Miracle pills

Dirt is a daily email about entertainment.

Terry Nguyen, Dirt's senior staff writer, on the Ozempic craze, the next wave of "collective" social media, and the end of Succession.

Being skinny never went out of style, at least not for the wealthy. Just look at the world of high fashion. Thin models have dominated runways for decades, even as commercial brands have become more inclusive in their casting and sizing choices—all in an effort to protect their bottom line. Even Victoria’s Secret, the notorious purveyor of toothpick-thin “angels,” has made strides towards “body diversity.” The lingerie brand canceled its annual fashion show in 2019, as it sought to “evolve its marketing.” The company had to, in order to cater to the average American consumer.

The rise of body positivity on social media managed to briefly disguise the rich’s penchant for thinness. There seemed to be an inflection point, a moment when society—and the mass media machine that feeds the cultural zeitgeist—began acknowledging that heroin chic was no longer chic at all. The messaging switched in the 2010s. Everyone’s bodies were to be celebrated. We diverted instead to talking about wellness, approaching health and beauty from a (still) consumerist perspective, albeit one that was more Goop-y and holistic. We were marketed different products that catered to the same base emotions, even as society’s perception towards bodies shifted.

True body neutrality is bad for business. Same goes for a diet of pure restriction: It doesn’t help any company’s balance sheet. The prevalence of thinness had to come with miracle pills, diet plans (now apps), and tummy-flattening teas. Body positivity didn’t rely on a vocabulary of self-improvement. In this regard, its effects are less psychically damaging than the diet culture of yore. The movement leaned into a language of care, giving rise to the self-care industrial complex that, once again, centered the flesh. The implication is that we always need to be paying for something, even in the celebration or maintenance of our bodies. We are stuck in a capitalist ouroboros with no good solution. Now, the culture has seemingly regressed to square one: being skinny at all costs. Except this time, fewer are daring to say the quiet part out loud.

The latest New York Magazine cover story, written by Matthew Schneier, discusses the wealthy’s obsession with Ozempic, a “diabetes miracle drug” that mimics a naturally occurring hunger hormone in the body, GLP-1. The rich are injecting themselves with this coveted drug, hawking supplies and, as a result of supply-side economics, likely inflating its price, affecting diabetic patients who have been prescribed Ozempic to lose weight. (The medication costs around $1,000 if not covered by insurance.)

Online reactions to the story have primarily castigated the rich for their moral bankruptcy, not that they care. The pursuit of vanity trumps all shame. “I mean, this is so humiliating, but I’m like, Thyroid cancer’s not that bad?” was one Ozempian’s response to the potential side effects of the drug.

I am, for one, am tired of scrutinizing bodies and beauty standards. Instead of debating the acceptability of certain body sizes, I’d like to see more reporting that examines the underlying structural causes of obesity in America (food deserts, low levels of walkability, prevalence of processed foods) — and how drug companies like Novo Nordisk (the manufacturer of Ozempic) stand to benefit from it all.

IN OTHER NEWS

A group of founders, whose startups fall into the “consumer social” category, have banded together to create Collective Media in an effort to define the next wave of social media platforms: “digital, social spaces that unlock deeper connection, greater utility, and freer play.” Over 20 founders have currently signed onto the collective, representing apps including Landing (a curatorial vision board app), Pineapple (a LinkedIn-like network for Gen Z), Somewhere Good (a platform to connect neighbors), and Diem (a Quora-like social search platform).

“Collective Media is all about building with and for our communities,” Miri Buckland, CEO of Landing, told Dirt via email. “We kept meeting companies building in the same way and with the shared belief that our online social experiences need to evolve—to feel additive to our wellbeing and less like shouting into a void.”

These fledgling platforms are not trying to compete to scale with the likes of Facebook, Twitter, or TikTok. CM’s goal was to coin a new term for their respective mission. “We’re trying to build apps and platforms that are community focused, that develop alongside users who are interacting with the product,” said Emma Bates, CEO of Diem. “There’s less of a hierarchy and more emphasis on the collective.”

PLAYBACK

Snippets of streaming news — and what we’re streaming.

• Succession’s (HBO) upcoming fourth season will be its last, the show’s creator Jesse Armstrong confirmed. (New Yorker)

  • “I do think that this succession story that we were telling is complete. This is the muscular season to exhaust all our reserves of interest, and I think there’s some pain in all these characters that’s really strong.”

• HYBE, the Korean entertainment company behind BTS, bought a 15 percent stake into its rival SM Entertainment. Company leaders believe that, by increasing HYBE’s stake in SM, they can “create a national entertainment champion, capable of taking on US giants Universal Music, Warner Music and Sony Music.” (Financial Times)

• Warner Bros sues Paramount over “South Park” streaming rights. (CNBC)

• A rec from the Dirt Discord, courtesy of Anna Grigoryan (@angrigoryan__): The Swiftologist, a YouTube channel for pop culture girlies and Swifties.

• I’m playing Kelela’s album Raven on repeat.

MIXTAPE

Good links from the Dirtyverse.

• The few, the proud: People who drink black coffee are an overwhelming minority at Starbucks. (WSJ)

• In the mood for love (songs): A short reflection on Nina Simone’s “You Don’t Know What Love Is.” (The Paris Review)

• A look into how highly-curated fashion Substacks have cultivated a loyal following of buyers. (Business of Fashion)

• On my to-bake list are these lychee madeleines with hibiscus tea glaze by Abi Balingit (@theduskykitchen), whose Filipino dessert cookbook MAYUMU publishes today.

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