What Do Love Island USA, the 2024 Presidential Election and Brat Summer all Have in Common?
Kamala is Brat. Kordena is on top. Nothing is serious and everything is on fire.
Our summer in the Love Island Villa has come to a close, and I am still riding the high of Kordena’s win. My undoubted faves all season long were my Virgo sister Serena Page and her love interest Kordell Beckham (Notably Dolphin’s wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr’s younger brother). I am far from alone in my adoration of Season 6 of Love Island USA. Recently, it was reported that it has been one of the most watched shows of the summer with over 919 million hours in viewing time accumulated in the past several weeks.
The cultural obsession with Love Island USA comes as a surprise to many, as the UK counterpart has historically been the most popular franchise. This season, the display of Black women and women of color being pursued and loved out loud tugged on my heartstrings, as did the sisterhood and female friendship in the face of romantic turmoil (something all too familiar in the 2024 dating scene). I have been a Love Island USA truther since day 1, well actually season 4. But I couldn’t help but wonder…Why did the show find it’s audience this summer?
The timing of our one-sided relationship with these islanders could not come at a more inopportune moment politically. This has been one of the bleakest election cycles in recent history. I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed that clips of the Biden and Trump debate in my feed were being replaced with kissing challenges and petty disputes from the rotating cast of characters in the villa. Love Island quickly became one of the only safe topics that I could broach socially (that and Charli XCX’s “brat” of course.) Discussing the state of global and domestic affairs only led to tension and conversations I did not want to have. Convincing my friends to vote for Joe Biden was an argument that I couldn’t even fully get behind despite pleading the case for his second term to anyone who would listen. My friends would give me a metaphorical head pat and inevitably end up changing the subject to something that wouldn’t ruin our relationship. It’s no secret that electoral politics has let us down. In the face of this, I found myself turning to what I could control…Who stays and who goes in the villa. It helped that the show came on six days a week and encouraged live voting through their app. Some of the most effective organizing I have seen this year was done using the #loveislandusa tag on X.
A confounding factor here is that politics in the US has felt like a reality show as of late. It seems like no one has been able to take a single thing seriously after Bleach-Blonde Bad-Built Butch-Body gate, gifted to us by Jasmine Crockett and her impeccable eyelashes this past spring. Uttering this unthinkable phrase would definitely be considered brat behavior (affectionate), which brings me to my south asian queen Charli. Where last year was the year of barbie. This year is decidedly brat. Barbie’s feral, more impulsive, and messy sister. It only makes sense that brat summer would bring the Love Island USA finale and Joe Biden’s resignation coupled with Kamala Harris’ endorsement on the same day.
Love Island is brat coded as barbie — a highly controlled environment where only the most attractive and toned bodies are even admitted past the floral arches, but it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. The gorgeous islanders are in pretty substandard conditions, spending months competing for $50k (pre-tax) dressing to the nines every night and wearing bikinis during the day. All this in addition to being forced to interact with the same people for weeks on end using the same dirty bathroom. I shudder when I think about their shower situation.
Nonetheless, as the finale episode came to a close, watching all the finalist couples jump into the pool in their gowns and suits while fireworks went off in the distance and Ellie Goulding played in the background, I felt euphoric. It was beautiful in it’s obvious artifice. These people professed their romantic commitment to each other after knowing their respective partners for mere weeks. This visual coupled with Kamala stepping into the candidacy fully embracing the brat made for an overstimulating day on the internet to say the least.
Last week a former president was nearly killed, but all that anyone can talk about is Leah and Miguel and Kamala in the coconut tree. Everything is a meme. Self preservation. A way to laugh to keep from crying perhaps.
Do I think Love Island restored my faith in democracy? Maybe.
Is Kamala actually Brat? Unclear.
All I know for certain is that the collective desire for media that provides an escape is becoming all consuming. We don’t know when to put it down. We don’t know when the take things seriously or where to draw the line between high and low culture. We are parasocial. We are everywhere. As Charli would say, we are so Julia.
Something to Read:
The Brat-ification of Kamala Harris - If Kamala Harris isn’t Brat, her campaign is definitely trying to be.
Something to Listen To:
Lemme Say This - Will Denzel Claim His Sons? with Lauren Michele Jackson - Peyton and Hunter are now my friends in my head. They have some of the best pop culture takes I have heard in a minute. If you need a new podcast do yourself a huge favor and check this out.
"Not Like Us" by Kendrick Lamar - A Comprehensive Analysis - Dissect went crazy with this breakdown of Kendrick’s song of the Summer
Love Heart Cheat Code by Hiatus Kaiyote - This is the fourth studio album from the Australian Jazz/Neo-Soul Band. They are my favorite music group period. This is a special one.