This week, the kids are raging against work, throwing cheese at cars, and enjoying the trailer for the new Spider-Man movie. Youth is wasted on the young.
Why is everyone “antiwork?”
In a growing trend led by fresh-to-adulthood workers, the antiwork movement is spreading fast online. R/antiwork’s motto is “Unemployment for all, not just the rich,” and it’s one of Reddit’s faster growing communities, with over a million users posting stories of sticking it to their employers, sharing tips on wringing a fair deal out of stingy bosses, and generally emboldening one another to demand fair pay and livable working conditions.
It’s not all memes and online bravado though. There are also quixotic campaigns to boycott McDonalds until they pay their workers $25 an hour, and a movement to eschew Black Friday entirely. It’s hard to say how far the movement is spreading offline, but there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence of spontaneous employment actions on TikTok, and pro-work financial companies are starting to notice, too: Goldman Sachs recently pointed to r/antiwork as evidence of a potential “long-run risk” to labor force participation, citing the group’s general distaste for work. (Hey, Goldman Sachs: Everyone has always had a general distaste for work. They’re just honest enough to say it out loud.)
TikTok is combating dangerous challenges
In a serious blow to much of the content of this weekly column, TikTok is combating the spread of dangerous and stupid challenges on its platform. In a press release, the company said it was making an effort to inform teens and parents about harmful trends like the Milk Crate Challenge, while acknowledging that challenges like the Ice Bucket challenge are good clean fun. TikTok has also improved “the language used in our warning labels that would appear to people who attempt to search our platform for content related to harmful challenges or hoaxes,” as well as laying out general tactics for spotting, avoiding, and not-spreading dangerous or fake content. For more information, you can check out TikTok’s safety page.
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TikTok pranksters cheesing off motorists
Speaking of dangerous trends from TikTok, a Colorado Springs woman was forced to bring her car to a car wash three times this week after a series of vicious cheesing incidents. Unknown cheese-salients, apparently inspired by TikTok, threw slices of American at the woman’s auto.“Why is there cheese on my car? What is going on here?” The woman asked a local reporter.
She also said she’s grateful (get it?) that her car wasn’t egged, because it’s harder to get off. “Leave me brie!” the woman did not add, “It’s nacho car.”
Halo Infinite multiplayer launches
Everyone is playing Halo Infinite this week, from older cats who remember the glory days of Halo multiplayer, to kids who are experiencing it for the first time. The latest entry in the series, Halo Infinite, is a return to form for the franchise. It jettisons some of the “innovations” of more recent titles in favor of stripped down run-and-gun action of classics like Halo 3. It even does the older games one better: The online multiplayer is free in Infinite,, and you don’t have to buy the campaign to play it.
Spider-man: No Way Home trailer wins the internet
The trailer for the new Spider-man movie has only been up for a day, and almost 36 million people have already watched it. I’d say consumer interest is very high. Judging from the trailer, No Way Home strikes the perfect Spider-man tone of heroic action mixed with adolescent energy. Plus, it’s crammed full of favorite Spider-verse villains. Dr. Strange, The Green Goblin, Electro, and Doctor Octopus are all on hand. We even get a little bonus J. Jonah Jameson action for fans of cranky old editors.
The trailer drops some intriguing hints that someone special will blast through a portal in the new flick too. Maybe the heroes from the Avengers? Maybe other versions of Spider-man? Maybe a surprise cameo from The Thumper? All these questions and more will be answered when Spider-Man: No Way Home comes to theaters on December 17.
Viral video of the week: Honest Trailers takes on ‘Dune’
This week’s viral video comes from Screen Junkies’ long-running “honest trailers” series, as they’ve found a perfect subject for parody in Dune. Dune is a top-notch movie, but it’s so serious and ponderous, it practically begs for someone to take the piss out of it. And the piss is thoroughly taken in this fake trailer, including renaming the main character “Sad Boy Paul,” pointing out that Dune is really a movie about getting high while your workaholic parents are distracted. All of that, plus Sting in metal underwear!
