A Guide to Children’s Culture for Out-of-Touch Adults: Man or Bear?
This week in youth culture everyone is wondering who you’d rather be trapped in the woods with – a man or a bear. This question reveals a harsh truth about gender. On a less depressing note, a woman’s duet with a kitchen fan really touched people’s hearts, and a YouTuber did some serious research on North Korean entertainment.
Explanation of the question “man or bear”
This hypothetical question has sparked debate and debate in the online world this week: “Would you rather be stuck in the woods with a man or a bear?” The source of the question appears to be a video of a street interview screenshot by TikToker that @callmebkbk links to in this video . Since then it has spread everywhere, and almost all women immediately respond with “bear.” It’s a seemingly meaningless question that reveals a hard truth.
The reasons why women choose a bear are heartbreaking: “A bear has never followed me home,” “No one will tell me I’m lying or imagining it if I get mauled by a bear,” and “at least with a bear I won’t have to worry about that I will meet them at a family reunion.”
Although women seem to get the point straight away, if you’re a man, it’ll take a little coaxing. (My instinctive response was, “Man. Bears will kill you.”) This leads to a follow-up question reserved for men: “Would you rather have your daughter/wife alone with a man or a bear?” This seems to instantly clarify the situation , and the moment of realization of what the question implies is fascinating.
Another interesting twist: if you change the options to “woman or bear”, choosing “woman” is easy.
If you were hoping that maybe just this once, men would just shut up and listen, you’d be disappointed. Here are some responses from the Ask Men subreddit on Reddit : “Women just like to get together and talk shit about men,” “I don’t think they realize that the unintended consequence of low-key misogyny is misogyny,” “They like to inflame gender differences.” war and being a victim” and “there is a reason why our fathers and grandfathers simply did not listen to women when they yapped.” Great way to prove your point, guys.
For reference, about 40 bear attacks and about a quarter of a million rapes occur annually in the world.
TikTok Trend “Follow My Boyfriend”
The “Man vs. Bear” theme is so depressing that I’m following it up with a touching gender-related TikTok thing, the “look at my boyfriend” trend. Here’s how it works: Women or girls start recording videos asking their audience, “Can you guys watch my boyfriend for a second?” then point the phone at your guys and leave the room. That’s all. But the videos are sincere and useful. Some dudes sit and eat crackers , or sit and do nothing . Some people tell you what’s on their mind . Or give you some flamingo facts about guys. It’s good to be reminded that many young people sometimes have normal relationships with normal people.
Has the Cybertruck already failed?
I used to think that the only redeeming contribution Elon Musk made to society was convincing idiots that driving an electric car was cool, but the reaction to Musk’s Cybertruck might even rob me of that. The car has been on the road since November, and if you’re wondering if young people are lusting after it as much as they were when Tesla came out in 2008, it’s not.
Since its launch, Tesla has sold 3,878 units, which isn’t bad compared to sales of other electric trucks, but nowhere near the 250,000 per year that Musk once promised . The truck has been in trouble since its announcement, with a demo of its bulletproof windows going hilariously wrong . It rusts easily . It is prone to software bugs . It could cut off your fingers . You can’t take it through a car wash . It is being recalled due to a potentially fatal design flaw that could cause the accelerator to become stuck . And it’s really very ugly.
Perhaps the technical issues can be worked out, and perhaps there are plenty of people willing to shell out 80 grand for the next generation Cybertruck, no matter how ugly it is, but I seriously doubt it. Mainly because the Cybertruck is not cool. This is a vibe, so I could be wrong, but when people claim something is ” so uncool it’ll go cold again” that’s the kiss of death.
However, there is hope for Elon’s stupidity in the long run. Cars that were laughable jokes upon their release—the Edsel in the 1950s, the DeLorean in the 1980s—are usually remembered fondly after enough time has passed and everyone has gone bankrupt.
Viral video of the week: blending in with a fan
This week’s viral video is a short TikTok clip of musician Claire Boyer harmonizing with a kitchen fan while cooking dinner (specifically, tacos). It’s hard to explain why, but those 20 seconds of wordless vocals got on people’s nerves. The untitled tune is truly otherworldly, unsettling and nostalgic, and the video has been watched by over 19 million people since it was posted earlier this month. TikTokers offer song lyrics in the comments section, respond with duets , or post videos explaining the emotions , memories , and thoughts the song evokes . Boyer says he’s working on a full song based on the video , taking lyrical suggestions from his comments section, and I can’t wait for the fan-artist collaboration that will come from it. Although I doubt it will surpass the simplicity of the original.
Special Bonus Viral Video of the Week: Entertainment Made By North Korea
Since the Harmonizing with a Fan video is so short, I decided to include a longer viral video to balance the scales. Most viral videos are short, funny and forgettable, but there is a growing audience for content that dives very deep into niche topics, such as Entertainment Made by North Korea, a five-and-a-half-hour (!) video from a YouTuber. Paper Will , which goes into great detail about the history, context, and meaning of films, music, and television shows made by and for North Korea. It’s a fascinating video in itself, but it’s also great to see how many people have watched it and how enthusiastically they’ve reacted to it.