I am a lover of pop culture and all things media. I am an avid fan of many television shows, movies, books, celebrities, bands, and trends. In fact, I tend to obsess over or hyperfixate on one thing for an extended period of time. I want to consume every bit of information about that thing. This has led me to have a wide variety of interests today. Here are just a few of the things I have hyperfixated on throughout my life.
The Society
One thing I will never forgive Netflix for is canceling this show. “The Society” is a Netflix Original television show that aired for one season. Based in the fictional town of West Ham, Connecticut, “The Society” follows a group of teenagers who go on a field trip but are stopped and sent back home. However, when they arrive back in West Ham, no one else is there. The teens are alone and have no way out. The roads out of town are blocked off. There are no adults, which means no government. As you might guess, this does not play out well. Chaos ensues. The teens must create their own government system and learn to survive in this new town. However, teens will be teens; there is violence, romance, scandal, and even murder.
Despite being renewed for a second season, “The Society” was canceled in August 2020 due to COVID-19. This broke my heart, as well as many others. One of my favorite parts of the show was the relationship between Grizz and Sam. A notable scene is when Grizz finds Sam in the library and starts signing to him, but Sam does not understand. Turns out, Grizz had picked up a book on British Sign Language, not American Sign Language. Grizz says, “I wanted to be able to talk to you, you know, in your language.” Sadly, it’s been long enough that I have lost hope for a second season, and fans will likely never see Grizz, Sam, or any of the other characters again.
The Sister Squad
I, like many others, have a massive crush on the Dolan Twins and Emma Chamberlain. When the three collaborated with James Charles, another YouTuber I loved in 2018, I was all for it. Even today, I find myself watching the videos they made together. The group posted their first collab in June 2018: a mukbang video on the Dolan Twins’ channel.
Not only was the group entertaining to watch, but there was talk of a romance among the group. Ethan Dolan and Emma, often referred to as Ethma, were “shipped” together by fans from the beginning. Based on their behavior in videos and real life, people jumped to the conclusion that they were together. Even now, there is speculation caused by things Emma has said in her podcast about past relationships.
The Sister Squad came to an end in December 2018. James was involved in a scandal with Tati Westbrook, and some say this is to blame for the disbandment of the squad. Others say it is because of a breakup between Emma and Ethan. We may never know the real reason why the split happened, but we can play detective for fun.
Tumblr Quality Instagram
I’ll admit, this one is pretty niche. Tumblr quality pictures were often brightly colored pictures of everyday items like water bottles and CDs. While the trend originated on Tumblr (earning the name “Tumblr quality”), I was involved with the Tumblr quality community on Instagram. Some accounts had tens of thousands of followers and were treated like celebrities in the community. Two of my favorite accounts were “ilyemmyy” and “omgneicy.” This community was plagued with drama. Accounts were constantly getting hacked, people would have beef with other Instagrammers, and photos were often reposted with no credit given. It all seemed so serious at the time. I had an account hacked at 1,000 followers, and I remember being devastated.
Eventually, the Tumblr quality craze died down, and a new era was born: the “carefree” account. Carefree accounts posted aesthetic pictures with pretty filters on them. The name “carefree” comes from the idea that you can post anything on the account. It didn’t have to be a “professionally” shot photo of an EOS lip balm like was often the case with Tumblr quality accounts. I, like many others, made the switch. While a lot of the most notable accounts are no longer on Instagram, this era will live on in my heart.
One Direction
Call me basic, but I was a MASSIVE One Direction fan. I had posters covering the hot pink walls of my childhood bedroom. I had every album on CD. I can still recall the first time I listened to “Midnight Memories” and the day Zayn Malik left the band. One Direction was one of the biggest bands of my generation, often compared to the Beatles due to their success. I was a member of “stan Twitter”, a community of fans who enjoyed tweeting about their favorite television show, movie, band, artist, etc. Through stan Twitter and the One Direction fandom, I made many internet fans. I was even a member of a group chat created to talk about One Direction. We called ourselves “Feebs” and became good friends.
To this day, I hope for a reunion tour. I support each One Direction boys’ solo careers. I have seen Liam Payne and Harry Styles live and will be seeing Niall Horan this summer. One Direction and the community I gained from being a fan helped make me the person I am today.
Stitchers
Another canceled television show, “Stitchers” aired on the then ABC Family. Kirsten Clark is recruited to join a government program that “stitches” a person’s consciousness into the brains of the deceased to solve crimes. Kirsten has a fictional disorder called temporal dysplasia, meaning she cannot feel time passing. Because of this disorder, she cannot easily form emotional connections with others. Despite this, we see Kirsten form her own type of relationships with her team: Cameron, a neuroscientist; Maggie, the program director; Linus, an engineer; Camille, Kirsten’s roommate; and Detective Quincy, an LAPD officer.
I am a crime show lover, and “Stitchers” combines science and crime in a way I have not seen on any other show. I am also a sucker for romance, which this show has subplots of. Despite being canceled by Freeform after three seasons, this show is a must-watch, if you can handle the cliffhanger of all cliffhangers.
We all have our favorite bands or eras on the Internet. These are a few of mine.
If you’re interested in checking out more content related to any of these things, here are some resources: