Latest / Open Tabs / 🎧 Can you trademark internet culture?

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🎧 Can you trademark internet culture? · Open Tabs

0:01
SPEAKER_02: So, first topic of the day,
0:04
SPEAKER_02: if you're a woman online,
0:07
SPEAKER_02: you are probably familiar with these two stories,
0:12
SPEAKER_02: but wanted to talk to you guys about the hot girl controversies that are happening
0:18
SPEAKER_02: on TikTok right now.
0:20
SPEAKER_02: If you don't know, obviously we've talked about BookTok before.
0:24
SPEAKER_02: It's a very powerful community and it's always for,
0:27
SPEAKER_02: I think they said it's first documented in 2009 or 2019.
0:33
SPEAKER_02: I'll fact check myself in the description for this.
0:35
SPEAKER_02: But Hot Girls Read has been a term that has been used in the BookTok community
0:40
SPEAKER_02: for quite a while.
0:43
SPEAKER_02: And I think this started happening maybe three weeks ago.
0:46
SPEAKER_02: a content creator trademarked the term hot girls read
0:51
SPEAKER_02: and she immediately started going after small businesses and other creators
0:56
SPEAKER_02: who were using that term in events in merch etc and
1:01
SPEAKER_02: the book talk community pushed back against her so hard that after
1:05
SPEAKER_02: a couple weeks she had to surrender her tiktok um
1:10
SPEAKER_02: because they said it was owned by the community, not her.
1:15
SPEAKER_02: Hot Girls Read couldn't be owned by a single person because it had been used
1:19
SPEAKER_02: as far back as 2009 online.
1:23
SPEAKER_02: And simultaneously, Hot Girls Walk
1:27
SPEAKER_02: is having a controversy right now.
1:29
SPEAKER_02: A TikToker Mia Lind is claiming that she invented the concept of hot girl walks back in 2020.
1:37
SPEAKER_02: She said that nobody was walking for help.
1:40
SPEAKER_02: It was before she brought it up in 2020.
1:44
SPEAKER_02: And similarly, since then, she's made it her brand.
1:48
SPEAKER_02: She's released a self-help book.
1:51
SPEAKER_02: She's built a whole entire lifestyle platform on
1:54
SPEAKER_02: Owning and being the creator of Hot Girls Walk.
1:58
SPEAKER_02: So now, similarly,
2:00
SPEAKER_02: she has trademarked the term and is going,
2:02
SPEAKER_02: again, after content creators and small businesses who are using the term.
2:10
SPEAKER_02: Currently,
2:11
SPEAKER_02: she's getting a lot of backlash because it's basically the exact same situation
2:16
SPEAKER_02: as what Booktop saw,
2:17
SPEAKER_02: but she is holding strong as of Tuesday,
2:20
SPEAKER_02: June 30th, that she is the originator of Hot Girls Walk.
2:25
SPEAKER_02: She is the rightful owner of the term.
2:29
SPEAKER_02: So I wanted to talk to you guys.
2:30
SPEAKER_02: I just think it's very funny that this is happening.
2:34
SPEAKER_02: at once.
2:36
SPEAKER_02: And these terms that communities feel like they own,
2:39
SPEAKER_02: that becomes such a big part of internet discourse.
2:42
SPEAKER_02: And like, is there such thing as owning that once it reaches like a certain scale?
2:47
SPEAKER_01: Melissa.
2:49
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for the rundown on this.
2:52
SPEAKER_01: Before we like share our opinions and thoughts,
2:55
SPEAKER_01: I think I have one question on when these individuals are going after,
3:01
SPEAKER_01: quote unquote, going after people using them.
3:04
SPEAKER_01: Like are they going after like just another creator like using the hashtag or
3:10
SPEAKER_01: the term or is it like other people who are like making merch or like like yeah
3:18
SPEAKER_02: so how it works is like I could write make a tick tock and just be like oh I'm going
3:23
SPEAKER_02: on a hashtag hot girl walk there's nothing she could do with that
3:27
SPEAKER_02: because I'm not like monetizing
3:31
SPEAKER_02: What seems to be the catalyst for both of these situations is
3:34
SPEAKER_02: that other content creators put on events that used the term.
3:40
SPEAKER_02: So like another content creator wanted to do an IRL meetup and she called it like,
3:46
SPEAKER_02: oh, let's all go on a hot girl walk.
3:48
SPEAKER_02: And so Mia then went after her.
3:50
SPEAKER_02: And I think it's similar to Hot Girls Read.
