The Acolyte Lead Amandla Stenberg Claims Star Wars Series Was The Target Of Hyper-Conservative Bigotry From The Alt-Right Bounding Into Comics
Follow this link:
The Acolyte Lead Amandla Stenberg Claims Star Wars Series Was The Target Of Hyper-Conservative Bigotry From The Alt-Right - Bounding Into Comics
Tags:
Lets cut to the chase: Hawk tuah, the meme currently tearing up the internet, is a reference to a classic bedroom method where a willing partner spits on an erect penis beforeor duringfellatio to increase the total lubrication. The verbiage here is intended to replicate the onomatopoeic ricochet effect of coughing up a loogie. Read it slowly: hawk tuah. Get it?
You are justified in wondering why this is trending. Well, in June, a pretty 21-year-old named Hailey Welch was flagged down by a pair of Instagram hustlers who go by Tim & Dee. The pair specialize in a brand of R-rated woman-on-the-street interviews, which have become quite the popular format on social media. Welch, who was clearly a few shooters deep and having a good time, was asked about what she does in bed to make a man go crazy every time. Welch responded that she opts for a good old-fashioned hawk tuah. You gotta spit on that thang, she added.
For reasons that are eldritch and unknowable, Welchs interview clip went massively viral. She was christened the hawk tuah girl, with her mythically profane sex tip being remixed over and over again across TikTok, Instagram, and the platform formerly known as Twitter. (For instance, TikTok user Armando Vasquez uploaded a video captioned with, When people ask my wife, how do you get him to buy you so much jewelry? The answer? Hawk tuah.)
Welch has since turned into a burgeoning social media star. She made her formal debut into public society with an appearance on a Barstool podcast hosted by alpha influencer Bri LaPagliacalled, you guessed it, PlanBriwhere Welch revealed some more biographical information. (Apparently she was working in a bed spring factory? Peoples lives, man.) Welch also cameoed on stage at a Zach Bryan show, and Tuesday, news broke that she had signed with an agent to further nurture her burgeoning influencer career. (I can only assume that the first episode of the Hawkcast is right around the corner.)
So yes, Hailey Welch is savoring her brief notoriety, which was meted out through a distinctly circa-2024 channel. Heres the strange thing, though. For some reason, hawk tuah is being coded as a slyly conservative slogan. Reporter Reese Gorman noticed a few Donald Trump supporters in Virginia donning shirts that read SPIT ON THAT THANG below a Shepard Faireyish image of the former president. (Are they saying that Trump gives sloppy toppy? wrote one confused poster.) Another frequent Trump booster on X added that Welch fundamentally expressed conservative values, and shes also been a hit in the New York Post comment section. But the most illustrative vector in Welchs right-wing brand overhaul, as pointed out in journalist Max Reads newsletter on the phenomenon, was when a golf fan shouted hawk tuah after Bryson Dechambeaurenowned for his huge drives and dogmatic MAGA boostingteed off at a recent LIV Golf event. The meme has officially left containment. Nothing means anything anymore.
Welch herself has kept her politics to herself, but thus far, her media appearances have been marked with a frat boy MAGA texture. Once you find yourself mired in the Barstool junket, it is tough to leave. Maybe thats because Trump and the rest of his political project have worked so hard to enshrine a fuck-your-feelings attitude toward personal conduct that even the mildest of tabooslike, say, the endorsement of a lubrication tacticis embraced by MAGA-dom. (Consider the Dicks Out for Harambe slogan, an ironic salutation to a slain gorilla that, inexplicably, became a pro-Trump dog whistle among the alpha wave of the alt-right in 2017.)
But again, Welchs actual electoral leanings remain a mystery. This became a mild fracas within hard-right media this week when veteran conspiratorialist Laura Loomer tweeted that Welch disavowed Trump during her interview with LaPaglia. (In fact, Welch had only said she wouldnt give the hawk tuah treatment to the former president, not that she wouldnt vote for him.)
I am not a political scientist, but I dont think there is a better way to symbolize the branding problem that is currently sinking the Democrats to oblivion than the fact that a viral blow job moment has been immediately codified by the right. This is beyond ironic, as the Trump platform is set to wage an unprecedented war on American sexual freedom. Contraception rights are under siege, abortion access has been curtailed dramatically in many states, state houses are attempting to scrub all pornographic material off the web, and major activists in the party are rallying against what they define as recreational sex. And yet, despite the deeply unseemly and massively unpopular puritanical streak hamstringing the Republican Party, a woman like Welch is almost reflexively ushered into the movement. It doesnt make sense.
Max Read, in his newsletter, theorized that Welch has been indoctrinated into something he refers to as the Zynternetreferring to the nicotine pouch brand that has become wildly popular, and inexplicably MAGA-coded, in and around SEC frat houses. Reads point is there exists a massive undercurrent of Americans who have been shoveled under a nonspecific Republican banner despite the fact that their only interfacing with the internetand therefore, politicscomes in the form of sports gambling, LIV Golf tournaments, and the sort of podcasts that are eager to interview the hawk tuah girl, without a whiff of social justice consciousness in sight. While the Zynternet is broadly conservative, its never quite as committed, partisan, or ideological as some of its adjacent networks would like, wrote Read.
