Mickey for everybody

Have you listened to our podcast yet? If not, you’re missing out on the good stuff. In today’s episode, we talk about Instagram’s “curated chaos,” superhero film fatigue, and NYT’s lawsuit against OpenAI. We also tease the “In/Out” list trend sweeping the internet.

Check it out here —> cool.

In other news… Disney has a copyright problem, Netflix is blowing up anime, and apps want you to keep up your “streak.”

Top Trends

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The Future. Steamboat Willie, a rambunctious, voiceless early version of the world-famous Mickey Mouse, is shaping up to be the first meme of 2024 after entering the public domain on January 1st. While the flood of Disney-skewing projects may light up the internet, the vast majority may be little more than a flash in the pan — an anti-climactic end to Disney’s decades-long copyright war.

Mice infestation
Steamboat Willie — introduced in 1928 in the black-and-white animated short of the same name — is suddenly everywhere.

The flood of content shows that there’s a collective excitement to get weird with Willie, who was supposed to go into the public domain in 1984 but was extended multiple times due to lobbying from the Mouse House. After so many years, playing with such a high-profile character feels ripe for 15 seconds of fame (like with the horror comedy Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey).

That’s not to say that people can do whatever they want with Willie — the Mickey and Minnie Mouse names and some specific images from the short are trademarked, which last forever.

The Future. Anime and manga adaptations are skyrocketing in popularity around the world… and Netflix is ensuring that it becomes the go-to platform for glossy, big-budget adaptations (which, in previous years, didn’t work so well). With the era of the superhero seemingly on the way out, the heroics and scale of anime and manga could make the genre a worthy blockbuster successor.

Graphic novel approach
Netflix is on a hit parade with live-action anime and manga adaptations.

What’s to credit for the sudden surge in demand for anime and manga adaptations? It’s a mix of factors, including Netflix’s massive global subscriber base, modern audiences’ comfort with subtitles, and, of course, the fact that the IP already has huge fandoms built over decades.

But there’s another fascinating reason: current adaptations are embracing the aesthetic of anime in live-action, made possible by advances in VFX… creating some wild (but accurate) imagery.

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Talk about being dope… T Swift is the 8th woman ever to appear on TIME’s Person of the Year list.

According to ex-TIME editor and recent Elon Musk biographer Walter Isaacson, the award goes to whoever impacted our lives the most that year (for better or worse). And for much of history, men have won the title.

So, yeah, Taylor Swift has A LOT going on right now.

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The Future. Streaks — that ability to keep something like Snaps or pokes or whatever going for years on end — are entering a new phase of cultural saturation. Every platform wants their own version, and marketers are increasingly seeing them as a key way to consistently engage users. Don’t be surprised if influencers start doling out rewards for followers who keep a streak with their content.

Engagement hyperdrive
Will 2024 be the Year of the Streak?

Why are streaks so addictive? Clemson University marketing professor Danny Weathers writes in Fast Company that they scratch a few different itches: gamification, strategy for a high-level goal, and low-pressure commitment.

Essentially, a potentially greater dopamine hit than a push notification. So, now we want to hear from you…

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63.7% of you voted No in yesterday’s poll: Do you go to therapy?

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“I have before, albeit not for very long. I use my women friends for soundboards.”

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“I went to several psychologists and psychiatrists over the years and found them more textbook-oriented than listeners. Not worth the money.”

“I want to. It’s too big of an expense and I would have to drive too far to access help. I believe it should be affordable for everyone, though.”

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Today’s email was written by David Vendrell.
Edited by Boye Akolade. Copy edited by Kait Cunniff.
Published by Darline Salazar.