3:54
SPEAKER_02: So once other people have tried to like create events using the term
3:58
SPEAKER_02: or like monetize it themselves, that's when the trademark has been enforced.
4:08
SPEAKER_01: And is there any precedent with this?
4:12
SPEAKER_01: Like, do they mention like, oh, this has come up before or like...
4:17
SPEAKER_01: or is it sort of a newer thing?
4:19
SPEAKER_02: I mean, yeah, I think it's like a newer thing with online communities.
4:24
SPEAKER_02: Like, I think it's,
4:26
SPEAKER_02: you could coin,
4:27
SPEAKER_02: if you come up with like a catchphrase,
4:29
SPEAKER_02: you can trademark that catchphrase and you become known for it.
4:34
SPEAKER_02: But I think like maybe she mentioned like hot girl walk in a TikTok like back in 2020.
4:41
SPEAKER_02: But like,
4:44
SPEAKER_02: Then other content creators created videos using the term and simultaneously blow it up.
4:54
SPEAKER_02: Yes, maybe she's the first one who said it, but did she make it known?
4:59
SPEAKER_02: Is she the one who made it widely known and a term that was widely used?
5:09
SPEAKER_01: Megan, you have any thoughts?
5:10
SPEAKER_00: Megan, what's your thoughts?
5:12
SPEAKER_00: I think this is kind of just like a product of where we're at in culture right now
5:17
SPEAKER_00: where it feels like everything's been done and everything's been created and we're
5:24
SPEAKER_00: in kind of like an idea era where it's like if you have an idea for a concept of
5:30
SPEAKER_00: the community that counts but I think what you were seeing with the backlash to
5:35
SPEAKER_00: the hot girls read and the hot girls walk is like
5:39
SPEAKER_00: Just having like the stamp of approval that like legally or
5:43
SPEAKER_00: on paper something is yours is no longer enough and people are looking
5:48
SPEAKER_00: for like deeper ownership and like a deeper claim to something
5:53
SPEAKER_00: than just being like I got here first and I had the idea to trademark first
5:58
SPEAKER_00: and like this idea that a community can own something more so than like
6:02
SPEAKER_00: a person can I think is really interesting and it was like I was not surprised
6:07
SPEAKER_00: to see the hot girl's
6:08
SPEAKER_00: Read like that it went
6:11
SPEAKER_00: the way it did like she immediately was like I take it back I'm sorry like you know
6:15
SPEAKER_00: because it was like that was so so egregious the hot girl walk I think is
6:20
SPEAKER_00: a bit different because I think that that's like less of just like
6:25
SPEAKER_00: a blanket statement and more of like something that you can eventize
6:28
SPEAKER_00: and sell tickets to and make part of a brand and so I think that is a little bit
6:34
SPEAKER_00: More Complicated because that is within the realm of something
6:37
SPEAKER_00: that we would let someone take and run with in our current era of culture.
6:42
SPEAKER_00: But it's interesting that they kind of rejected Mia as the person who got
6:48
SPEAKER_00: to trademark it and run with it, you know?
6:50
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
6:52
SPEAKER_02: Also, I do want to add, because I would be remiss if I didn't, I think
6:58
SPEAKER_02: People are also saying like, yes,
7:00
SPEAKER_02: maybe you said Hot Girls Walk,
7:02
SPEAKER_02: but really the originator of this whole Hot Girl idea is Megan Thee Stallion
7:07
SPEAKER_02: with Hot Girl Summer in 2019.
7:10
SPEAKER_02: So I just want to make sure I credit her with that in this conversation.
7:17
SPEAKER_00: And even like the, I feel like there was a meme about Hot Girls having IBS, like
7:22
SPEAKER_00: The whole hot girl thing was like a meme you know it'd be like
7:25
SPEAKER_00: if someone random tried to coin girl dinner
7:28
SPEAKER_00: as being like this is my brand now girl dinner I'm selling meals
7:32
SPEAKER_00: that are like small you know and I think it's it's
7:35
SPEAKER_00: a very interesting I feel like very modern problem because like that's the thing now
7:39
SPEAKER_00: where you can go to restaurants and they have girl dinner on the menu and it's like
7:43
SPEAKER_00: that is something you can purchase but they're not claiming to like own the concept
7:47
SPEAKER_00: of girl dinner yeah
7:50
SPEAKER_01: I mean, you know what I think would be a very smart business out of this?
7:56
SPEAKER_01: You guys gonna?
7:58
SPEAKER_01: I think that there's like a need for a company that makes copywriting things like really easy.
