We need to TikTok about Bruno
In case you’ve been living under a rock, the Disney animated film Encanto has been all over TikTok. So much so that the song "We Don’t Talk About Bruno" is the no. 1 song in the U.S. for the second week in a row thanks to its virality on the app. It's currently all anyone is talking about. That and the Olympics!
We don’t talk about Bruno…or do we?
Not only is "We Don’t Talk About Bruno" at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, but it's also the soundtrack to over 800,000 TikToks. While many videos under the sound are Encanto fan edits, ranging from users recreating scenes and character outfits to analyzing the zodiac signs of the characters, the earworm has also inspired a trend completely divorced from the movie, in typical TikTok fashion.
TikTokkers have isolated a specific part of the song where there's a dramatic shift in the music. So the videos typically start with the lyrics "Like the grapes that thrive on the vine/ Óye, Mariano's on his way" before shifting tones to "He told me that…" when the song becomes more intense. The TikTok trend consists of two takes. In the first, a TikTokker is trying to accomplish a task, and in the second take they are shown walking into the room as the achilles heel of whatever they were trying to accomplish. The walk itself is inspired by the dance moves featured in the "We Don’t Talk About Bruno" sequence in Encanto.
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One relatable example is @alex.berglund's video that begins with him sitting on the couch. It reads, "me trying to sign into my school email," and then he creeps into the room with the follow-up "2 factor identification." This trend is being used for any situation and by every fandom, which demonstrates the reach of Encanto.
Major bag alert
Another viral song on TikTok this week is the 2017 track "Major Bag Alert" from DJ Khaled and Migos. The song has been used in over 220,000 videos. This trend is surprisingly subversive. It frames everyday experiences in a way that reveals who is financially benefiting from them.
In order to understand the trend you must know that "bag" is slang for money. The concept of this trend is simple: The lyrics "major bag alert" are accompanied by a caption that details a situation in which someone (or a corporation) is making a lot of money. These videos are funny, but they have an edge. For example, @jacimariesmith made a tongue-and-cheek response that criticizes the mommy blogger industrial complex. It reads, "mommy bloggers when they get pregnant."
Usually when I see a relatable TikTok video I chuckle and keep scrolling, but with this trend I found myself feeling vaguely exploited and thoroughly read.
OlympicTok
I would be remiss not to mention the biggest event on TikTok this week, the 2022 Winter Olympics. My FYP has been taken over by day-in-the-life videos from Beijing, Olympian Q&As, Yuzuru Hanyu edits, and people thirsting over all of the athletes.
There has been one popular trend among Olympians that deserves the gold medal: "Things in my Olympic room that just make sense." This trend gives us plebeians an inside look at the Olympic Village in Beijing and the quirks of the Olympian experience. Some popular examples of the trend are Australian snowboarder Scotty James's video that shows his devotion to Australia and Team China's Anna Fairman and Anna Segedi showing off their precarious decorations.
Shoutout to the TikTokkers putting in the work to make edits of all the hottest Olympians, we appreciate it! Keep those Yuzuru Hanyu edits coming.
Topics TikTok
Elena is a tech reporter and the resident Gen Z expert at Mashable. She covers TikTok and digital trends. She recently graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in American History. Email her at [email protected] or follow her @ecaviar_.
