THE
HURON EMERY
brat
@THEHURONEMERY
HURON HIGH SCHOOL, 2727 FULLER RD., ANN ARBOR MI 48105
VOL. 10 ISSUE 1
The intersection of a TikTok trend and politics
ISHA SAVI ZINE/COPY EDITOR
“brat” was born in the heat of the summer.* The blown-out black lowercase letters against a bright, almost obnoxious green showed the world exactly what the album meant to creator Charli xcx: defiance. Defining this album as her “most aggressive and confrontational record,” Charli combined her hyperpop sensibilities with piercing vulnerability and created a worldwide phenomenon that has seeped into everything from pop culture to the 2024 election. If one wants to understand brat, they have to understand its marketing. One of the first tactics used was the brat wall in Williamsburg, New York. Charli kicked off her album release with a live performance in front of the infamous green wall. Since its release, the wall had been revamped to promote new remixes and deluxe versions until its final message “ok, bye!” was posted on July 2. If you have been online since its drop, you have undoubtedly seen this same concept on a smaller scale. Charli’s audience has been using the font and coloring of the album to do everything from making fun of it to informing city residents about heat safety. Charli fed this by creating an official brat generator that allowed her audience to participate in this mass inside joke. Her
tongue-in-cheek participation in the world of brat left a giant mark on pop culture, creating something much bigger than itself. On an overall scale, the biggest factor that made brat as influential as it is was the phenomenon known as “brat Summer.” brat Summer has proved itself to be the antithesis of everything the early 2020s have stood for so far. In a world of clean girls and neutral tones, brat summer revived the vibrant, messy vibe that Charli was known for in the 2010s. She brought Internet it-girls like model Gabriette and influencer Quen Blackwell onto her music videos and made iconic remixes, giving her audience exactly what they would’ve hoped for. The album itself is chock-full of pop culture references from the line “I’m everywhere, I’m so Julia” in reference to the prolific Julia Fox to the heartfelt dedication to artist Sophie on “So I”. Charli describes a brat as “that girl who is a little messy and likes to party and maybe says some dumb things sometimes, who feels herself, but then also maybe has a breakdown, but kind of parties through it.” She created an escape from enforced perfection and created a space for her audience to go feral. So what does this have to do with the election? Charli posted her infamous “kamala IS brat.” tweet on July 21 of this year, being the catalyst for what would become a
deeply memeable campaign. Soon after the tweet came out, Harris put up a Twitter banner that read “kamala hq” in the renowned brat format. Both Harris and Charli indulged in the defining trait of Gen-Z humor: meta-irony. Meta-irony describes a joke format in which a statement or bit is layered with so much irony that the true meaning is essentially gone. The statement “kamala IS brat.” reads as meta humor because of three layers: brat culture being built around partying, Harris being in a dire, nonpartying type of position, and Charli, the creator, being the one making this statement. Calling a person in Harris’ position brat is ironic, and Charli being the one calling her brat makes it almost sincere, creating a convoluted joke that the Internet has loved. This type of humor is a pillar of Gen-Z culture, making Harris’ choice to lean into brat culture all the more savvy. Her participation dropped a bomb on Internet culture; it allowed her to connect to younger voters in a way that didn’t feel phony. The issue arises when support for Harris comes from meme culture rather than her policies. In the whirlwind of memes about the matter, many young voters seem to have forgotten that voting for Harris also means voting for her ideals. It seems as though a lot of her policies are yet to hit the Internet, meaning that the public’s perception
of her is skewed to an extent. For example, many young voters seem to be unaware of Harris’ stance on the current humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Those who criticized Biden for his complacency and unwavering support of Israel are not doing the same for Harris, simply because they do not know her politics and only her for her brand. As the weather cools, brat summer comes to an end– kind of. On July 25, Charli posted screenshots of various magazines claiming that brat Summer is dead with the caption “oh ? see u next week :).” The day after the post, she released a recording of her DJ set with Boiler Room titled “PARTYGIRL Ibiza.” A week later, she announced a remix of her song “Guess” featuring Billie Eillish which blew up within hours of its release. brat summer will turn to brat fall as Charli takes on the “Sweat” tour with Troye Sivan starting this September. Voting season is quickly approaching as this new era of brat comes to a head. This election has been very aimed at young voters, and it will be interesting to see how the election plays out–how young voters may be pushed to vote a certain way in November. This album’s influence is undeniable and although it seems like it is coming to a close, Charli shows no sign of stopping. “brat summer is only just beginning :)” the singer wrote on X. *this article is an analysis