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On Sunday, President Joe Biden shocked the country by announcing that he would not seek re-election in November. He threw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris. If elected, Harris would be the first black and Asian-American woman to become president, and her historic tenure is already creating enthusiasm. Most Democrats are quickly falling into line. Some would say Harris is having a brat summer.
“Brat summer” is a phrase that has become the defining pop culture meme of the season — at least for the online set — and references an album released in June by pop artist Charli XCX titled Brat. Charli XCX is a 31-year-old Englishwoman who has been around for a while, although her influence is greater than her name recognition. You may remember Icona Pop’s 2012 hit “I Love It” (“I do not care, I love this!”). This was written and hosted by Charli XCX. Her work with producer AG Cook and electronic artist Sophie has had a lasting impact on the sound of pop music, giving mainstream exposure to a niche genre called “hyperpop.”
Charli XCX has had a long and fruitful career (not to brag, but I’ve been here since the beginning). But Brat arrived in a way that no other previous work has: critics praised it and it is by far Charli XCX’s biggest success. Charli XCX has been a critical darling rather than a blockbuster superstar like Taylor Swift. There is a nervousness this works well for their fan base, which would otherwise be lost to a more general audience.
The song is confident but sincere: on the record, Charli XCX sings about wanting to hear her own music at the club and being “your favorite reference, baby.” Then she moves on to the feeling of being an outsider, of never fitting in with the industry elites. Her public image is not entirely clean or familiar, and she is recognized disputes she had with her record label in the past.
Brat the album brings this story together with a personal narrative, creating a revealing portrait of a person who seems at once a little detached but also deeply introspective. Songs like “I think about it all the time” make her question her life choices regarding parenthood, worrying if she’s missing out on something by not having a child. The next track is about endless parties and “talks” and “keys” at the club. Humans are complex.
The “Brat summer” concept is all of this rolled into one: chaotic club energy mixed with existential questions about life. Brat Summer is, but not limited to: cigarettes and no bra; bed rotting; annoying your boyfriend; is not working; It is alternates between crisis and unadulterated joy. He’s tender and vulnerable, but also a little arrogant and arrogant. It’s called Brat for a reason.
Brat the album is wonderfully fun, but the marketing and release of the record is truly clever. The album’s cover – a simple lime green background with lightly pixelated black letters, simply “brat” – was derided by some when it was initially revealed, but as the weeks went by, it became obvious just how memeable (and therefore shareable). ) the album was before it was even released. Green now automatically means brat. There is multiple Brat generators so people can place their own blurred text on a green background.
On Sunday, Kamala HQ, the Harris campaign’s quick response account, changed her banned X profile to a custom image on Brat style. Shortly after, Charli XCX herself tweeted “Kamala IS Brat” – probably the closest thing to an endorsement you can get from a club kid pop artist who is huge among young people. O Brat aesthetics penetrated CNN roundtablesand Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) shared a photo of her with Harris, which was edited to have a lime green filter. Brat.
The Harris campaign is walking a fine line by co-opting the Brat images and language – the margin between the funny and the embarrassing is very thin. We can think of Brativity (brat activity) as a micro-targeted political ad aimed at young people connected to internet culture, especially on TikTok.
But these same young voters also care about other things: they want a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, where Israeli attacks have killed almost 40,000 people. They care about the economy and access to reproductive care. They are skeptical of institutions and don’t vote like older populations. A coconut tree meme can’t solve these things, and politicians shouldn’t expect young people to vote just because their campaign is funny online.
At the same time, Harris is an excellent candidate for this level of niche meme because even before Brat, she was at the center of internet jokes. More than a year ago, Harris made remarks at a White House event where she discussed equity and how different people come from different backgrounds.
“[My mother] would tell us, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people. Do you think you just fell from a coconut tree? You exist in the context of everything you live in and what came before you.’” Harris recalled. The eerie image of someone falling out of a coconut tree – along with Harris’ distinct laugh and immediate change of tone – made this short excerpt the soundtrack of countless online videos even before the Brat crossing. It’s a bit poetic in a strange way, especially when the few sentences are taken alone without much explanation. And so the coconut tree meme he was born. The Harris campaign also appears to be subtly leaning into this: the Harris HQ X account bio says, “Providing context.”
Harris is far from the only politician trying to turn viral moments into electoral victory – former President Donald Trump won the 2016 election on a wave of viral images used and disseminated by his base. “The Great Meme War” waged by 4chan users and other pro-Trump communities ensured that Pepe the Frog represented something bigger than just a poorly drawn amphibian. Biden’s camp has towed merchandise with images of “Dark Brandon,” a meme of a sinister Biden that originated in right-wing circles but was then (mostly successfully) reclaimed and embraced by Democrats.
But even before the Internet became a battleground for the polls, things we might describe as memes — broadcastable images or slogans with broader meanings — were haunting politics. Does the image of Michael Dukakis smiling while riding a tank kill his presidential ambitions after the silly footage was used in a Republican attack ad? Probably not entirely. But it created a lasting image that is still cited today as a lesson in how to lessen your chances (sorry).
I suspect we’ll see Harris pop up in other meme contexts: This morning, while browsing TikTok, I saw that she became the subject of a Harry Daniels video — for the uninitiated, Daniels is a creator who takes on celebrities and other notable people and asks if he can sing for them. The singing is purposely tense, off-key and often disturbing. For Harris, Daniels sang a few lines from Beyoncé’s “Formation” while Harris looks amused and wide-eyed.
As she walks into the next room, you can hear her ask an employee, “Who was that guy?” Most voters will have the same reaction. But if you know, you know.
