This week in pop culture: T.I. the backwards rapper, Disney Plus and Instagram
Disney’s Big Release
Watch out Netflix, Disney’s coming for you!
That’s right, as of November 12, Disney Plus has debuted with a monthly fee of $7. Still too expensive for a college kid with books and food to buy, but hey, at least it’s cheaper than Netflix. While Disney Plus did release on Tuesday, users complained of glitches and service outages. It glitched already? Yep, and over 10 million people registered for the new streaming service.
In case your considering pushing Disney Plus or are lucky enough to have a friend who purchased it, you’re in for a fun winter. Disney Plus will offer its blockbuster films such as Star Wars and Marvel movies while also adding to its original show count. Unlike Netflix, Disney Plus shows won’t be released in bulk, rather they’ll come out on a weekly basis, so no binge watching a series the day it debuts.
Disney Plus now competes against Netflix, HBO Now, and Apple TV Plus, as it already owns Hulu and ESPN Plus. Of course Disney owns Hulu and ESPN Plus; they own just about everything—Marvel, FOX, etc. In part due to its gradual takeover, Disney is offering a bundle deal, allowing consumers to bundle Disney Plus, Hulu with ads, and ESPN Plus for $13 dollars a month.
With many of the deals made by Disney, Disney Plus has a lot of possibilities to appeal to the market. Now let’s see what shows get added to this as Disney slowly takes over the entertainment market.
Instagram Removes Likes
Likes have become our strange way of measuring popularity on social media. Shows like Black Mirror have appropriately mocked the concept. Whatever the reason, Instagram may be removing likes.
Last week, if you discovered likes were missing on Instagram, you’re not alone. Adam Mosseri, Instagram’s CEO, explained that the social media giant would be hiding the like count on posts. Instagram began this elsewhere (Japan, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Italy and New Zealand) in July.
While the like count may be gone for some users, it is not for all, as this is a test run. Users can still view the likes on their own photos and videos. Honestly, isn’t that all that matters?
Mosseri explained that this was done to create “a less pressurized environment where people feel comfortable expressing themselves.”
Instagram isn’t alone in doing this. Facebook removed like counts in September temporarily and Twitter has also stated it would like to remove the ability to view public likes. This makes social media more about connections and less of a popularity contest.
T.I. the Backwards Rapper
UPDATE: As of November 19, Jada Smith announced T.I. would discuss the controversy on her show, Red Table Talk
Rapper T.I. has just become utterly repulsive. Recently, he admitted on a podcast that he goes with his eighteen-year-old daughter to the doctor to have her hymen checked. All of this is in the name of ensuring his daughter Deyjah remains a virgin.
Yeah, you read that right. The man takes his daughter, an adult, to the doctor to make her personal information his information. Not only is this behavior really creepy and almost predatory, but what kind of dad does that?
The purpose of these “virginity tests”, if you can even call it that, is to ensure she’s still pure despite the fact that they’re faulty and completely unreliable. The doctor himself admitted to this: the hymen can be “broken” without sexual activity.
Anything from riding a bike to using a tampon could make T.I.’s daughter appear “not pure” in his eyes. Of course, according to T.I., his daughter’s never ridden a bike, horse, or done physical activity in general. Or you know, used a tampon. Need it be mentioned some females aren’t born with a hymen?
At this appointment, T.I. was told he’d need his daughter’s permission to be there or to get information from the doctor. We can only hope that Deyjah gets the privacy she deserves soon.
