Racial Reckoning Still Excites Culture Pages
False Assumption: Cultural commentary remains engaging and relevant when dominated by racial reckoning narratives framing white icons as provocative and black icons as patriotic reclaimers.
Written by FARAgent on February 10, 2026
In the wake of Trayvon Martin's death in 2012 and George Floyd's in 2020, cultural commentary in prestige outlets embraced racial reckoning as a vital lens. Writers like Doreen St. Félix at The New Yorker framed white icons, such as actress Sydney Sweeney in a 2024 American Eagle ad featuring mustangs and denim, as provocative symbols of white supremacy. Black creators, meanwhile, were cast as patriotic reclaimers of Americana; Beyoncé's performances reclaimed traditions seen as fraudulently white, and showrunner Mara Brock Akil adapted Judy Blume's 1975 novel "Forever" for Netflix, setting it amid Black families' isolation between those killings. This narrative dominated culture pages, promising fresh relevance by highlighting Black vulnerability and white complicity.
Projects greenlit under this assumption soon showed strain. Akil's "Forever," released in 2024, emphasized Black boys' perils but landed as dated and moralistic, echoing a moment that had passed. Critics noted how such works, once hailed, now felt inert and embarrassing, with prestige press back pages growing repetitive and less engaging. Commentator Steve Sailer warned early on that this fixation risked turning cultural discourse into "zombie slop," alienating audiences as the vibe shifted.
Growing evidence suggests this assumption was flawed. Increasingly, observers recognize that racial reckoning narratives, while initially energizing, have led to stale output in media and entertainment. The debate continues, with proponents defending their relevance, but dissenters argue for broader themes to revive interest.
People Involved
- In the cultural commentary scene, Doreen St. Félix took a leading role.
- She wrote for the New Yorker, framing actress Sydney Sweeney's jeans ad as a banal provocation.
- At the same time, she praised singer Beyoncé's work as a patriotic reclamation from white supremacists.
- St. Félix pushed this racial reckoning angle in good faith. [1]
- Meanwhile, Steve Sailer sounded early alarms. He argued that such fixations on race bored audiences and undercut the relevance of cultural coverage.
- Sailer positioned himself as a skeptic, questioning the staying power of these narratives. [1]
- On the production side, Mara Brock Akil adapted Judy Blume's novel for Netflix's 'Forever.' She shifted the focus to a Black boyfriend's perspective, emphasizing Black vulnerability.
- Akil set the story between the Trayvon Martin and George Floyd events, arguing that Black boys faced unique dangers. She championed this view as a believer in the racial reckoning framework. [2]
▶ Supporting Quotes (4)
“At The New Yorker, a black lady DEI hire is irate that people are talking about 27-year-old Sydney Sweeney instead of … 43-year-old Beyoncé: The Banal Provocation of Sydney Sweeney’s Jeans ... By Doreen St. Félix”— New Yorker: Let's Not Talk About Sydney Sweeney!
“Have the cultural backpages of the prestige press ever been less interesting? The left assumes that their Racial Reckoning is still interesting, while the right hasn’t yet started to make much interesting art.”— New Yorker: Let's Not Talk About Sydney Sweeney!
“When the showrunner Mara Brock Akil considered adapting the novel, a young adult classic, she saw the relationship through different eyes: her own, as a mother to Black sons.”— No Vibe Shift on Netflix Yet
“'I would posit that Black boys are the most vulnerable at this time,'”— No Vibe Shift on Netflix Yet
Organizations Involved
The New Yorker played a key part in sustaining the assumption. It published St. Félix's essay, which contrasted Sydney Sweeney's white blonde image in an American Eagle ad as lowest-common-denominator Americana with Beyoncé's Levi’s spot as a bold reclamation. The magazine promoted these racial reckoning takes in its cultural pages. [1] The New York Times followed suit in its arts and entertainment sections. It gave positive reviews to new Netflix shows, calling them timely for their focus on racial themes. [2] Netflix itself contributed by producing series like 'Forever,' which echoed the wokeness of 2020. The show depicted Black families navigating a scary period before George Floyd's death. [2]
▶ Supporting Quotes (3)
“At The New Yorker, a black lady DEI hire is irate that people are talking about 27-year-old Sydney Sweeney instead of … 43-year-old Beyoncé: The Banal Provocation of Sydney Sweeney’s Jeans”— New Yorker: Let's Not Talk About Sydney Sweeney!