This rhymes with a recent segment on The Ezra Klein Show, where he asserted that the ideological divide in America has less to do with party polarization and is far more related to the fact that Trump, consistently, is winning huge swaths of Americans who dont follow any political news whatsoever. The numbers are stark. According to a poll by NBC, Trump is winning the non-political-news-consuming demographic by 26 points.
All of this has skewed the optics about what it means to be political in 2024. If youre a member of the Zynternetwhich is to say, you do not advertise precise ideological stances, your Instagram stories are not constantly paneled with causes you care about, and you tend to wield the internet for the pursuit of pleasure and nothing elsethen you will be perceived to be right wing. And frankly, that is not a sustainable electoral model. The Democrat experience should not be a gantlet of soul-crushing fury and anxiety. The party must make room for people who enjoy life and all of its beautiful frivolities, whichif were being brutally honestis the default setting all of humanity should be aspiring toward. We shall all come together at the DNC, hand in hand, and spit on that thang.
Read the original here:
Hawk tuah girl: How she became a bizarre and unwitting icon for the alt-right. - Slate
The Boys season 4 episode 6 which is suitably titled 'Dirty Business' has the challenging task of following on from the pretty wild events of the last installment. As you may recall, last week's episode was total farm-ageddon as the team battled a group of seriously V-d-up animals, Hughie lost his dad and Vought news anchor Cameron Coleman was beaten to death by The Seven.
This week, the titular team infiltrate an alt-right cocktail party, which quickly takes a pretty nasty turn strap in folks, this is easily the most NSFW episode of the entire fourth season. Elsewhere, Butcher is having his own issues trying to create more doses of the anti-Supe Virus, with a shocking twist that sets up future episodes.
With that, there's plenty to unpack, so join us as we dive right into The Boys season 4 episode 6. Warning! The following features plenty of spoilers for The Boys season 4 episode 6, so make sure you have watched the latest episode before reading on!
We pick up with Butcher, Joe Kessler, and their hostage Sameer, as the former two put pressure on the latter to make more doses of the anti-Supe Virus. The duo give him a week to "make something strong enough to top Homelander".
Elsewhere, Hughie, alongside his mom and the rest of The Boys, scatter his late father's ashes on the Maid in Manhattan tour it's what he would have wanted. Kimiko then goes to visit Frenchie in jail but she is told he refused her visitation, while MM receives a call from a panicking A-Train who informs him about Coleman's death and demands a meeting.
The Boys come up with a plan to infiltrate an alt-right party at Tek Knight's estate which is the main setting of the episode, where Hughie poses as drug-addicted Supe Webweaver. That's a pretty dangerous move given that The Seven are also at the gathering... And like with any party, there's plenty of awkward conversation as Tek brags to the working class Firecracker about being rich and discusses his family's slave-owning past with A-Train.
Hughie manages to successfully get into the manor where he plants several bugs, before Tek invites him to his 'Tek Cave' to audition to be his side-kick. In truth, the cave is a grim sex dungeon and Hughie is in trouble, as Tek and Vought's Ashley subject him to their increasingly toe-curling kinks. Before long, Tek senses something's off and unmasks Hughie, then threatens to make holes in his body to well, penetrate them.
Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox
Concerned about the radio silence from Hughie, Annie, Kimiko, and MM head into the party themselves. There, Annie encounters Firecracker who is upset over Sage and Homelander ignoring her all night. Annie apologizes for her past actions before drugging Firecracker to remove her from the scene.
Kimiko and MM then come across Sage, who begins to make digs at his family. Things escalate to the point of MM shooting the Supe in the head, but has a panic attack following her comments and passes out. Seeking help, Kimiko brings A-Train into the room, encouraging him to get MM to safety. He drops MM off at a local hospital, where he encounters a young boy excited to see the hero, giving A-Train a sense of fulfilment.
Annie and Kimiko finally reach the dungeon where they save a traumatized Hughie and torture Tek by donating all his money to charities he hates, such as Black Lives Matter. Eventually Tek breaks, revealing to The Boys that Homelander wants to turn his private prisons into internment camps, which causes his long-serving butler to murder him.
"I've cleaned cum out of more holes than you can believe, but internment camps?!" he says, having throttled his former boss and revealing that the safe word was "Zendaya". Good to know the guy has some sort of conscious...
Also at the party, Homelander's plan to convince a bunch of rich assholes to support The Seven's power-hungry schemes is thrown off course thanks to Sage's brain damage following the shooting. He takes things into his own hands giving a lecture on how useless politician Robert Singer is, and asking those in the room to invoke the 25th amendment which will give Homelander significant power. After facing some backlash Neuman steps in, winning them over with a strong speech.
