२६ जुलै, २०२४

"The intentionally repulsive color won over the internet, and then the summer, and then, at a pivotal moment, an entire presidential campaign."

"In a few short days, supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, memed chartreuse into an unusually potent political symbol.... 'I will aspire to be Brat,' Jake Tapper said on CNN to one of his correspondents, who had been holding up a slime-green meme printed out on a sheet of paper."

From "You Can’t Escape This Color/'This is not millennial pink. The energy behind it is alive'" (NYT)(free-access link).

I used the last of this month's NYT gift link allowance on that article. Why? Because I knew it was hard to understand without more explanation, but I didn't want to do the explanation.

And you'll need to go over there anyway to see the particular green in question. It's a color that's connected to this word "brat," which reminds me of a word from many years ago when I was a teenager: "groovy." It was new and cool and precisely expressive of youth for a very short time before it got seized upon by everyone old and it became embarrassing. 

From the golden moment before the collapse of "groovy":


Once the TV talking heads and political candidates start using your word, they've stolen it from you. You have to move on or use it ironically or do whatever it is you kids do today when the adults are annoying you. 

As for you political candidates, be careful using the word "brat" in Wisconsin. I remember when John Kerry screwed up.

८६ टिप्पण्या:

Leland म्हणाले...

Isn't that just lime green?

Dave Begley म्हणाले...

Sounds like a foundational pillar of her campaign! A woman of substance!

Has Taylor Swift endorsed Harris yet?

tcrosse म्हणाले...

Hey, daddy-o, dig that crazy color!

Kate म्हणाले...

The Left is so excited to meme, like a kid on Halloween going through the candy bucket before Mom puts it away for the night.

Aggie म्हणाले...

"In a few short days, supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, memed chartreuse into an unusually potent political symbol."

Yes, well.... with a little help, a lot of heavy lifting, I mean. She's going to need a lot more of it, too, if this is one of her Big Ideas.

Kevin म्हणाले...

“Kamala IS brat,” [Charli XCX] tweeted, referring to the title of her latest album. To be “brat,” according to Charli on TikTok, is to be “that girl who is a little messy and maybe says dumb things sometimes, who feels herself but then also maybe has a breakdown but parties through it.”

Oso Negro म्हणाले...

Nothing new under the sun. Many among us survived a few years of shag carpeting in that horrid hue in the early '70s.

Leland म्हणाले...

I do think something that is "annoying and unable to escape" is a good way to explain how we ended up with Kamala Harris at the top of the DNC ticket.

narciso म्हणाले...

https://x.com/redsteeze/status/1816736471576887483

Kevin म्हणाले...

'I will aspire to be Brat,' Jake Tapper [the unbiased journalist who reports the news neutrality and isn’t pushing particular narratives associated with one of the major presidential campaigns]said on CNN…

Breezy म्हणाले...

Great, a presidential candidate who doesn’t get that red, white, and blue are the core colors of the job. Oh well, if she wants to narrow her voting block further, so be it.

Anne in Rockwall, TX म्हणाले...

Chartreuse is the color of most of the lures we use for striper fishing down here. I just looked and of the 24 prepped rods on our racks here, 17 of them have chartreuse plastic on them. When we see a shad school or fish jumping, we grab a rod and walk 20 yards to the water with the hope of fish tacos for lunch.

Now granted, I don't decorate to match our fishing gear, but the color itself is not that repulsive. The bass in Lake Ray Hubbard seem to like it.

Sydney म्हणाले...

We used to call that goose turd green.

Rusty म्हणाले...

One of the two colors of lures that reliably catch salmon. When dayglo orange doesn't work switch to chartreuse.
Trumps color is red.

narciso म्हणाले...

https://x.com/DrEliDavid/status/1816587580600729915

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves म्हणाले...

They wanted to ditch Kamala - until they got down on their knees.

The radical hollywood creation... here it comes.

Christopher B म्हणाले...

James Lileks could have a field day with this.

@Breezy, reminiscent of Dukakis going with salmon, eggshell, and azure.

narciso म्हणाले...

Color out of space lovecraft

RideSpaceMountain म्हणाले...

As I get older, the world sort of pulls away from you and leaves you behind. Has it always been this way? I sort of assumed that would involve the old ways that I love being replaced by superior things that I just would not be able to appreciate because I'd be a rigid and hidebound old bastard like everyone else.

Instead the old ways are being replaced by shit like this, by endless low-effort garbage and podcasts with stupid imstagram whores with their tits hanging out, by tatted up thugs mumbling shommagrommagreezinliteninmumfugguh in auto-tune, by the awfulest sort of useless low-rent trash with no content or thought to it at all, just stupid shmooged-out pop culture horseshit.

