ICYMI: A timeline of pop culture, politics and sports of summer 2024
On June 7, British singer Charli XCX released her eighth album, “brat.” Since the release, the album has been trending across social media platforms for its aesthetic. Various memes, TikTok trends and fashion trends have been made from the album’s release and have been tied into one term: “brat summer.”
“Brat summer is when you are creating a version of yourself that’s the best one possible,” senior Tabitha Htoka said.
The album name “brat” has been turned into a lifestyle trend on social media by Gen Z. The album carries a “careless and messy vibe” that originated from a previous social media trend, “Hot Girl Summer.” Charli XCX took on the trend and shared her opinion of what Brat Summer really is.
“[It’s] kind of like quite luxury, but it can also be so trashy,” XCX said in an interview with British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
While the trend of “#bratsummer” grew on social media platforms, companies such as Kate Spade, have used the lime green color from the album cover to make marketing campaigns.
“Green, the official color of brat summer,” Kate Spade captioned in their TikTok video.
“Brat summer is being a ‘it girl’ and being inspiring,” senior Zoe Mitchell, said.
In July, President Joe Biden announced he was dropping out of the Presidential race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the next Democratic nominee. Shortly after, Charli XCX made a post on X, showing her support for Harris.
“kamala IS brat” XCX posted on X.
Earlier this year, XCX released various remixes of songs with Addison Rae, robyn and yung lean and remixers, Skream and Benga. After “brat” was released XCX released new songs on her deluxe album, titled “Brat and it’s the same but there’s three more songs so…”
XCX released a version of one of the songs on the deluxe album “Guess” featuring Billie Eilish.
According to Billboard, “Charli XCX & Billie Eilish’s ‘Guess’ Blasts to No. 1 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs Chart. The track also starts in the top five on the global charts and at No. 12 on the Hot 100.”
Now that “brat summer” has come to an end, XCX is planning to tour with Troye Sivan for their joint Sweat tour. The tour will debut on Sep.14, in Detroit, Michigan and will finish on Oct.23 in Seattle, Washington.
This year, Paris hosted the Olympic games from July 26 to Aug. 11. Olympic competitors were granted four new sports: skateboarding, breakdancing, sport climbing and surfing.
“I don’t think adding more sports to the Olympics was a good idea, but I found the track competition entertaining,” said sophomore LaQuan Shuler.
One of those new sports circulated throughout social media when Australian Rachael Gunn came to perform her break dance. Gunn became popular on TikTok and Instagram, turning her entry into Olympic breakdancing into a viral meme.
“I’ve seen a lot of videos of the break dancer on Tiktok and I think they’re so funny. One of them was her breakdancing with a squeaky shoe noise audio,” junior Sadie Cline said.
Gunn recently uploaded a video to her Instagram regarding the “hatred” she’s been receiving.
“I didn’t realize that would also open the door to so much hate which has, frankly, been pretty devastating,” said Gunn in her Instagram reel. Gunn also requested that the media “stop harassing my family, my friends. … Everyone has been through a lot as a result of this.”
The United States was in first place at the Olympics with a total of 126 medals. People’s Republic of China following behind in second place with 91 medals. In third place, Japan with 45 medals. The U.S. tied with China for gold, each earning 40 medals.
Results of the competition and medals can be found on the Olympic website.
For the men’s basketball Olympic championship, the United States of America came in first place with the gold medal, then France came in second and won the silver medal. In third was Serbia with the bronze medal.
“I thought the Olympic basketball competition was great,” said senior Miles Warwell.
2024 Copa América
Copa América is the oldest international soccer tournament in the world, and this summer was time for the qualified teams to compete again for the champion title. Every four years, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Venezuela, Paraguay, Uruguay, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru compete to determine which team is the best team in South America until the next tournament. Throughout the history of Copa América, guest teams would also be invited to play in the tournament with the 10 South American teams. This year, six other teams, including the United States which hosted this year’s tournament, participated in the 2024 Copa América.
