10 Minutes in Space, Gaga-chella, Chinese Trade War & Trailers
Vol. 2 Issue 16 – 19th April 2025
One small step for wo(man)
Katy Perry went to space. And came back, in 10 minutes, from launch to landing. The Blue Origin all-female space flight was a modern-day “let them eat cake”. The internet is rife with criticisms towards the flight and what it claimed to represent. Millions of dollars were spent only to double down on misogynistic stereotypes where the “astronauts” wore skin-tight suits, quipped about “putting the ass in astronaut” and Katy Perry stared at the camera inside instead of looking out of the windows during what can only be called a joyride. But I guess it’s all worth it if we got a few dozen memes of Gayle King looking scared and reluctantly going on board. Pitchfork hit the nail on the head.
With a 145% tariff, followed by a 245% tariff on Chinese goods by America, China and its manufacturing industry are taking the trade war online, exposing the supply chain, price hikes and essentially, capitalism. The videos on TikTok going viral all follow a similar pattern, a Chinese person, either in a factory or a wholesale store, naming some beloved brands/products of American consumers, like Lululemon, Hermes Birkins or branded sneakers, showing the products and the actual cost to make them, compared to what customers are charged, followed by urging viewers to buy directly from them at a much cheaper cost. While the manufacturing units and products shown in the videos are most likely dupes since the real factories sign NDAs, the videos still go on to show the average customer a product’s actual worth, along with their reliance on Made in China products at a time when Trump throws around baffling tariff rates for no rhyme or reason.
As the Ghibli trend fades away, a new AI image generation trend takes over. People are now using AI to create mockups of themselves as packaged toy dolls with accessories.
SNL spoofed Donald Trump’s presidency yet again in a hilarious sketch titled “The White Potus” inspired by the latest season of the hit show. While the rest of the sketch was praised for accurate comparisons, one part made fun of actress Aimee Lou Wood from the show in a rather below-the-belt way, using her looks and infamous big teeth as the punchline.
American Vogue’s latest MET issue covers are here, featuring this year’s MET Gala co-chairs, Pharrell Williams, A$AP Rocky, Colman Domingo, and Lewis Hamilton. The spread also covers and celebrates black artists/models and black designers, highlighting this year’s theme- “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” honouring the museum's exhibition, which will highlight the archetype of the Black dandy.
After changing everything else about the social media platform, even though users prefer the old ways, X (Twitter) is now replacing its DMs and calling it XChat.
Stevie Nicks is working on a new album, for the first time since 2014.
Lorde has announced her new single, What Was That, releasing “soon”.
TIME Magazine announced its latest 100 most influential people list.
The Masters, one of the four men's major championship tournaments in professional golf was won by Rory McIlroy, completing his career Grand Slam (winning all four major championships in the calendar year: the Masters Tournament, the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open, and the Open Championship (the British Open)).
Coachella weekend 1 recap
Gagachella: Lady Gaga GAGGED us with a perfect headlining act at Coachella, performing new songs Abracadabra and Die With a Smile along with old hits like Poker Face, Paparazzi and Bad Romance amongst others, with fully choreographed routines, costumes and set pieces.
Addison Rae announced the release date of her new album at Coachella, Benson Boone also announced his new album during his set, Charli xcx invited Troye Sivan and Lorde to perform with her and was later spotted at an afterparty wearing a sash saying, “Miss Should Be Headliner” which did not go down the best with the internet, comparing her career with someone like Lady Gaga or Green Day who were the headliners.
Green Day used their set to sing an alternative version of their hit, American Idiot, to reflect the current political climate of the US and the world. Clairo’s set was introduced by politician Bernie Sanders, again using the Coachella stage to make a political statement.
KPOP band Blackpink’s Lisa and Jennie also had solo sets at Coachella and were supported in the audience by bandmate Rose. Lisa was also supported by fellow The White Lotus co-stars, Tayme Thapthimthong (Gaitok) and Patrick Schwarzenegger (Saxon). Also in the audience at Coachella were Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet.
It’s being reported that 60% of Coachella 2025 tickets were bought with buy-now-pay-later schemes.
Movies and more
Ryan Gosling attended the Star Wars celebration event to unveil Star Wars: Starfighter. Not a prequel or sequel, an original movie directed by Shawn Levy, a few years after the events of The Rise of Skywalker. The film will tentatively release in May 2027.
Also at the Star Wars celebrations, Pedro Pascal revealed first looks and an event-exclusive trailer for the Mandalorian and Grogu movie.
A new Fantastic Four trailer is here, giving us our first look at the new Silver Surfer played by Julia Garner, as well as Mister Fantastic’s stretching ability.
Speaking of Marvel, marketing promo for their next release, The Thunderbolts, shows Florence Pugh jumping from the second-tallest building in the world, for the movie's opening shot, and the behind the scenes for it.
Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, starring Michael B Jordan and Hailee Stienfeld, becomes the best reviewed movie of the decade with 98 and 96% from critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.
Trailer for The Life of Chuck starring Tom Hiddleston is here!
Teaser for Ari Aster and A24’s Eddington is out now, where Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal’s characters are in a stand-off in a world dealing with the peak of Covid.
Here’s the trailer for the satirical black comedy drama, The Roses, featuring Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Coleman and Andy Samberg.
Serena Williams is set to executive produce the Netflix adaptation of Taylor Jenkin Reids’ (writer of Daisy Jones & The Six, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo) tennis-themed novel, Carrie Soto is Back.
Trailer for the third season of And Just Like That (the Sex and the City spin-off) is here!
So is the trailer for the Netflix comedy mini-series, The Four Seasons, starring Tina Fey, Steve Carell and Colman Domingo.