Modern American culture is garbage.

mikee म्हणाले...

It is true that youth know nothing of the past, I guess. Those of us who recall the 1970's Mr. Yuk associate that color with poison. Interesting branding choice for the Democrats.

Temujin म्हणाले...

Interesting that you bring up John Kerry because...as I think about it, Kamala Harris is this era's version of John Kerry. She's reporting "ready for duty" right now. She's had to do nothing other than read two speeches properly. But time will show her, as it did John Kerry. She's as phony as they come, not to mention a flat out far far left prah-grah-sav.

Her moment will come. I'm not sure how it will show itself, but it'll be something so good, so purely Kamala, that it'll inspire memes for years to come.

It'll be better than this: John dresses up.

doctrev म्हणाले...

Why is a 59-year old woman pretending to be "brat?" Is it because she's a spoiled, stupid whore who never actually crossed the threshold into motherhood?

I suspect Vance's line about childless cat ladies is going to pay heavy dividends over time for the Trump campaign.

Mr. D म्हणाले...

I use “groovy” all the time, precisely because it isn’t. All this meme making and purposeless repurposing smacks of desperation, doncha think?

Political Junkie म्हणाले...

DRAT, the BRAT will beat the CHAP 52-45-3.
Not what I want, but as I mentioned recently, now the D's have something to sell.
Blacks, women, youth, etc. will be returning to their percentages and turnout will go up.
Jesus Christ can't save us, politically.

Cheers all!

RideSpaceMountain म्हणाले...

I was in high school during the late 90s and saw portents of what internet culture would produce. I knew, especially after 9/11, that the world was evil and cruel but I was never prepared for it also to become this gay and stupid.

rehajm म्हणाले...

They're gonna steal again so don matter...

dbp म्हणाले...

They spent months on that? Mine took 10 minutes in "paint" and I have zero talent.

https://pecchia.blogspot.com/2024/07/trump.html

mezzrow म्हणाले...

We'll see how many fish they catch with this cast.

Has the worm turned? Time will tell.

Hipness is. What it is
Hipness is. What it is
Hipness is. What it is
Sometimes hipness is, what it ain't

Quayle म्हणाले...

After having a short breakdown and time for necessary repair, the spin machine is back and running at full speed.

Feel the specter of the wall of political sound. (OK, now that! was a clever line, don't you think Althouse?)

Eva Marie म्हणाले...

It goes with her laugh.

narciso म्हणाले...

There was also galactus from green lantern

Rocco म्हणाले...

Then: How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?

Now: What can be chartreuse, unburdened by what has been puke green?

who-knew म्हणाले...

Leland wins. Personally, despite an abysmal record in the predictions game, I will go out on a limb and say "brat summer' doesn't last the rest of the summer.

William म्हणाले...

I looked up Charli XCX. She's another famous person I never heard of. She's a British singer of Scottish/Indian extraction. She's good looking, but not beautiful. I haven't listened to any of her music. She's into rap and "experimental sounds". She was nominated for a couple of Emmy's. She's pro Kamala. Life goes on.

Iman म्हणाले...

The Jolly Green Pliant

Big Mike म्हणाले...

I agree that she’s a brat, but in the traditional sense of Miriam-Webster: “an ill-mannered immature person.”

As to Gen-Z slang, I assume that it’s the way it’s always been: if you say you are, then you ain’t.

However do fully agree that puke green is the ideal color to summarize a Democrat. Any Democrat.

Dixcus म्हणाले...

Every voter knows what a brat is. A brat is that kid who sasses back to his mother, disrespects her, throws tantrums if they don't get what they want, manipulates his "friends" in quotes because he doesn't have any friends, just people he can use.

The entire Democrat Party is full of brats. It's about time they admitted it.

Sally327 म्हणाले...

It makes me think of lime jello.

tim maguire म्हणाले...

'I will aspire to be Brat,' Jake Tapper said on CNN

Jake will, but not today. Today he does not aspire to be Brat. Does Jake think he will be brat? Or will it be an unfulfilled desire? How will he know? Does he know what Brat is?

I have a feeling Brat is one of those things where it's not Brat to aspire to be Brat.

JRoberts म्हणाले...

I remember auto makers used this shade of green on cars like Chevy Vegas, Ford Pintos and AMC Gremlins. Cheap, poorly designed and manufactured vehicles that barely survived the term of a two-year car loan. I believe Chrysler called the color GangGreen on their lousy Darts and Dusters.

There's a reason Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, etc. don't offer that color for their vehicles.

AlbertAnonymous म्हणाले...

The whole thing is manufactured kibuki where the politician’s staff thinks they’ll “connect” with the people. Instead of “actually” connecting with and trying to serve the people, they manufacture a facade of “connection”. So fake

Cacimbo म्हणाले...