The tournament kicked off with the group stages, the very first match being on June 20 where Argentina played against Canada, a team making its first Copa América appearance. This match resulted in a 2-0 win for Argentina.
Freshman Sam Massman went to a Copa América match this summer. Massman went with her family to see the match against Bolivia and the United States where the United States won 2-0.
“We were pretty much on the center line so we had a good view,” Massman said.
After the group stages were three days of quarter finals, two days of semifinals and finally a match for third place where Uruguay takes the win, beating Canada 4-3 in a penalty shootout. Competing in the final match were Columbia and Argentina. During the match, one of Argentina’s star players, Lionel Messi, faced a foot ligament injury that has impacted his ability to play in upcoming future events such as the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. In the end, Argentina came out on top with a score of 1-0 after over 100 minutes of game time.
“My sister really wanted Argentina to win, so I was kind of cheering for them,” Massman said.
2024 Euros
The Union of European Football Associations was founded in 1960 and hosts a football tournament every four years that includes most of Europe. The contestants go head to head until one team comes on top. The Euros is the second most recognized football event besides the World Cup. The first Euro final took place in the 1960s. There were about 15 national football clubs that took part in the tournament competing for first place including Germany, the host of this year’s tournament. There have been 17 games since the international tournament began.
This month-long tournament started June 14 and ended July 14.
The group stage consisted of 24 teams that went head to head. The round of 16 winners were Switzerland, Germany, England, Spain, France, Portugal, Netherlands and Türkiye.
Through the quarter-finals, Spain, France, England and the Netherlands advanced to the semi-final. Spain and England both won the semi-final matches and advanced to the final where Spain would take the win.
The McIntosh chiefs junior varsity soccer player David Cabeza says.
“I think Spain played well and controlled the game for the most part with more possession and shots on target than England”.
The 16 year old Lamine Yamal, was the talk of the tournament due to his young age. He scored two goals in the European championship qualifiers and scored one goal and four assists in the tournament.
McIntosh sophomore plays for a nationally-recognized club team called AFC Lightning. And he has an opinion on the teen.
“Watching the Euros was a great experience. I enjoyed watching Lamine Yamal play against national teams. As a 16 year old to score in the euros is crazy,” said Edwin Romero.
On Sunday, July 21, after pressure from his peers as well as people of the United States, President Joe Biden made the decision to drop out of the presidential race for 2024 and no longer be the presumptive Democratic nominee.
“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Biden posted to his social media accounts on Sunday.
After the presidential debate, hosted by CNN and held in Atlanta on June 27, national confidence in Biden dropped.
According to a CNN poll, “nearly 60% of people that watched the debate said that they have no real confidence in Biden’s ability to lead the country.”
“I know I’m not a young man. I don’t walk as easily as I used to, I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to, I don’t debate as well as I used to, but I know what I do know. I know how to tell the truth,” Biden said in a speech to his supporters in North Carolina the day after the debate.
Biden hosted rallies in North Carolina and New York where he acknowledged the debate as well as even holding fundraisers and campaign events in Virginia, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania around the Fourth of July. He also held an interview with Philadelphia radio host Andrea Lawful-Sanders and ABC News.
“It was a bad episode. No indication of any serious condition. I was exhausted. I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing and — and a bad night,” Biden said when asked about his debate with Trump.
Politicians such as the former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi spoke out on Biden’s performance.
“It’s up to the president to decide if he’s going to run,” Pelosi said after being asked if she supports the call for Biden to step down.
Actor George Clooney published a New York Times op-ed on July 10, encouraging Biden’s withdraw from the election.
“We are not going to win in November with this president,” Clooney wrote.
Just three days later, on July 13, was the assassination attempt on Trump, which Biden denounced.
“We cannot — we must not — go down this road in America.” Biden said while addressing the Nation.