“But when reading the arts and entertainment pages in the back of the New York Times announcing new museum exhibits, new themes for the Met Gala, new Pulitzer Prizes, and new Netflix shows, nothing seems to have changed.”— No Vibe Shift on Netflix Yet
“A new Netflix series adapts Judy Blume’s 1970s novel with a contemporary Black cast, flipping the gender roles but preserving its emotional innocence.”— No Vibe Shift on Netflix Yet
The Foundation
The assumption took root in ideas about Americana's origins. Commentators believed traditions like cowboys and denim had been fraudulently claimed by white supremacists. Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter album and her reworking of a 1985 Levi’s ad seemed to prove this, positioning her as a Black queen protector who elevated heritage brands. This view suggested Black icons inherently reclaimed patriotism, while white ones like Sydney Sweeney offered only provocative zombie slop. Her ad, with mustangs and good genes, reinforced the notion of white-led Americana as banal. [1] These ideas gained traction during the Awokening era. Black families described feeling isolated between the Trayvon Martin and George Floyd incidents, lacking ways to discuss safe parenting. This fueled a sub-belief in the timeless vulnerability of Black boys, which propped up racial reckoning narratives. [2] Growing evidence now suggests this foundation was flawed, though the debate continues.
▶ Supporting Quotes (3)
“her project, in this “Cowboy Carter” era, has been to cast herself as the real patriot, a protector of this country’s traditions from the fraudulent claims of white supremacists. By “reimagining,” to paraphrase the ad copy of the Levi’s campaign, the classic advertisement “Launderette,” from 1985—which had its white male love object, Nick Kamen, strip down to his boxers”— New Yorker: Let's Not Talk About Sydney Sweeney!
“The American Eagle campaign, with its presentation of Americana as a zombie slop of mustangs, denim, and good genes, is lowest-common-denominator stuff.”— New Yorker: Let's Not Talk About Sydney Sweeney!
“The show is set in Los Angeles in 2018, “between Trayvon Martin’s murder and George Floyd,” Brock Akil said in a recent interview, when Black families like hers “felt like we were alone and screaming in a vacuum — a very scary time.””— No Vibe Shift on Netflix Yet
How It Spread
The idea spread through prestige outlets. The New Yorker ran essays that prioritized racial framings over broad appeal. Writers insisted Beyoncé stayed cutting edge, even after decades in the spotlight. [1] Newspapers like the New York Times kept the momentum in their arts pages. They treated 2025 releases as fresh, despite their roots in outdated wokeness. [2] Critics, often on tight deadlines, overlooked how these products echoed obsolete 2020 vibes. They failed to see the dated tone in the latest offerings. [2] Increasingly, this propagation is recognized as a misstep, with evidence mounting that it alienated audiences.
▶ Supporting Quotes (3)
“It's fascinating how you are supposed to believe that Beyoncé, who became famous in the 1990s, is still cutting edge in 2025.”— New Yorker: Let's Not Talk About Sydney Sweeney!
“for example, from the New York Times today:”— No Vibe Shift on Netflix Yet
“What’s more bizarre, though, is that critics writing on deadline in May 2025 never seem to notice how the latest cultural products they are reviewing are so dated and obsolete.”— No Vibe Shift on Netflix Yet
Harm Caused
The fallout showed in cultural coverage. Prestige press backpages grew less engaging, stuck on racial reckoning narratives. Readers turned away, preferring talks about figures like Sydney Sweeney over forced racial angles. [1] Production inertia compounded the issue. Projects greenlit years earlier hit screens in 2025, sounding embarrassingly out of touch. They came across as moronic relics of 2020 thinking. [2] Growing evidence suggests these harms stemmed from the flawed assumption, though some still defend its relevance.
▶ Supporting Quotes (2)
“Have the cultural backpages of the prestige press ever been less interesting? The left assumes that their Racial Reckoning is still interesting”— New Yorker: Let's Not Talk About Sydney Sweeney!
“Much of this obsoleteness is of course due to inertia. When executives greenlighted these projects, how were they supposed to know how embarrassing they’d soon sound?”— No Vibe Shift on Netflix Yet
Downfall
Cracks appeared as public tastes shifted. People showed more interest in young Sydney Sweeney than in 43-year-old Beyoncé. Steve Sailer's commentary highlighted the irony: outlets insisted on Beyoncé's edge, ignoring her long fame. This exposed the staleness of racial reckoning frames. [1] Broader sentiment turned against wokeness. The public increasingly found Racial Reckoning themes cringe, leading news sections to downplay them. Arts pages lagged behind, still promoting the old narratives. [2] Evidence is building that the assumption is flawed, with recognition growing even as the debate persists.
▶ Supporting Quotes (2)
“a black lady DEI hire is irate that people are talking about 27-year-old Sydney Sweeney instead of … 43-year-old Beyoncé”— New Yorker: Let's Not Talk About Sydney Sweeney!
“It’s widely said that the public now finds the wokeness and the Racial Reckoning of the last dozen years to be cringe. Hence, the Democratic Party-aligned hard news front sections of newspapers seem to be trying to memoryhole their former obsessions.”— No Vibe Shift on Netflix Yet
Sources
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[1]
New Yorker: Let's Not Talk About Sydney Sweeney!reputable_journalism
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[2]
No Vibe Shift on Netflix Yetopinion