Great marketing ploy by Charli xcx. I never heard of her, neither had my 14 year old ward. Now all media is pushing her album/music. She may have been well known to some, but she was not Taylor Swift famous. This is hyping her name more than any paid media. She benefits more than KH from this.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne म्हणाले...

Once again the youth of America pole vault over logic, common sense, all manner of complexity and declare themselves smarter than everyone else; then say they'll solve all problems with this one old weird trick.

Well, at least we get points for consistency.

rhhardin म्हणाले...

Kant's theory of aesthetics is based on disgust as the bedrock. The one thing that there's no theory for, which he found disgusting; and it was off to the races with a confusion of use and mention.

rastajenk म्हणाले...

That was a clever line, Quayle. Here's my simulated Upvote.

MadTownGuy म्हणाले...

House GOP leaders urge members: Stop making race comments about Harris *cough* Mike Johnson *cough*

Yet here we are, and the (D) Party isn't just pushing chartreuse, but Kamala Harris as a POC.

Any criticism of Harris, regardless of its substance, will be characterized as racist. When will the (D) Party stop using race as a way to promote Harris?

planetgeo म्हणाले...

Oh, what a coincidence...that looks amazingly like the HAMAS flag, you silly gooses. What next, all the Kamalettes wearing keffiyehs?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Hamas

Heartless Aztec म्हणाले...
ही टिप्पणी लेखकाना हलविली आहे.
Heartless Aztec म्हणाले...

Then there was that 1980 moment in Central Park in NYC when Simon and Garfunkel were singing to 500,000 people and they introduced "59th St Bridge Song - Feelin' Groovy" with an ironic laugh and glance when using the word groovy then almost 14 years past it's 1966 prime.

Bob Boyd म्हणाले...

When I was younger, everybody was crazy for blue and yellow and Zelensky was the new kid in town.
Now the cool kids are all gaga for Kamala and the color you'd see if Pepe the Frog whipped open his trench coat.

Birches म्हणाले...

That rappers publicist needs a raise. They injected themselves into every major news article giving their client tons of free advertising. But it's all fake designed to look grassroots.

Joe म्हणाले...

Green from the Palastine flag?

pacwest म्हणाले...

Mr Yuk

There are some good meme possibilities in that. Trump needs to get those old commercials into the public consciences first though.

Good catch mikee!

Mason G म्हणाले...

"She's into rap and "experimental sounds"."

Experimental sounds? I tried that the other day, the other people in the car weren't impressed. They didn't seem to care much for the fragrance, either.

Whiskeybum म्हणाले...

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...
Once again the youth of America pole vault over logic…


With today being the start of the Summer Olympics, I really like the imagery of this metaphor. I’d love to see Althouse comments contain more of these sports metaphors and similes during the next couple of weeks in honor of the MMXXIV Olympiad!

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

Just put a Ukrainian flag in a blender... you'll get green.

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

Just imagine the mixed colors of the Ukrainian flag. Don't destroy flags of U.S. allies. I'm not suggesting actual flag pulverization.

Oso Negro म्हणाले...

b>

Who are you? And what have you done with the real Althouse?

Rusty म्हणाले...

Ann Althouse said...
"Just imagine the mixed colors of the Ukrainian flag. Don't destroy flags of U.S. allies. I'm not suggesting actual flag pulverization."

I hope this is directed at our usual suspects, because the rest of us aren't that stupid.

"Yeah. I got this Ukrainian flag. I'm gonna put in our Hamilton Beach."
"Don't do that you'll break the blender.
"If it grinds it up fine enough it'll make the color green."
"You'll break the blander."
"It'll be cool. Watch."
(dumbass)

Caroline म्हणाले...

What a perfect synthesis of anthem and icon for the anti-culture of leftism! It reads “screw the red white and blue!” It may not be a winning message, but I give points for authenticity.
But that is not chartreuse! One of my favorite colors.chartreuse has way more yellow in it. Chartreuse is closer to the high visibility yellow worn by yellow vest guys.
Brat green is the visual expression for nausea. I’m not surprised that it’s suddenly avant garde among our decadent elites who aim to overturn all that is good, true and beautiful.

Jupiter म्हणाले...
ही टिप्पणी लेखकाना हलविली आहे.
RCOCEAN II म्हणाले...

1966 A groovy kind of love. Seems so, low energy. As for the color, color me unimpressive. And still NOT won over.

RCOCEAN II म्हणाले...

For the wearin' of the green
For the wearin' of the green
They're hangin' men and women
For the wearin' of the green

Paul Zrimsek म्हणाले...