And then, in a surprise announcement on social media platform, X, that he will drop out of the race but will finish his presidential term. Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination.
“I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” Harris said, moments after Biden’s press release about dropping out.
On July 13, at a Presidential rally for presidential candidate Donald Trump, a man fired several shots at Trump, one of which hit him in the ear, and three others hitting bystanders. Trump was escorted off the stage by Secret Service agents. One bystander died while two others were injured. The shooter was killed by Secret Service. Since the attempt, Trump has had one other outdoor presidential rally, surrounded by bullet proof glass.
Senior Tabitha Htoka, member of We The People, remembers where she was when she heard.
“Maybe a couple minutes after, I think it was either on Instagram or I got an Apple news notification. Literally right after, I called my friend, and I was like, ‘Did you see what just happened?’ And we were both in shock, but that’s how I found out,” said Htoka.
We the People is a political discussion club at McIntosh High school. The club discusses concerning events and breaking news as it relates to those issues.
“To this day, I’m shocked that it occurred in the first place, just because the Secret Service is always known as a top of the line security force,” said senior Carson Moses, also a member of the We The People.
The gunman was posted on top of a warehouse near the campaign site.
The Secret Service posted a response on the assassination attempt from then-Director Kimbery Cheatle.
In the days and weeks that followed, Cheatle testified in front of the United States House Committee on Oversight and Accountability on July 22 in what was called the greatest security breach since the assassination attempted on former President Ronald Reagan in 1981; Cheatle stepped down the following day amid calls for her resignation.
Movies this summer have been a major improvement from last year, even though it started off rough. Although, two movies have reached a billion dollars.
“I Saw the TV Glow” May 3
“I Saw the TV Glow” is an A24 release directed by Jane Schoenbrun. It’s an artsy, horror-drama flooded by an eerie purple/blue color palette leaving viewers with dread. The film was praised for its LGBTQ+ symbolisms, acting, directing and overall aesthetic and has been certified fresh by Rotten Tomatoes.
“If” May 17
John Kraskinski has been praised for his directing for The Quiet Place one and two. Especially for its horror-drama elements. This is the complete opposite though. IF is a mixed bag for many people, having a low 50% on Rotten Tomatoes. It was also not successful at the box office and wasn’t talked about a lot.
“The Strangers: Chapter One” May 17
The original Strangers is critically acclaimed as one of the best home invasion films. This one though is not nearly as successful. Thosewho watched this movie found the remake to be a carbon copy of the original and The Strangers: Chapter One was not well received.
“Inside Out Two” June 15
Making over a billion dollars at the box office, Disney did not come to play. Many people found this film to be one of the best new releases of 2024 even though it’s an animated children’s film. People overall really enjoyed it, praised the metaphor about anxiety, the animation and the ensemble cast.
“A Quiet Place: Day One” June 28
With everyone skeptical at first, for a majority this stuck the landing. Separated from the other two movies, this is its own stand alone story. Viewers loved the action and the story but wished for more horror elements like the first two.
“Despicable Me 4” July 3
Minions are either loved or hated. With a 56% on rotten tomatoes, viewers were quite literally split on whether they enjoyed this movie or not. Some viewers like it for what it is, others didn’t.
“Longlegs” July 12
Longlegs left people stunned. Cryptically marketed as the “scariest movie of the decade”, most viewers either enjoyed the movie or found it a masterpiece because of its directing and lead two characters “Longlegs” is Neon’s highest grossing movie, making $100 million dollars at the box office.
“Deadpool & Wolverine” July 26
As the highest grossing R rated movie of all time, most people agree “Deadpool & Wolverine” could’ve revived the MCU [the Marvel Cinematic Universe]. A majority of people loved the movie.
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Rebekah Bushmire • Sep 4, 2024 at 3:56 pm
So proud of you guys! I love seeing your work – and I honestly needed the summer flashbacks! I forgot about a few of these things!