In 2017, Squishmallows, a new line of soft toys by Kellytoy, hit the shelves. Only four years later, you’d be hard pressed to find a young person without one somewhere in their bedroom.
The stuffed toys are best described as both adorable and unbelievably soft. They come in a multitude of sizes, shapes,...
Jane the Virgin centres around a young woman obsessed with writing, thinking about, and living out romance novels. As the title indicates, the series initially centres around Jane saving her virginity until marriage—a commitment which is complicated when she’s accidentally artificially inseminated.
If...
Over the past decade, it’s started to appear as if Hollywood is incapable of creating anything new.
From the recent Star Wars sequel trilogy to what feels like the hundredth Batman reboot in the last two decades, popular characters and franchises are being continuously reinvented, reimagined, and...
Last weekend, I was snuggled up on the couch scrolling through Amazon Prime, browsing for a good flick to take my mind off all the studying I was neglecting. I stumbled across the trailer for Chemical Hearts, a teen drama starring Lili Reinhart (Riverdale) and Austin Abrams (Euphoria). It seemed like...
Pop Smoke’s Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon and Juice WRLD’s Legends Never Die dropped in July of this summer. Both works come after the deaths of their respective artists.
The concept of a posthumous piece of artwork often lands in an ethical grey area. Fans and critics are left to consider...
I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to feel like 2020 is an absolute dumpster fire.
COVID-19 has turned the world upside down, and everyone who once vowed that “2020 is going to be my year” is eating their words.
However, I think people have an unfortunate tendency to focus on the bad and ignore...
With the release of her first full-length album since 2015, Rare, Selena Gomez has delivered an empowering message about loving yourself and removing toxic relationships from your life.
The album’s title track, “Rare,” immediately offers an exciting start to the album’s trajectory. Gomez says goodbye...
Netflix released the second season of You at the end of December, proving to viewers just how much an attractive white man can get away with in our society.
The series follows Joe (Penn Badgley), a seemingly ordinary bookstore manager with a tendency to obsessively stalk women, murdering anyone who...
It’s hard enough to remember what we had for breakfast last week, let alone all of the crazy pop culture moments of the past year.
To preserve and commemorate the best parts of the last 12 months, we decided to collect five mementos for our 2019 pop culture time capsule. We hope that when we eventually...
“Raptors are second in the East without Kawhi.” Diana Mirsu, ArtSci ’22
“Selena Gomez just got matching tattoos with Julia Michaels.” Julia Yu, Comm ’22
“A luxury brand (Prada) signed a sustainability deal.” Jenny Zhu, Comm ’22
Women in pop culture have always been subject to overwhelming (and, frankly, stupid) criticism for absolutely everything they do.
What follows is a list of women and genderqueer people that society tried to convince me were monsters by incorrectly labelling them ‘sluts,’ ‘traitors,’ and ‘idiots.’
Some...
This month marks the anniversary of the film Twilight’s release more than 10 years ago, which sent the world into a frenzy.
As the first of the saga’s eventual five blockbusters, Twilight marked the beginning of the book-to-movie franchise’s pop culture domination. In the fall of 2008, its girl-meets-vampire...
This July, Disney announced that Black actress and R&B singer Halle Bailey will star as Ariel in its upcoming remake of The Little Mermaid. This decision marks the first time a woman of colour will play a traditionally white heroine in one of Disney’s live-action adaptations. It’s an...
Early in May, Netflix gave us The Last Summer, the platform’s newest star-studded teen rom-com. In the wake of last year’s successful Netflix originals, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and The Kissing Booth, this film had the chance to be the next iconic film for hopeless romantics. Instead, it...
The 2018-19 year in pop culture has been nothing short of eventful. From band reunions to star-studded scandals, each week has brought something new to gab about.
It’s time we break down the year’s most important moments in pop culture, both good and bad.
Peaks
Jonas Brothers are back
Ally: Like...
Eighth grade is the peak of adolescence, marked by overwhelming amounts of uncontrolled hormones and coloured braces. While most of our lives now are wildly different compared to how they were in middle school, one element will always remain the same: the quality of your favourite early 2010s banger.
Here...
While this year’s Oscars are still a month away, the award ceremony’s already found itself clouded in controversy. The show will be hostless for the first time since 1989, leaving the focus solely on the awards for the film industry’s biggest night.
Here are some predictions on who will leave...
Netflix’s latest thriller-drama, You, is smart, bizarrely compelling, and wildly popular. But the show’s excellence doesn’t excuse how it romanticizes stalking women, whether intended or not.
You excels in subverting traditional rom-com expectations while exposing the pitfalls of dating in the...
Jameela Jamil is about to be your new favourite badass.
Joining the ranks of empowering female celebrities like Serena Williams, Chrissy Teigen, and Lorde, Jamil is the unfiltered, unedited, and unapologetic media presence the world needs right now. She’s the rare celebrity who challenges social expectations...
A massive marketing campaign of models and influencers extolled the inaugural Fyre Festival’s glamour, promising a weekend of high caliber musicians, gourmet meals, and luxury accommodations.
In reality, attendees were housed in rain-soaked hurricane shelters and fed cheese sandwiches in Styrofoam...
In the age of YouTube and Spotify, K-pop (Korean pop music) has become a global phenomenon that plays a remarkable role in the country’s growing economy.
K-pop artists experiment with a wide range of musical genres, including electronic, hip hop, pop, rock, and R&B. Besides having catchy tunes,...
If you’re like me, you probably took one look at the winter snow and thought, “Wow, I’m not going outside again until spring.” Luckily, there are plenty of new TV shows coming out over the next few months to keep us company as we lay in our beds wrapped in three layers of blankets.
Here are some...
As 2018 comes to an end, it can be challenging to remember all that’s happened over the past 12 months of pop culture insanity.
In an effort to preserve and commemorate the best parts of this year, we decided to collect six mementos for our 2018 pop culture time capsule. Hopefully, when we eventually...
This weekend was full of drama surrounding Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson’s fresh breakup.
Davidson jokingly proposed to musical guest Maggie Rogers in a preview for a new episode of Saturday Night Live and Grande responded in now-deleted tweets, saying, “for somebody who claims to hate relevancy...
One of the most underrated benefits of Halloween is the opportunity to show off your proficiency in pop culture. Luckily, this year provided a treasure trove of ridiculous celebrity moments to turn into jaw-dropping costumes.
The Journal compiled three costume ideas guaranteed to garner some praise...
People who disparage pop culture to make a point don’t just exclude themselves from the conversation—they disrespect the power of diverse audiences.
A guilty pleasure is something a person enjoys despite that thing not being held in high regard. More often than not, the term also applies overwhelmingly...
The 2017-2018 year hasn’t disappointed us with a mecca of pop culture cringe-worthy moments and uplifting memories.
It’s time to break down the best and worst of this year.
Peaks
Grammys diversifies nominees
Shivani: While there’s a diverse range of races in the music industry, this usually isn’t...
What do XXXTentacion and Chuck Close have in common? Not only have they both been accused of sexual violence, but both have devoted fans who continue to consume their work.
Actions matter. Buying into art created by harmful people legitimizes the behaviour of the artist. Advocating for those impacted...
Halloween is one of the best times of the year and Halloween costumes are one of the greatest opportunities to show the world you’re more creative than your peers.
The perfect Halloween costume has some basic criteria. Your costume must show that you’re caught up with current popular culture....
The next time you find yourself out dancing at a club, have a close listen to the blaring music.
What you’ll find is a lineup of hit tracks straight off the assembly line. In today’s monotonous musical landscape of shimmering EDM tracks, beat drops and catchy hooks, the adage “good artists...