It might help in Wisconsin, where they love them some brats.

I's have expected a link to a different video .

BUMBLE BEE म्हणाले...

Ah!... But will she wear her 'Swift' hat backwards?
That would be soooo groovy.

Mr. Forward म्हणाले...

"As for you political candidates, be careful using the word "brat" in Wisconsin." Althouse

"Bratwurst is typically longer and thicker than hot dogs" Wikipedia

"How Kamala Harris Leaned Into 'Brat' Trend" Newsweek

Jupiter म्हणाले...

Charlie XcX?


Yes!

Bob Boyd म्हणाले...

Just put a Ukrainian flag in a blender... you'll get green.

Victoria Nuland did just that. She got red. Lots and lots of red.

JK Brown म्हणाले...

"Brat"?

A badly behaved child, or woman behaving as a badly behaved child.

Also, indicative of needing to be taken in hand and corrected.

Do we want that in a president?

In the BDSM world, a brat is someone, usually a woman, who annoys and causes trouble to provoke the dominant to dominate and punish them.

Nice framing for a campaign to be a leader.

RideSpaceMountain म्हणाले...

""As for you political candidates, be careful using the word "brat" in Wisconsin." Althouse

"Bratwurst is typically longer and thicker than hot dogs" Wikipedia

"How Kamala Harris Leaned Into 'Brat' Trend" Newsweek"


Kamala Harris = BRATwurst Barbie. Don't worry about the footlongs...she can handle it.

Bob Boyd म्हणाले...

I guess a few people got green.

William म्हणाले...

Jupiter at 10:31 above links to Charli XCX's version of "I Want Candy". What she lacks in beauty, she makes up for in sex appeal, and it's a catchy tune. I would hope Trump starts using this for some of his rallies.

One Fine Day म्हणाले...

Between this and the Swiftian pushback on Vance's long-ago 'childless cat lady' the Kamala campaign has sewn up the AWFL and childless young catty girl votes.

I fail to see how that's going to bring black males back to the party. Maybe the campaign thinks the black men will vote the way the black women tell them?

Big Mike म्हणाले...

Oh shit! I just realized that autocorrect apparently stole an ‘r’ from the name of the dictionary in my comment at 8:25. Someday I will be good at proofreading my own typing, but today is not that day.

Rabel म्हणाले...

Yahoo! Do the Dew®

Jupiter म्हणाले...

"What she lacks in beauty, she makes up for in sex appeal"

I don't know that I would say she is necessarily "lacking" in beauty, but she sure as Hell knows how to shake those things. And the black panties with the see-through dress don't hurt, either. Well, they hurt. They hurt so good!

Kevin म्हणाले...

Jupiter at 10:31 above links to Charli XCX's version of "I Want Candy".

Lt. Lockhart : All right, Charli XCX and entourage are due here next week. I want someone to be there at the stage and stick with her for a couple of days. Uh, Rafterman, you take it.

Rafterman : Aye-aye, sir.

Lt. Lockhart : And get me some good low-angle stuff. Don't make it too obvious, but I want to see fur - and early morning dew.

KellyM म्हणाले...

I dunno, looks like Kermit the Frog green to me. Chartreuse tends to be a little more on the yellow side, sliding toward electric.

DavidD म्हणाले...

Oso Negro said...
“Nothing new under the sun. Many among us survived a few years of shag carpeting in that horrid hue in the early '70s.“

Only then, it was called avocado green.

We had it for carpeting, our refrigerator came in that color, and my dad even painted our kitchen cabinets avocado green so they would match the fridge.

I had forgotten all of that until just now.

Oh, and I always thought guacamole looked like baby poop.

JaimeRoberto म्हणाले...

Since Charli XCX isn't American, shouldn't her endorsement be considered foreign interference in our elections and a threat to Our Democracy? Impeach!

Joe Bar म्हणाले...

I object to the misappropriation of the term "Brat." I am a Brat. That means I am the child of military parents, who moved around extensively during my childhood. I wear the moniker proudly.

Jim at म्हणाले...

When will the (D) Party stop using race as a way to promote Harris?

When it stops working.

Josephbleau म्हणाले...

My first exposure to the concept of brat was at porn night in the old fraternity house. “The Brat” was a series of short subjects featuring a young actress who acted snotty and for that was suitably punished.

Don’t blame me, I was the victim in this sordid episode.

loudogblog म्हणाले...

"Groovy baby." - Austin Powers

Big Mike म्हणाले...

Today I learned that Kamala is not a Brat. She is a THOT.

Tougher every year to keep up with the young folks’ slang.

Big Mike म्हणाले...

Today I learned that Kamala is not a Brat. She is a THOT.

Tougher every year to keep up with the young folks’ slang.