Trends of the week
Twitter freaks out, asks #WillYouRideMRTAgain?
MANILA, Philippines - It’s a fair question and one that we need to take more seriously than ever. Queuing for miles for a bone-crushing ride on the MRT is one thing. Facing the possibility of being shot out of a station and into the highway, which is exactly what happened to dozens of unfortunate passengers this week, is quite another. With people already enraged, the MRT tweeted “we apologize for the inconvenience,” as if the prospect of dying was merely a nuisance akin to an absence of air conditioning. Your ineptitude has risen to life-threatening levels, MRT. Please adjust your choice of words accordingly.
Kris Aquino interviews Herbert Bautista, makes Twitter uncomfortable
People on Twitter couldn’t help but scream “awkward!” at Kris Aquino’s interview with Quezon City Mayor and ex-beau Herbert Baustista on Aquino and Abunda Tonight. To be fair, it wasn’t really so much of an “interview” as it was a post-break-up chat, only instead of gossip concerning common friends, it was a drug-bust-slapping incident involving a Chinese national that provided the much-needed “small” talk material. “Knowing you, bakit mo ginawa yun (why did you do it?),” Kris asked, after dropping other quasi-flirtatious bombs like “Siya may lisensya, ikaw wala pa (the Chinese national had a license and you don’t),” and “Ako magaling (I’m good at it),” in response to the Mayor’s sheepish admission of his math mediocrity. Twitter squirmed through it all, hoping one of them would finally pick up the check
Keifer Ravena is chill, the Internet not very much
A DLSU Archers fan poses for a picture with Ateneo Blue Eagles hoops star Keifer Ravena while flipping him the bird, and social media predictably goes nuts, making #RespectUAAPPlayers trend in all its humorlessness. A certain percentage of the Internet still thought it was funny, not least of all Ravena himself, who pleaded with everyone to stop the histrionics. Sports fandom is supposed to be ridiculous and hostile at the same time, which is why that picture was perfect.
Black America tweets: #IfTheyGunnedMeDown
Unarmed teenager Michael Brown was shot by police and introduced by the media via a picture of him allegedly flashing “gang signs.” Apparently, racial profiling doesn’t end in death. If that’s a gang sign, then 80 percent of people on Instagram should be incarcerated. #IfTheyGunnedMeDown trended in reaction to the racial profiling in media — the one racial profiling they could combat using Twitter — showing black people wearing work clothes or graduation togas next to them wearing casual clothes, or “gangsta” in mainstream media parlance. “If they gunned me down,” they tweeted, “I wonder what picture they would choose.” Sadly, we all know the answer.
Generations mourn Robin Williams
What happened on Twitter the day Robin Williams died perfectly encapsulates the world’s relationship not only with the late actor but with celebrity culture as a whole. Apart from the predictable #RIPRobinWilliams, the titles of some of his movies trended as well, with Mrs. Doubtfire, Dead Poets Society, What Dreams May Come and Good Will Hunting getting the most mentions. Remembering deceased actors for their memorable roles isn’t new, but I don’t recall the last celebrity death that led to an entire chunk of his body of work trending. This is of course a testament to how popular Williams is and how successful his movies were. It is also a demonstration of the transcendent power of pop culture — that people of practically all ages paid tribute to a man who had stayed for so long yet went so soon. When John Keating left the classroom this week, it didn’t matter what generation we are part of. We all stood on our desks and cried, “O captain, my captain” with unabashed sappiness.
* * *
Tweet the author @colonialmental.