8:08
SPEAKER_01: Should actually become like a problem.
8:10
SPEAKER_01: But I think that like
8:16
SPEAKER_01: ownership over things and like how like the lines of that
8:21
SPEAKER_01: and like how you carve out like you know demarcation lines
8:26
SPEAKER_01: of stuff is just getting harder and more complicated and like whatever and
8:31
SPEAKER_01: so I think that if there was a way to make copywriting things easier
8:36
SPEAKER_01: and faster like I mean I've thought about that like even with M.T.
8:41
SPEAKER_01: Deco content you know I think I mentioned it in our last call like I'm like you know
8:47
SPEAKER_01: Like, I wish it was easy to copyright stuff and, like,
8:50
SPEAKER_01: make it,
8:51
SPEAKER_01: you know, like, have,
8:53
SPEAKER_01: or at least, like,
8:54
SPEAKER_01: have ownership over, like,
8:56
SPEAKER_01: my stuff because there's been just so,
8:57
SPEAKER_01: there's been a whole era of the internet of, like, everything's free.
9:02
SPEAKER_01: And so it's, like, this open, like, kind of marketplace.
9:05
SPEAKER_01: But now I think we're starting to see,
9:07
SPEAKER_01: like, this, like, this monetization is creeping in, right?
9:12
SPEAKER_01: Like, it's, like, creators are becoming
9:15
SPEAKER_01: It's like it's an actual profession and like people are making money
9:18
SPEAKER_01: and like now it's a marketplace.
9:20
SPEAKER_01: And so how do you sort of like create ownership over things
9:24
SPEAKER_01: and how do you make it grow and how do you sort of use the algorithms and
9:28
SPEAKER_01: the platforms to reach the communities that are going to spend the money and all of
9:31
SPEAKER_01: that.
9:31
SPEAKER_01: So I think this is like I mean why I ask if there is like a you know a precedent for this.
9:38
SPEAKER_01: Well like it's gonna whether it's this
9:41
SPEAKER_01: or something else like it's gonna like something's gonna come up and like
9:45
SPEAKER_01: I've even thought about, like,
9:47
SPEAKER_01: you know,
9:47
SPEAKER_01: as you were talking, Emma, like,
9:48
SPEAKER_01: I think one of the creators that we always bring up that I think does such a, like,
9:52
SPEAKER_01: an incredible job of, like,
9:54
SPEAKER_01: franchising and, like,
9:55
SPEAKER_01: making something out of nothing and then,
9:57
SPEAKER_01: like, turning it into, like, Discourse's Tanks.
9:59
SPEAKER_01: Like, she makes things up.
10:00
SPEAKER_01: Like, so it's not Rich Mom Walks, but she does, or sorry, it's not, what is it, Hot Girl Walks,
10:07
SPEAKER_01: but she does Rich Mom and RMW and like I don't know if anyone has done that
10:12
SPEAKER_01: before her but like did she make her own version of that maybe
10:18
SPEAKER_01: which is pretty brilliant it's like sort of these like offshoots and
10:22
SPEAKER_01: then you know again like more recently she started
10:25
SPEAKER_01: which I just thought was genius her Christina's Cafe
10:29
SPEAKER_01: Every morning she would,
10:31
SPEAKER_01: you know,
10:31
SPEAKER_01: her coffee machine,
10:32
SPEAKER_01: she calls it Christina's Cafe,
10:34
SPEAKER_01: has a cup of coffee, and, like,
10:35
SPEAKER_01: she would talk about Christina's Cafe,
10:37
SPEAKER_01: Christina's Cafe, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
10:39
SPEAKER_01: Lo and behold, it turned into an IRL meetup with her community.
10:45
SPEAKER_01: It was an actual real-life cafe that people could attend,
10:48
SPEAKER_01: and it was brought, it was, like, in collaboration with Under Armour.
10:52
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, she was...
10:54
SPEAKER_02: She's a perfect example.
10:55
SPEAKER_02: She actually weighed in on this and she said she got her inspiration
10:58
SPEAKER_02: from Megan Thee Stallion and she said she's the OG hot girl.
11:03
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
11:03
SPEAKER_02: I thought it was really funny.
11:05
SPEAKER_02: The content creator who did the hot girl walk that started all of this where
11:11
SPEAKER_02: the I'm using quotes like OG hot girl walk girl started going after her illegally.
11:19
SPEAKER_02: She then changed the name of her walk to High Temperature Girl Walk.
11:24
SPEAKER_02: as a way to get around the trademark.
