Forget a vibe change, we're in a zeitgeist shift

I hope you're not tired of cultural churn, because the signs and portents are pointing to a few new ideas and attitudes about to go mainstream

Once upon a time, I had a blog titled after a running joke I wove through my CSI recaps on Television Without Pity. The blog kicked open a few doors at a few different publications and professional events, but it was never able to be easily categorized, and I considered that a liability. When I decided it was time to explore newsletters as an editorial format, I also experimented with sticking to a strict format as a way to reduce that "what is it?" liability. The tradeoff has been less writing over time.

I've got a cognitively intense job these days as the editor-in-chief of two different tech publications, and I've missed regular, casual writing. You know -- like blogging. While I was wrestling with the question of where and how to write my newsletter more when I'm so often brain-tired, Twitter had itself one hell of a 2022. 

And it hit me:  My favorite things to do on Twitter are sharing links to things I think people should read, and having discussions with the smarties in my mentions. Why not just … send out short, sharp newsletters and throw open the comments on Substack for my smartie subscribers? 

Let's try a "hey, did you see this?" format and see if I can add some value to your inbox that way.

Okay! Let's go.

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This week, I read two separate pieces that allude to the perils of commodifying one's personal lives. The first by fashion reporter Amy O'Dell, "Why the Vibe Shift Might Finally Leave the Kardashians Behind," posits that public sentiment toward the Kardashian Kollective may finally be souring:

Fashion marketing expert Ana Andjelic … senses a cultural shift that will negatively impact the Kardashians’ appeal. “Culture is not willing to forgive them as it was before,” she said. “And when the culture changes, brands follow. So just wait, they’re going to start dropping them — but not immediately.” The Kardashians are, like Gucci and Balenciaga, a “zeitgeist brand,” said Andjelic — as soon as the zeitgeist changes, these brands struggle.

Kathryn Jezer-Morton's "Maybe We're Too Hard on Momfluences" felt like another piece of a puzzle snapping into place once I read this:

Before a momfluencer can start dropping affiliate links, she has to build up a following. This means choosing what to disclose about yourself while knowing instinctively what would be too much. Certain struggles, like postpartum depression or pregnancy loss, can bring a following together. Other struggles, like marital infidelity or experience of abuse, are still very rarely discussed.

The pair of articles reminded me of MaryJane Butters' FarmGirl brand, chronicled beautifully in an October 10, 2004,  New Yorker article, "The Simple Life, Inc.," and how the zeitgeist can push an idea (like slow food and eating seasonally) from riveting to routine. 

This past spring, ur-momfluencer Rebecca Woolf released a memoir chronicling her husband Hal's cancer diagnosis and death, and her complex grief. The marriage wasn't a good one and she wrote frankly about her infidelity. This feels zeitgeisty: I am willing to bet the right influencer can mainstream infidelity dialogue the way the mommy bloggers of the 2000s mainstreamed parenting discussions around PPD.

The zeitgeist is generally ahead of mainstream cultural and commercial sentiment, so consider these pieces that moment at the beginning of Mary Poppins where Bert foreshadows changes to come with, "​​Winds in the east, mist coming in/ Like somethin' is brewin' and 'bout to begin."

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I have not been able to stop cackling over this letter to Carolyn Hax, "Next generation upends ‘relaxed, sophisticated’ holidays." 

The writer and their spouse used to enjoy adults-only family holiday celebrations centering around "excellent wine, adventurous menus, carefully curated playlists, long, lounging dinners with great conversations." 

(Note: I feel like we've missed an opportunity here to link to one of these carefully curated playlists or adventurous menus. Like, are we talking -- The Menu adventurous?)

Then their brother and his wife had to go and have three children and now holidays are different. The writer is dismayed by these three developments and wants to return to the refined celebrations. 

Their problem: the children's parents and grandparents persistently reject the writer's proposed holiday "compromises," all of which require excluding the children from the "family" celebration.

"Is there another way to get my family to work with me on this?" they ask.

As someone who is neither relaxed nor sophisticated, I am not qualified to offer advice on how to revive rarefied festivities. Maybe one of you can.