The Out-of-Touch Adults' Guide to Kid Culture: What Is 'Goblin Mode'?

It’s a strange day to be writing about pop culture, but much like the TikTokers below who are taking stupid walks for their “stupid” mental health, I will trudge on to tell you about a new take on an older meme, what “goblin mode” means, and why everywhere is starting to look like everywhere else. I guess I’m just a hero like that.

Reddit goes to war

Any kind of useful commentary on the unfolding Ukraine invasion is way above my pay grade, but I took a look at how Reddit’s mostly young, mostly male users are responding to the early hours of what could turn into a lengthy war. On r/Ukraine, users are sharing war zone survival tips, tech tips to deal with an internet shutdown, and on-the-ground reactions. They’re spreading the Ukrainian government’s reminder to not share video or pictures of Ukrainian forces (but share the hell out of Russian ones) and the Ukrainian ambassador’s fiery, defiant UN speech where he promises hellfire for war criminals. They’re sharing pictures of downed Russian planes, anti-war protests inside Russia, and solidarity protests from all over the world. And they’re making memes. The comment section is full of many American kids who are not fully grasping the severity of this—the difference between this and war in a video game—but they’re starting to catch on.

Taking care of your “stupid mental health”

TikTok user @ninalaevski posted a video recently where she went for a begrudging walk outside with the caption, “Going on a stupid walk for my stupid mental health” and the hashtag #stupidwalkchallenge. Judging from the response, her pained expression and the upbeat musical background captured something resonate about the dull day-to-day work of dealing with psychological issues. More than 8 million people viewed the video, and the tag is populated with tons of responses of TikTokers taking their own stupid walks and doing other stupid things for their stupid mental health and other stupid reasons.

What is “goblin mode?”

I’m going to make an abrupt transition from war and mental illness to something ridiculous, for my own stupid mental health. If you’ve been confused by mentions of “goblin mode” on the social meeds this week, lemme explain. Goblin mode has two meanings. It either describes a person acting crazy/feral or it refers to the cowgirl sex position. According to KnowYourMeme, “goblin mode” first appeared online in a tweet in 2009 with the first meaning. The second definition is more recent: An October 2021 tweet from @housesitter_ that reads “thinkin about how someone i used to hook up with called cowgirl position ‘goblin mode,’” went mildly viral. This week, goblin mode broke through when twitter’s @meowmeowmeuw posted a doctored headline that reads “Julia Fox opens up about her ‘difficult’ relationship with Kanye West ‘He didn’t like it when I went goblin mode.” This led to many people asking “is this real” (no) and many others (like me) asking “What the hell is ‘goblin mode?’”

The “never ask a…” meme reappears to skewer celebrities

The “never ask a…” meme template first appeared in 2016 with a generic focus, but the new 2022 version has been sharpened to apply to celebrities who have done bad things. The meme is a classic, three-part joke: The headline “All three are going to lie to you” is followed by the phrase “never ask a woman her age;” then “a man, his salary;” and part three, the punchline, where you name a celebrity and something they would like you to forget, like “Never ask Mark Wahlberg why he spent 45 days in jail in 1988.” (Google it.) Other targets include Matthew Broderick, Jerry Seinfeld, and more. I can’t argue with Brett Thousand’s take though: “The Never Ask… meme format went sour so quickly because it rewarded our absolute worst posters: People who aren’t funny but Know Things.”

Texas Chainsaw Massacre tears up woke culture

Everyone into horror movies is talking about Netflix’s new take on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Reviews are mixed, but it’s at least interesting enough to talk about. The savage 1974 original is one of the best films ever made. It blends the horrors of isolation, cruelty, and the mechanized slaughter of both livestock and people (Vietnam and all that) with the unsettling suggestion that something cosmic and unspeakable is behind it all. The new one? It doesn’t do anything close. But it’s still a fun movie, and the comic-book social commentary on contemporary America is interesting (until it falls apart in the second act.) Leatherface and his family are presented as victims of hipster gentrification, so he’s not entirely unsympathetic, especially when he takes his chainsaw to a party bus full of influencers. The clueless young people are unaware and uninterested in anything outside of their shiny bubble, and when a deformed madman crashes right through it, all they can think to do is pull out their phone to take videos and threaten to cancel him. Leatherface, as you’d probably guess, does not care about being canceled. Like at all.

Viral video of the week: “Why Everywhere in the U.S. is Starting to Look the Same”

This week’s viral video isn’t funny. It’s just an interesting look at an important question: Why is everywhere in the United States starting to look the same? Why does a highway exit in Tennessee look identical to one in California? Wendover Production’s answer is complicated. Some of it is bureaucratic—those “five over one” apartment buildings everywhere are largely the product of zoning boards—and some of it is human nature. We want every McDonald’s to have the same layout, and every cheap motel to be arranged the same, and in a country as comfortable as ours, we can damn well have it. Like everything, this corporation-provided comfort comes with a downside. A huge downside, actually. Watch the video for more.