Pop Culture Primer 2.10.25
Let’s recap the big game (pop culture edition)
What a week, what a game, and I’m here to break down the pop culture aspects of last night’s contest between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Eagles handily defeated the Chiefs, 22-40, denying them their third championship win in a row. It wasn’t even close, and as someone who doesn’t care that much about football, it was pretty painful to watch.
Taylor Swift was in attendance, of course, cheering on her boyfriend Travis Kelce. I feel like they barely showed her (which, yes, her team was losing the entire time so not much to show), so that was a miss for me.
Other celebs in attendance: Bradley Cooper, Paul Rudd, Pete Davidson, Anne Hathaway, Ice Spice, the Haim sisters, Jill Biden, and I’m sure there were more that I didn’t see.
Speaking of celebrities, the commercials were chock-full of them, and I can’t say I’m a fan. It felt like there wasn’t much creativity this year, just using the budget to throw Glen Powell in a commercial and calling it a day. I know we’re all mentally drained these days, but can we put a bit more effort in?
I was also not a fan of the horrific body horror that seemed to take over this year’s ads. Seal as a seal? Skin cowboy hats? That bizarre tongue commercial that will haunt my dreams from now until eternity? Hard pass.
The halftime show!!! Where do I even start? I’d been waiting for this one, especially since Kendrick Lamar was fresh off his Grammy wins for his Drake diss-track “Not Like Us.”
Kendrick had a star-studded crew with him: Samuel L. Jackson, SZA, and Serena Williams (who used to date Drake, so this was especially hilarious).
The whole world waited with baited breath to see if Kendrick would rap the most iconic parts of his song. Rest assured, not only did he get the entire stadium to sing along to “trying to strike a chord and it’s probably a minorrrrrr,” he called out Drake by name while looking into the camera with a cheeky grin. We’ll see what kind of lawsuit follows.
Overall, I really enjoyed Kendrick’s show. It was an ode to being your pettiest self, all while infusing the performance with Black history and a critique of Americana and the current state of the country.
