Timothée Chalamet angers opera singers and ballerinas, Harry Styles’ new album debuts to middling reviews, and Donna Kelce’s home renovation becomes the internet’s favorite distraction. But first:
Slang of the Week: “Big Chungus Life”
“Big Chungus” is the internet’s name for the overweight version of Bugs Bunny, but the phrase “Big Chungus life” has come to represent a sort of tongue-in-cheek, nihilistic self-view that teens often adopt. A phrase like “rip my big chungus life” could be a mostly ironic, but somewhat genuine response to spilling your $7 latte on your way to school or your girlfriend breaking up with you. It’s important to note that it’s very rarely a genuine representation of despair, but that doesn’t mean teens won’t use irony to hide true grief.
And now for our three conversations..
1. Timothée vs. the Tutu
What it is: The feud no one saw coming. In a town hall discussion with Matthew McConaughey, Oscar-nominated actor Timothée Chalamet took a shot at the classical arts, saying, “I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera, or things where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive,’ even though it’s like, ‘No one cares about this anymore.’”
Why the internet clapped back: Ballet companies, opera houses, and musicians began posting responses, including Reels showing packed theaters and breathtaking performances. Dancer Anna Yliaho wrote that “only an insecure artist tears down another discipline to elevate their own,” while mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard called the comment “narrow-minded.” But the moment struck a nerve for another reason, too. Opera companies are navigating financial strain, ballet companies are running deficits, and many artists wonder if they can make these hundred-year-old art forms commercially sustainable in today’s world.
Continue the conversation: Why do you think some people had such strong responses to Chalamet’s comments?
2. Styles Over Substance
What it is: Harry Styles’ fourth studio album, Kiss All the Time, Disco Occasionally, was released last week to a tepid response.
Why reviews do not equal popularity: While most reviews of the album spend their time pointing out Styles’ noncommittal, “decaf” attempt to make some dance-pop, it’s worth asking what teens see in the eclectic, fashion-forward popstar and his music. For sure, Kiss All the Time, Disco Occasionally borrows a lot of its sound from other artists, including LCD Soundsystem and Phoenix; but those artists don’t normally sell out Madison Square Garden for 30 days at $1000 a ticket. In the age of Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter, ethos, persona, and charisma are often seen as equally important as musical aptitude. Say what you will about Styles’ music, but he’s got these latter qualities down.
Continue the conversation: Why do you think Harry Styles is popular?
3. Condo Maximum
What it is: News that Donna Kelce, mother of Travis and Jason Kelce, is remodeling her “modest Florida home” went viral over the weekend. TMZ broke the story on March 7, and their X post garnered over 30 million views. Even the Empire State Building posted about it.
Why everybody is talking about it: On March 9th, ESPN confirmed that Travis Kelce would return to play for the Chiefs for one more season—but this news was overshadowed by a headline from a different Kelce family member. The 73-year-old mother of Travis and Jason plans to redo her 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom home in Orlando with plans to replace 9 windows and 6 doors. You might be wondering: why is Axis covering this, or anybody else, for that matter? Perhaps this story caught everyone’s attention simply because of how inoffensive it is, in the midst of a heavy news cycle of conflict, death, and economic uncertainty.
Let’s translate this one further…
Every generation lives through key historical events, like JFK’s assassination, the Watergate scandal, and the moon landing.
This home renovation is clearly not one of those, but the internet quickly turned it into a meme. “Millennials have lived through: 2 recessions, 9/11, iraq and afghanistan, a global pandemic, 8 stock market crashes, donna kelce home renovation,” one user on X wrote.
This collective comedic response to the domestic simplicity of a home renovation going viral points to our fatigue about “unprecedented” world events. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, it feels like the words “historic” and “unprecedented” show up in every other headline, and it’s exhausting. Plus, we are not just grieving pain for our own communities, but grieving pain from around the globe, and that is a lot for any one person to hold.
Since sin entered the world, heartbreaking things have happened every day. But, because of globalization and infinite social media feeds, our perception of how often those things happen has been warped. We are notified of things happening all around the world as soon as they happen and we can watch them from a hundred different angles and hear a hundred different takes about them.
It gives me great hope to know that God is omnipresent, meaning he is present everywhere. Our phones can sometimes make us feel like we are that way, too, but we are not. When we notice the news exhausting us, that might be an invitation from God to notice our finitude.
News of Mama Kelce’s home renovation was a brief but sweet reprieve from the violence, anger, and hate that are so often sprawled on the front pages of our newspapers or newsfeeds. If the most exciting thing happening in the world really was a home renovation, I bet we would all feel a lot more at peace. And it felt, for a moment, like that was true.
Until Jesus returns, our newsfeeds will continue to be filled with stories that are heartbreaking, sad and confusing. But, there are moments when the light breaks through, and we are reminded that there are good things happening too—even when that’s just a mom of some famous football players adding a little magic to her home.
For more context and nuance, check out our Roundtable podcast on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts. In the meantime, here are three questions to help you continue the conversation with your teens:
- What unprecedented events have you lived through?
- Do you ever get tired of the news?
- What is something good happening in the world right now?
Parenting together,
Jenna Mindel and the Axis Team
In Other News…
- Miami Heat player Bam Adebayo scored 83 points in a game this week, passing Kobe Bryant’s 81 points for the second-most points in a single game in NBA history. (Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game from 1962 still stands as the #1 record.)
- According to the Wall Street Journal (paywall), Gen Z is driving a resurgence in mall shopping, with many malls redesigning public spaces to be more “photogenic” and social-media friendly, as well as popular online stores like Edikted opening brick-and-mortar locations.
- For some middle schoolers, the word “burger” is now funny, thanks to a clip from Disney+’s show Just Beyond going viral, alongside absurd TikTok edits like this one.
- The controversial AI-generated “actress” Tilly Norwood was featured in a new music video, in which she was made to sing verses like “AI’s not the enemy, it’s the key.”
- According to an article from Fortune (paywall), Gen Z is becoming more skeptical of TikTok, with 53 percent saying TikTok feels more commercial than it did a year ago, and 72 percent agreeing that content now feels more staged and performative.
PS: Know someone who could use our conversation starters with their teens? Share the CT with a friend!