floppy disk 01: nachos and handwritten letters
the first of a regular series dissecting what's currently on my mind
programming note: introducing “floppy disk,” a new web diary! just as floppy disks were once used as memory storage, “floppy disk” will a place for me to provide and store short, quick dissects on pop + online culture, cultural trends, and anything else on my mind. My hope is “floppy disk” posts will be more frequent, while my typical monthly essays will be reduced to a sporadic capacity.nachos
Stanning (but more so celebrity worshipping) may have been something I want us to leave in 2024, but I have to give credit where credit is due. Never in recent years have I’ve seen something as original as “wanting someone else’s nachos” take off in the online sphere. The phrase is so ridiculous; imagine the concept of a person eyeing or wanting to munch on someone else’s nachos. As absurd as it sounds, “nachos” simply means another person’s fame/attention/physical thing that they have. “Wanting” their nachos means craving those aforementioned things.
According to knowyourmeme.com, the slang originated from a TikTok posted in December 2023 of a clip from Baddies West. The video showed Baddies creator Natalie Nunn briefly glancing at another cast member plate of nachos with the caption “You Can Tell Natalie Lowkey Wanted Stunna Girl's Nachos.” The phrase quickly spread through TikTok and eventually Twitter, and cemented itself as both a meme and an internet slang. I wouldn’t be surprised if this permeates into the collective vocabulary of Gen Z/Gen Alpha. And this would be the first slang phrase that isn’t blatantly AAVE that is passed off as “Gen Z slang,” besides maybe “khia” (but someone correct me if I’m wrong).
handwritten letters
There’s something intimate about writing and mailing letters. It’s more permanent yet fleeting. Every word and sentence must be made with intention. There’s something gratifying about receiving a letter, not knowing when a reply will return to you. Its presence is gratification itself.
As a society, we need to bring back this form of communication. For the past few months, I and a friend have been mailing each other handwritten letters. It’s so intriguing to see what my friends think is deserving to be read by ink and paper versus a simple text or FaceTime call. We made sure to contain conversations that are made on paper to just the letters, not transferring them to our text messages. That way our letters are valued and anticipated. I want to grow this activity to more people this year, so friends if you’re reading this, let me know if you want to be a part of this.
conservative shift in pop culture?
Over the last few months, I feel like pop culture—online culture, in particular—shifting slowly to the right. Ironic homophobia has turned into acute actual homophobia. “I’m just a girl” and “girl math” expressions which are tinged slightly with misogynistic undertones feeds right into the far-right ideology. The “trad wive” movement has picked up steam. While these were meant to be harmless fun, I feel like these “memes” bled into the wrong crowd; some may have taken these jokes seriously. But they’re also an indicator of how as a society we are shifting. Retailers quietly reduced their Pride displays. We’ve seen companies scale back their diversity and inclusion practices.
What does this mean for pop culture? While I don’t think pop culture will do a complete U-turn, I think it will look and feel different compared to just a few years ago. What makes me feel reassured though is that a majority of pop culture—especially online culture—stems from art, memes, videos, and vocabulary from queer and people of color. These pop culture’s subcultures will continue to exist and thrive despite what mainstream pop culture will manifest itself.
flop watch & reads
Shows, movies, and books I’ve recently enjoyed and recommend:
📺 The Traitors
🎥 Blue Velvet, Dìdi (弟弟), Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
📖 Faraway the Southern Sky by Joseph Andras
add me on goodreads, fable, and letterboxd