Meanwhile at Vought Tower, the actor portraying Black Noir expresses to The Deep his frustrations about being part of The Seven, emphasizing that he wants to quit. However, The Deep convinces him to stay by opening up about how killing turned the previous Black Noir on, saying "violence is power".
Following the party, Homelander asks Firecracker where she was that night she tells him that Annie was there and Tek is dead, revealing that Coleman isn't the leak after all. Wanting to demonstrate her love to Homelander, she invites him to breastfeed from her which, well, certainly wins him over. If there's one thing Homelander likes, it's breast milk.
During the episode, Butcher is also having his own struggles, talking to an imaginary Becca and his friend Joe about what to do with Ryan. In the final scenes, we once again see Billy and Joe put Samir under pressure to create another dose of the virus. He reveals that a drug strong enough to kill Homelander would evolve into something unstable, airborne, highly contagious, and lethal to every Supe on Earth - including Ryan.
Joe is delighted by the news telling Butcher this is how they wipe them all out, but the imaginary Becca tells him not to go along with this. Then it happens - as Becca and Joe starting arguing with each other, Butcher realizes that the latter only exists in his head too. Imaginary Kessler confirms this, saying that Butcher left the real Joe to die and that he killed Ezekiel (who mysteriously died earlier on in the season). The final shot of Butcher's face says it all - this can't be good at all.
Webweaver: This Supe makes his debut in the episode, as The Boys steal his superhero outfit so Hughie can wear it as a disguise at the party. In the comics Webweaver is a Spider-Man parody, able to create his own organic web. Not much else is known about the Supe there given his reserved personality but we do know that his death ultimately led to the creation of The Boys team.
Tek Knight: Following his appearance in episode 5, this Supe certainly has his impact on this installment as we enter his Tek Cave a.k.a. his horrific sex dungeon. For more on the Iron Man inspired Supe, check out our who is Tek Knight guide.
Laddio: When Hughie enters the Tek Cave, he spots another person gagged and tied up in the corner of the room. We can safely assume this is Laddio, who is Tek Knight's side-kick in the comics and a parody of Batman's Robin. Here whilst Tek calls him a "side-kick" he is a sex slave who eventually breaks free from his chains to help The Boys torture the Supe.
The anti-Supe Virus: This has been mentioned a few times this season but here we learn that it could potentially cause a pandemic that might kill off every Supe on the planet. It first introduced in spin-off show Gen V and you can learn more about it with our Supe Virus guide.
120 Days of Sodom: When Kimiko is searching for how to open the door to Tek Knight's dungeon, she comes across this book by writer Marquis de Sade. The unfinished novel is often cited as being one of the most obscene stories ever, following four men as they seek the ultimate sexual gratification. It's placement here then ties in well with what goes on in the Tek Cave.
The Boys Season 4 episodes 1 - 6 are available to stream on Amazon Prime Video right now with new episodes dropping every Thursday. For more on The Boys, check out the rest of our coverage:
Read more here:
The Boys season 4 episode 6 recap and Easter eggs: an alt-right cocktail party takes a nasty turn - Gamesradar
Ultra right-wing nutjob supe Firecracker is one of the latest characters to join the cast of The Boys in season 4, and actress Valorie Curry is elated to be mocking her character and the people she represents in real-life.
Introduced in the latest season of Amazons satirical superhero show, Firecracker is shaping up to be a powerful antagonist this season as she begins spouting conspiracy theories and anti-LGBTQI+ rhetoric in the show. Mirroring Trump-era politics, the show is commenting on the way that politicians hold sway over followers increasingly detached from reality.
Speaking to The Advocate, Curry said that she loves playing Firecracker because I think it should be one of our own that gets to make an ass out of her, that gets to satirise and make a clown out of her.
And also, to lampoon these people and their absurdity and their ignorance and their violence, Im glad its coming from within the community, getting to take these shots.
The Boys has never shied away about including incisive commentary on the real world, with series villian Homelander reflecting the height of American fascism and an early storyline openly tackling sexual assault post-#MeToo.
Now, in season 4, Firecracker is being used to reflect the real world hatred of hardcore Trump supporters like Kristi Noem and Lauren Boebert as she overtly punches down on the LGBTQI+ community.
Often some of the worst things that Firecracker says are quotes from elected officials, says Curry, and so Im glad they didnt make it general and they didnt soften it. I hope it serves that purpose, to show really whats happening. And yes, she is a joke, but this isnt a joke.
Meanwhile, The Boys season 4 has been stirring up an alleged controversy for being politically charged, despite the fact that the show has been overtly mocking right-wing culture and politics since its debut in 2019.
After being review-bombed on Rotten Tomatoes, the fourth season of the show currently sits at 51% with reviewers lamenting that the show has gone downhill or, even worse, gone woke.
However, for showrunner Eric Kripke, thats always been the point. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he said that hes perfectly fine if he loses audiences with his views.
New episodes of The Boys air every Thursday, with four episodes having already been released.
Continue reading here:
Lesbian The Boys Actress Valorie Curry Glad Shes Mocking The Alt-Right - Star Observer