11:28
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I don't know.
11:29
SPEAKER_01: I feel like I need to sit with this more because there is this idea that, like,
11:32
SPEAKER_01: if it's in culture and it's part of discourse, then, like, why mess with it, right?
11:37
SPEAKER_02: Like, why mess with your relevance then, you know?
11:40
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think it's, like, why mess with your community?
11:42
SPEAKER_02: Because that is really what's, like, monetizing you.
11:45
SPEAKER_02: Like, Mia, it's, like, cool.
11:48
SPEAKER_02: Like, you can make more
11:50
SPEAKER_02: Self-Help Books about being the creator of Hot Girl Walk.
11:54
SPEAKER_02: But if you piss your community off in the pursuit of that, who is going to buy your book?
12:01
SPEAKER_01: Right.
12:01
SPEAKER_01: Well, also, I really have a reframe with this.
12:07
SPEAKER_01: like we say to clients all the time like some of
12:10
SPEAKER_01: the best collaborators are your quote-unquote competitors so like I wonder
12:16
SPEAKER_01: if there's a way to have looked at this and been like okay
12:18
SPEAKER_01: so there's this like other creator doing this maybe I could like partner with her
12:23
SPEAKER_01: and we like do this together and like there's like a way for us to like both own
12:27
SPEAKER_01: a piece of this and it's like you know all votes rise in the tide whatever
12:32
SPEAKER_01: that saying is but like
12:34
SPEAKER_01: It's better for people to be doing rich mom walks than, like, shutting people down.
12:39
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
12:39
SPEAKER_01: Or moving them over to, like, high-temperature girl walks or to the rich mom walks, you know?
12:43
SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
12:45
SPEAKER_02: We can, maybe we'll see how this nets out and we can, like... Yeah.
12:48
SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's going to, like, it's
12:51
SPEAKER_01: This is where we are in the curve of creators,
12:54
SPEAKER_01: you know,
12:55
SPEAKER_01: and like monetization and like it's inevitable that people are going to try
12:58
SPEAKER_01: to own their IPs of things.
13:01
SPEAKER_01: But like how quickly, again,
13:03
SPEAKER_01: someone start a copywriting business
13:04
SPEAKER_01: because how quickly can you copyright something,
13:07
SPEAKER_01: you know, and get your name next to it and be like, I own it.
13:10
SPEAKER_02: This is actually a pretty good segue into our next topic,
13:13
SPEAKER_02: which is also about a strong brand pissing their core fandom off.
13:21
SPEAKER_02: We have talked a lot about A24 and how great they are,
13:26
SPEAKER_02: like how they're basically the only like studio who has
13:30
SPEAKER_02: where you see somebody walking down the street and they're wearing an A24 hat.
13:34
SPEAKER_02: Like you don't see that for Warner Bros.
13:38
SPEAKER_02: And they are having a little controversy with their community.
13:43
SPEAKER_02: They've just announced a $75 million research partnership with Google DeepMind,
13:48
SPEAKER_02: which is Google's like AI arm.
13:51
SPEAKER_02: And their fan base is very pissed off.
13:55
SPEAKER_02: So the deal is operating through A24's tech startup,
14:00
SPEAKER_02: A24 Labs, which I didn't even know they had.
14:03
SPEAKER_02: And it aims to build new filmmaking tools and workflows via AI.
14:09
SPEAKER_02: They're framing it as we want to make filmmaking more accessible to people and make
14:15
SPEAKER_02: the tools easier.
14:17
SPEAKER_02: But I think their timing was a bit off,
14:19
SPEAKER_02: given that their most recent hit, Backrooms, had very strong anti-AI themes.
14:25
SPEAKER_02: And I just think, like, AI sentiment is, like, very negative culturally right now.
14:33
SPEAKER_02: So I wanted to get your guys' takes since we've talked about A24
14:37
SPEAKER_02: and like their amazing fan base and they've hit a bump in the road.
14:43
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think that this is interesting.
14:45
SPEAKER_00: I'm not surprised.
14:46
SPEAKER_00: I feel like everyone is being very pressured to adopt technology.
14:51
SPEAKER_00: And I've seen Hollywood kind of falling into a few camps.
14:54
SPEAKER_00: It's either like fully embrace and that's kind of where the more business
14:58
SPEAKER_00: and exact minded people are of like, this is the future.
15:00
SPEAKER_00: We need to get ahead of it.
15:01
SPEAKER_00: So we're not falling behind it.
15:03
SPEAKER_00: Then there's the opposite end of the spectrum, which is like, I hate AI.
