A Guide to Childhood Culture for Disconnected Adults: Who Leaked ‘Grand Theft Auto VI’?
This week there is something for everyone in children’s popular culture. Gamers can enjoy a bunch of leaked videos of the mega-game in development Grand Theft Auto VI; music lovers can enjoy the official listening to the new Blackpink album Born Pink without leaking; and fans of deceased monarchs will have to swoon to avoid coverage of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.
Blackpink new album released
Blackpink is by far the biggest thing happening in youth pop culture this week. The K-Pop mega group is known on a scale that seems unbelievable in 2022. Her new album Born Pink sold over a million copies on its first day of release, immediately skyrocketing to the top of all streaming services; the video for the single ” Shut Down ” was viewed 87 million times on YouTube in its first three days; Blackpink’s world tour is expected to draw over 1.5 million concert goers. As an added bonus, Blackpink’s music is actually good – the album is a short burst of perfect pop that unashamedly gets hooks and rumors from anywhere and everywhere. It’s the kind of music that’s so contagious that you almost feel bad for liking it so much.
Leaked footage from Grand Theft Auto VI
An anonymous user on GTAForums posted about 100 Grand Theft Auto VI videos , revealing tons of new information about the video game in development. GTA V I will have a female protagonist (at least part of the time) set in Vice City, the Miami of the GTA universe.
Developer Rockstar Games is notoriously tight-lipped about upcoming games, but has confirmed the footage is genuine and assured fans that the confusion will not delay the development or release of GTA VI .
The source of the leak was reportedly looking for some sort of “deal” with Rockstar , but then deleted their messages from the internet, presumably so they would have time to find a good lawyer. In terms of fan reaction, it’s been mixed, with many complaining that footage of unfinished games looks rough, a bit like you’re eating dough, and complaining that it doesn’t feel like bread.
BeReal’s growth inspires new TikTok feature
BeReal has been around since 2020, but the social media photo-sharing app has reached critical mass/acceleration speed in the past few months. It has become so successful that the reigning social media king TikTok has announced a new feature that sounds almost exactly like BeReal.
In case you’re not familiar, BeReal’s hook is that it prompts users to pick up and download the single at random times of the day. Everyone in your friend group gets notified at the same time, and you can only see your friends’ results if you post yours. The result is more natural than the carefully choreographed photos so common on “traditional” photo-sharing platforms. In addition to posting photos, TikTok Now will also support users uploading 10-second videos at random times.
I’d give you my BeReal address, but it’s just filled with endless streams of my 1979 Phantasm views, every day, for days, for months.
What is the TikTok “If I was” trend?
Teens in love on TikTok are making cute but rude “if I were” videos this week. It works like this: you ask your significant other a series of questions, such as: “If I were/were a tree, what kind of tree would I be?” And then edit the response video together. You can browse a lot of them with the TikTok hashtag #ifIwas, which has over 200 million views, or the grammatically preferred #ifIwere . I tried this with my wife and it resulted in the following dialog:
Me : Honey, if I were a color, what color would it be?
Her : What are you talking about? You are already a bright pink color. That’s rough.
Me : If I were an animal, what would it be?
Her : You are an animal. Do I need to call a doctor?
Me : If I were a thing, what would it be?
Her : You are already a thing . Is this one of those midlife crises? You bought a motorcycle and you’re afraid to tell me?
Viral video of the week: Guard falls in front of the dead queen
The guard who stood at attention in front of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II spoke for everyone on earth this week as he collapsed in exhaustion a few feet from the royal carcass. The video of the ceremonial facelift has been viewed millions of times in every conceivable format since it happened a few days ago. When we reached out for comment, a representative of the royal family did not say, “Oh, oh, what is this? Did some harried lecher put up a fight in front of the Queen Mother?
Not to be outdone, an off- duty police officer passed out during the Queen’s funeral today. Guards are reported to pass out just by standing there, which is not uncommon in the British military and probably explains why Britain lost its empire.
Despite the failure to guard the coffin, the queen did not manage to escape.