Tiktok has undoubtedly been an agent of pop culture, spreading memes, references, and other forms of media sporadically. Books - despite being one of the oldest forms of media - still remain relevant as ever. And Booktok is a quintessential example of its relevance. People share memes, funny things, comedic references, and recommendations of their favorite books.

Language is natural, and a part of its nature is change. Today, it's a very normal thing to see everyone say "Slay", or "Queen!", or even combining them into "Slay Queen!". It's come to the point that even gay tribes like twinks, bears, and otters are being used to describe men regardless if they are queer or not. The spread of this behavior started in stan twitter, from fans of Main pop girls (MPGs), essentially, the most successful female pop singers right now. With the advent of Tiktok, gaylingo has been spreading faster than ever with queer-led algorithms spreading in mainstream spaces.

Taylor Swift is undoubtedly the most popular artist in the world right now, so when she released Folklore (2019) a bittersweet slow record, the world caught on, and sad girl music has been less and less of a niche. Today, it has become a really popular thing - embracing sadness, and showing vulnerability. Tiktok also caught the drift, using this type of music for slower videos, backgrounds for sad moments. To add to this, using music on Tiktok leads makes it get more streams in music platforms, creating a cycle.

Harry Potter: any gen z/Millennial has probably gone through a phase where the book and movie series was their own identity. The four primary colors with the added yellow is all too familiar for us, each color representing a personality. Gryffindors proud and honor-bound; Slytherins are cunning, identity-driven; Ravenclaws are intelligent, unique, and Hufflepuffs are sociable, charismatic. In the height of its popularity, we all kept asking other people, "what's your house?" The reason for this is simple: people like to feel included in a group, and this is something we can see in other faction-related media: Game of Thrones and its kingdoms, even Divergent and its factions.

That said, a symbol cannot exist without color, and this is where color semiotics take place. The artists and the author were very deliberate in having the color compliment the symbol animal. For one, red is the symbol of passion and pride; the glaring red behind Gryffindors symbol only intensifies the characteristics the lion already represents, making it very purposeful and consistent. While green normally represents nature, a darker hue represents poison, danger, things we already associate with serpents. Ravenclaw's blue represents serenity and wisdom. When we think blue, we normally think the water - it's old, flowing, and holds secrets. This adds complexity to the Ravenclaw identity. Lastly, the yellow in Hufflepuff adds to the gentle, peaceful nature of the house. Idealism and optimism are things we normally associate with the color. Semiotics is not just a tool for marketing or layout; it's a very good tool storytellers can use to mark characteristics and personalities. And though I don't see eye-to-eye with J.K. Rowling's politics, I'd say this was a clever storytelling device.

Regardless of how much I critique Genshin for its Gacha mechanics, I cannot help but enjoy the game. For media - books, games, shows - to be popular it has to be good at something. That said, Genshin is good at a lot of things: graphics, animation, character design, art style, environments, and progression. I, however, would still caution people to be wary of the predatory pay-to-win system. But given the lack of competition between players, you can complete the game without spending a single dime. Regardless of game ethics, one cannot deny the immense cultural impact of this game. The cultural impact is so visible that whenever there are cosplay events or bazaars, you will see this game everywhere.

As opposed to previous generations who would have more direct ways of coping (eg. sports, clubbing, etc.) Gen Z makes fun of themselves. "You hate me? You ain't special because I hate myself too!" - this is something you would see on twitter. And as sensationalized as it is, it's often an exaggeration for feelings we all understand, like not being enough, or feeling neglected. However satirical this is, it only shows that Gen Z is unapologetically able to express vulnerability. In fact, we're the generation who treats mental illness the most seriously, and it's something I'm proud of.

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