15:07
SPEAKER_00: It is the antithesis of creativity and we should not be using it at all.
15:10
SPEAKER_00: And then there's a lot of people who fall in the middle where it's like,
15:13
SPEAKER_00: it's here,
15:14
SPEAKER_00: I would rather have a say in shaping it than no say at all and
15:19
SPEAKER_00: then just be told we're doing this in like a few years from now.
15:22
SPEAKER_00: And so I think it's kind of a no-win situation right now for Hollywood.
15:27
SPEAKER_00: Like either you're vehemently against and you're going to have to wait out this kind of like
15:32
SPEAKER_00: This is a bit of a bubble, but AI is the future.
15:36
SPEAKER_00: It's not going away.
15:38
SPEAKER_00: It's not going away.
15:39
SPEAKER_00: So you're going to have to figure out how to ride this out.
15:43
SPEAKER_00: Or you're going to just fully embrace it and get the backlash from that.
15:48
SPEAKER_00: Or even touching it,
15:49
SPEAKER_00: like you said,
15:50
SPEAKER_00: it's radioactive, I feel like, to people who value creativity right now.
15:55
SPEAKER_00: And A24 built so much of their cultural relevance on that.
15:59
SPEAKER_00: And specifically, I feel like
16:01
SPEAKER_00: built their brand being less of a production studio and more of a curator.
16:07
SPEAKER_00: And even a lot of the stuff we talk about and the products and their merch
16:11
SPEAKER_00: that they do is centered around the theme of curation.
16:14
SPEAKER_00: And so if your favorite curator suddenly is going down a path that you're like,
16:18
SPEAKER_00: I vehemently disagree with this,
16:20
SPEAKER_00: I could see why there would be such backlash to this.
16:25
SPEAKER_00: But I also see where A24 is coming from.
16:31
SPEAKER_01: Emma, when you say, like, backlash, is it sort of manifesting anywhere?
16:35
SPEAKER_01: Like, is it on their social?
16:36
SPEAKER_01: Is it, like, in Reddit?
16:38
SPEAKER_01: Is it all over their comments?
16:40
SPEAKER_01: They're just, like, spamming?
16:42
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
16:44
SPEAKER_02: It's very negative.
16:45
SPEAKER_02: And they're aware of it.
16:47
SPEAKER_02: They are arguing, Megan, you hit the nail on the head.
16:50
SPEAKER_02: They said it's inevitable.
16:52
SPEAKER_02: And we as filmmakers want to be able to frame how AI is created in this partnership
17:01
SPEAKER_02: with Google is our way of doing that.
17:05
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
17:05
SPEAKER_00: And Google is like the foremost and like,
17:10
SPEAKER_00: in my opinion,
17:12
SPEAKER_00: like doing some of the most actually innovative AI work versus just selling you
17:18
SPEAKER_00: the concept of AI.
17:20
SPEAKER_00: I also don't like it I just have to say and like but I'm I work in tech and like all
17:25
SPEAKER_00: of my clients are mandated to use it and so I don't get to live in the reality
17:29
SPEAKER_00: where I get to be like I hate it and I'm not using it because I just would be out of
17:33
SPEAKER_00: a job and it would have to go get a new job
17:35
SPEAKER_00: so I feel like that's why I'm like sympathetic towards A24 but I also do think
17:41
SPEAKER_00: that there's something to be said for thinking critically about
17:45
SPEAKER_00: how AI fits into a very creative artistic picture like A24
17:50
SPEAKER_00: and like I haven't even heard any of that I've just been hearing they're working
17:54
SPEAKER_00: with the AI and that's bad and
17:56
SPEAKER_00: so I feel like they could have done more table setting and made a better case
18:00
SPEAKER_01: for why this makes sense yeah no I agree I think my mind goes like I wish they
18:06
SPEAKER_01: talked about like three projects that they're gonna like
18:13
SPEAKER_01: you know focus on and like just even as like top line examples um I'm also curious
18:20
SPEAKER_01: to like you know
18:23
SPEAKER_01: as you guys have said it's like it's hitting Hollywood feels like there's a lot
18:29
SPEAKER_01: of stuff hitting Hollywood right now there's also like all the streaming and
18:33
SPEAKER_01: the YouTube of it all and like Holly it's like sort of
18:36
SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of movement happening, I feel like, in the classic sense of Hollywood.
18:45
SPEAKER_01: It's getting disrupted, I think.
18:49
SPEAKER_01: I'm curious, in the film and arts world, who is taking a stance to not?
