pivot from Black culture vulture to glass skin pilates princess. College youth dressed like polyester Shein replicas of Reagan-era prepsters. Something’s happened, and I’m uncomfortable.

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CHAPTERS:
0:00 - 3:24 intro
3:24 - 15:12 The Cruel Kids Table… god help me=
15:12 - 16:53 thanks rocket money!
16:53 - 31:47 people are paying money to WHAT?
31:47 - 37:36 a brief flash of performative 2010s liberalism is kicked to the curb
37:36 - 43:14 how the Clean Girl went MAGA
43:14 - 44:58 shoutout to factor!
44:58 - 52:22 the kardashians (SORRY)
52:22 - 1:03:26 the life you want doesn’t exist and your fantasies are being exploited

20 Comments

@gwendolynwerdin6709 1 year ago

“Did they not finish the Great Gatsby?” Thank you for saying it so I didn’t have to.

@SystemFailing 1 year ago

“Old money with a vape” is such a killer line. I loved this ep. I needed to feel petty for a minute

@sweet_wormwood 1 year ago

I always thought it was so funny, too, that conservatives talk A LOT about "thinking for themselves" and "not following the crowd," but then they all end up looking the same because what they really champion is homogeny. Any perceived differences freak them out, I think.

@Valentttine 1 year ago

the funny thing is that the dress is actually a 600$ polyester dress from revolve but looks like a 20$ shein dress

@jessiemayfield6749 1 year ago (edited)

There’s something so pathetic about poor people trying to identify with rich people to ignore their poverty. I want to believe we aren’t cooked but it’s getting hard.

@ryanfoxx3142 1 year ago (edited)

ugh the Kardashians being harbingers of cultural shifts is sooo on point. the only way they maintain there status is by appealing to the broader American culture therefore, the have to be on top of cultural trends to stay relevant. such a good take.

@jaynestrange 1 year ago (edited)

One thing I think can't be overstated is that no matter how these young influencers might *feel*, pop culture has always been on their side! Straight, white, shinny & rich has always been considered the best way to be, even at the height of the body positivity movement. I don't remember a time when people didn't use "retarded" as a casual insult for anything they don't like. Maybe they felt like culture was against them cause celebrities were posting rainbow flags on instagram, but in real life, the world was set up to make their lives as easy as possible.

@ripley4884 1 year ago

i know a lot of people have said that this is the new gilded age, and this magazine cover totally encapsulates that. a beautiful venue with cheap fashion & dreams of wealth that will never be achieved for the majority of those people

@alladin_payne 1 year ago

Khadija Mbowe recently predicted that Kim K will soon (very publicly) date a conservative politician or tech bro. I can totally see it.

@swerves 1 year ago

I can't get over how CHEAP it all looks. Shein polyester presidency. Y'all nailed it.

@ladyamon7974 1 year ago

That photo has American Psycho written all over it, and those kids are clueless.

@st.parastoo 1 year ago

Matt, I don’t know if you’ll see this comment but I want to thank you for the work you do. I am an Iranian Muslim woman who gets so much value and education from your videos which I can’t get anywhere else. You changed my mind about so many issues. I hope I can support you financially one day but till then I can only show my appreciation through words.

@Rebel_Winds 1 year ago

Maybe the "Temu Twenties".

@cbowd 1 year ago

"Nothing says Old Money like a whiteboard in your kitchen that says 'Secure the bag'!" Ah yes. Old Money would have a whiteboard saying "Bag secure.'

@Princessv777 1 year ago

I used to be a stripper. One thing a lot of us learned in the club is that you can always spot out which customers had money or not. People who wore flashy jewelry, designer brand logos, trying to “look rich”, surprisingly had no money. The customers who had racks were wearing jeans, regular shoes and a regular T-shirt.

@SmilingJack100 1 year ago (edited)

"Thin is in again" feels kinda laughable. Thin never left, thin has always been in, as a fat person, I never noticed any difference in the past decade, it was always contempt.

@ambrosemoonchild1985 1 year ago

My first thought when I saw the photo of the New York mag cover was "when mom says we have gossip girl at home"

@MeekleTubas 1 year ago

It' such a fascinating picture of how bad things have gotten though. Like, in the Reagan years, Reagan's most enthusiastic cheerleaders could at least afford Ralph Lauren, and to wear clothes generally made of natural fibres. Now even the people who stand to benefit from the rise of a right wing authoritarian can only afford polyester replicas of nice clothes, and all the rest of us can do is sit around in similarly cheap clothes mocking them for their garbage taste. It's like the McMansion Hell-ification of everything.

@MiniCupcakesBaby 1 year ago

I will never forgive or forget when Ariana was trying to be black. People joke about it now like its a meme but it was never funny. She did cultural black face and got away with it and Ill never forget that.