The Kamala don’t say brat challenge

In the ever-evolving landscape of political discourse, 2024 has ushered in an era where a candidate’s meme-ability presents a case study in cultural capital.

It all began innocuously enough. Vice President Kamala Harris, channeling her mother’s wisdom, quoted, “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” The right’s attempts to mock backfired as the internet, in its infinite wisdom, declared it camp. Suddenly, we’re living in a world where “coconut-pilled” is a political stance and “brat green” is a campaign color.

This rapid evolution of political communication is the logical conclusion of years of campaigns adapting to digital spaces. What’s surprising is the speed at which it’s happening and the eagerness of established politicians to dive headfirst into the meme pool.

The great context collapse

As campaigns shift from platform-led messaging to aesthetic-driven memes, we’re witnessing a profound loss of context. Rebecca Jennings notes in Vox that Harris’s internet presence speaks to her “wider ability to capture young people’s attention and energy, even when the memes themselves were barely legible to the average voter.” This legibility gap isn’t just between young and old; it’s between those fluent in internet culture and those who aren’t.

Amanda Hess of The New York Times writes: “The measure of a candidate’s charisma used to be, ‘Would you have a beer with her?’ Now it’s more like, ‘Are you willing to spend your evening editing a fancam-style video that sets her idiosyncrasies to pop music so effectively that they produce a pleasant narcotic effect?’”

It’s a bop. @ryanlong03 on X, note 4M views

The Brat pack: When pop culture becomes policy

Enter Charli XCX and her album “BRAT,” serving as the unlikely soundtrack to this political circus. With a single tweet declaring “kamala IS brat” the British pop star catapulted Harris into a cultural zeitgeist no focus group could have predicted. The Harris campaign, sensing an opportunity, embraced the aesthetic with gusto, splashing “brat green” across their social media—a color that Charli herself tells Arch Digest is “eye-catching in all the wrong ways.” Garish and bold, the color is perfectly emblematic of our current political climate.

@KamalaHQ on X

The irony? Despite the Twitter bio: “Providing context,” context becomes the first casualty as the campaign embraces the chaotic energy of meme culture.

The thin green line: Virality vs. cringe

As the memes multiply and the brat aesthetic seeps into every corner of Harris's campaign, a question emerges: How long can this last before it all comes crashing down in a heap of try-hard cringe? The Harris campaign is walking a tightrope between capturing lightning in a bottle and becoming the political equivalent of Steve Buscemi asking, “How do you do, fellow kids?”

As Molly Roberts warns, “There’s risk in trying to force something whose appeal comes precisely from the reality that it is unforced.” Remember Hillary’s “Pokémon Go to the polls” moment? Or the clunky co-opting of “Dark Brandon”? As much as I want coconut merch (and trust me, I do), there’s a fine line between organic virality and try-hard cringe. The line between capturing lightning in a bottle and becoming a cringe-worthy cautionary tale is perilously thin.

Anyway, I bought a Kamala Bi Pride Flag Mug.

So, what’s Kamala to do? As X user @julesterpak put it: “These types of movements are only culturally compelling if they feel organic and user/voter-driven. Once [an] institution, company, etc energy tries to capture the moment… it begins to feel corny.” 

@aherman2006 on X

The meme-ification of democracy

As we craft perfect coconut-themed reaction GIFs, larger questions loom. What does this meme-driven campaign mean for the future of political discourse? Are we sacrificing substance for style, policy for propaganda?

This digital fervor has undoubtedly energized previously apathetic voters, creating a new political language that resonates with the internet generation. But critics argue that the fixation on memes and vibes distracts from meaningful policy discussions and Harris’s own complex political history.

Meme or be memed

As we careen towards what promises to be the most chronically online election in history, one thing is clear: The rules of the game have changed. It’s no longer enough to have a solid platform and a firm handshake. In 2024, candidates need to be fluent in the language of the internet, ready to ride the waves of viral trends while somehow maintaining their dignity (good luck with that). 

The Harris campaign has stumbled into a moment of cultural alchemy that most politicians can only dream of. The question now is whether they can sustain this energy without losing the substance that should underpin any serious bid for the presidency (or letting it consuming them whole).

In the words of the great philosopher Charli XCX, “I’m so high grade, call me your honor.” Whether that honorific extends all the way to the highest office in the land remains to be seen. But one thing’s for sure: It’s going to be one hell of a brat summer.

—Carly 🥥🌴

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Links

• Emmet Shine shared a 178-page deck on ‘Building & Creativity in the Age of AI’; I’m such a sucker for a Google Doc shared online

• Microsoft says meeting time has TRIPLED since 2020, checks out!

• Figma Brand Man Damien Correll shared a thread on the work that went into the brand for this year’s Config, read more in the article where we recapped it (Related: Our magazine, The Prompt, is now available in the Figma Store)

The Prompt, a magazine from Figma

• Online Ceramics founders are parting ways, by Sam Hine for GQ

• Women are disappearing from tech

• A quick rewrite from Lulu Cheng Meservey of what the CrowdStrike CEO should’ve tweeted

• Nicholas Cage drinks two strawberry flavored C4s every day, ~500 mg of caffeine

• In the time that it took me to write this newsletter, my feed has filled with several more Kamala/brat/coconut/Venn diagram memes…