18:57
SPEAKER_01: Because I'm sure there's production houses and...
19:03
SPEAKER_01: Filmmakers that are like consciously not
19:06
SPEAKER_01: and like I just I'm like almost curious even as like a case study to
19:10
SPEAKER_01: to like follow along with you know or follow other other companies
19:15
SPEAKER_01: that are like kind of gonna like consciously not not utilize AI or like
19:20
SPEAKER_01: if they are putting a stance against it like I'm just I just want to sort of be
19:25
SPEAKER_01: on there like have them on our radar too um
19:30
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I don't know.
19:31
SPEAKER_01: I think I, I mean, I agree with you, Megan.
19:33
SPEAKER_01: Like I just,
19:33
SPEAKER_01: I don't think that there's like a winning situation here and it's better to like be
19:37
SPEAKER_01: on the cutting edge, be a part of the creation of it, help shape it than not.
19:42
SPEAKER_01: And I think A24 even being like sort of indie,
19:50
SPEAKER_01: sort of like,
19:51
SPEAKER_01: you know,
19:52
SPEAKER_01: kind of,
19:53
SPEAKER_01: I think that that,
19:54
SPEAKER_01: that has served them really well,
19:56
SPEAKER_01: you know, like not consciously not being mainstream.
19:59
SPEAKER_01: So
20:01
SPEAKER_01: I will say I'm actually really interested and excited and curious
20:05
SPEAKER_01: about what they're going to come back with.
20:10
SPEAKER_01: But I say that I am not as deeply familiar with Google and DeepMind in the way that Megan is.
20:16
SPEAKER_01: I don't really know, but I do think I don't see this headline as doom, I guess.
20:23
SPEAKER_02: I think it's like also compounded with the fact that like you said A24 has been like
20:28
SPEAKER_02: an indie darling and I think their core fans are very like
20:33
SPEAKER_02: if you know you know people and this is tension
20:36
SPEAKER_02: with them going becoming more mainstream
20:39
SPEAKER_02: and putting out like legitimate blockbusters like
20:45
SPEAKER_02: They were recently evaluated at $3.5 billion.
20:48
SPEAKER_02: Like A24,
20:50
SPEAKER_02: maybe it's indie compared to like major,
20:53
SPEAKER_02: major studios, but like it's a multi-billion dollar brand.
20:58
SPEAKER_02: It's a multi-billion dollar company.
21:01
SPEAKER_02: So why are we shocked?
21:05
SPEAKER_01: What is it?
21:05
SPEAKER_01: What would we say?
21:06
SPEAKER_01: Like mainstream indie?
21:08
SPEAKER_02: It's like... Yeah, like
21:11
SPEAKER_00: I think you're right.
21:13
SPEAKER_00: I think that there's some underlying kind of deeper anxieties about A24 kind
21:19
SPEAKER_00: of shedding their old self because like this is coming off the heels off of
21:23
SPEAKER_00: the back rooms and just them getting bigger, Marty Supreme.
21:28
SPEAKER_00: But I do think that there is a danger.
21:31
SPEAKER_00: I think that so much of what A24's value is tied to may be that they're able
21:37
SPEAKER_00: to produce blockbusters, but I think
21:39
SPEAKER_00: The reason it's attractive to people is because they're able
21:41
SPEAKER_00: to create cultural relevance and that's really what their skill is
21:45
SPEAKER_00: and that's more marketing and cultural narratives than it is actual like
21:51
SPEAKER_00: the films themselves so this is a bit of a reputational crisis if it is enough
21:56
SPEAKER_00: for their core cool consumer to be like I don't like this enough to defect
22:01
SPEAKER_00: from being a fan of the brand but I think people are more forgiving
22:06
SPEAKER_00: than they think they are
22:08
SPEAKER_02: I think I agree,
22:10
SPEAKER_02: and I think maybe their merch will take a hit in the short term,
22:14
SPEAKER_02: but they'll put out their next movie and people will be in theaters ready
22:21
SPEAKER_02: to watch it.
22:23
SPEAKER_02: Okay, our final topic,
22:25
SPEAKER_02: and we're going to talk about it live right now,
22:27
SPEAKER_02: but when this is posted, it will be exclusive for our paid subscribers.
22:34
SPEAKER_02: So, little plug.
22:37
SPEAKER_02: Okay, so headline, people have stopped trusting news but not newsrooms.
22:43
SPEAKER_02: So Reuters put out a new digital news report
22:49
SPEAKER_02: and social media has officially overtaken traditional news sources.