If Charli XCX said it, it must be true: “Brat Summer is over.” The club rat/pop chick said goodbye to the season that would define her career, and perhaps the political future of America, on September 2nd, 87 days after Charli released the album. Brat And it came 43 days after she declared Vice President Kamala Harris a “sassy brat.” The autumn, end-of-summer spookiness usually doesn’t really kick in until the end of the month, but being online has always been a surefire way to distort one’s sense of time.
But this year, the warp is coming at you super fast. As Bessie Squires pointed out at Vulture this week, it seems like the internet is “starting the spooky season early.” Maybe a low-key fall didn’t give people enough of what they needed. Maybe people just want to get their fill of Halloween before they start preparing for the holiday season on October 1 (or so they think). Some TikTok users are advocating for a fall dedicated to Magdalena Bay albums. Imagination Disc.
But more than that, I think this all has to do with the fact that being hyper-online means observing our own calendar, which, although it does follow the Gregorian calendar a bit, has its own holidays and traditions.
As we all know, it’s that time of the year when everyone starts posting “It’s already May” along with Galentine’s Day, Beyonce’s birthday (which was just celebrated on Wednesday), and a macro of Justin Timberlake’s smiling face. And now, maybe a little early, Spooktober and the new Pumpkin Spice Latte/PSL season are here. Like many other events, the last Pumpkin Spice Latte/PSL season, similar to National Donut Day, may not be the product of corporate marketing genius, but it’s definitely one that benefits Starbucks. #Brands love to jump on #trends. Now, when they see that there is a surefire way to participate in something like Pride Month, they mark it on their calendar and roll out an entire campaign.
Perhaps this is what started it all. Everyone from Gen Z TikTok users to the social media manager at Dunkin’ Donuts needs to know when to jump on a trend and when to stop. Perhaps this is why the Kamala HQ X account has already removed the brat green color. As my colleague Leah Fieger discussed with writer Hunter Harris a few weeks ago, the pop culture conversation surrounding Harris is likely to shift to a more political one as the United States approaches Election Day in November.
