Art

Required Reading

This week it’s a whole lotta TikToks, as the US government wants to ban it if the company doesn’t sell it to another owner, which is pretty terrible.

Hrag Vartanian

March 15, 2024 — 2 min read

An oblong block of red sandstone known as the "Stone of Destiny" and associated with the coronation of Scottish monarchs until the 13th century was ceremonially moved to Perth Museum from Edinburgh Castle. The historical emblem of Scotland's monarchy functioned as the sacred seat for the coronation of Scottish kings. The stone was damaged as part of the suffragette bombing and arson campaign of 1912–1914, when the Women's Social and Political Union planted a bomb loaded with metal bolts and nuts to act as shrapnel next to the Coronation Chair and Stone. No one was seriously injured in the blast. (Photo by Mike Boyd-Pool/Getty Images)

While a TikTok ban looms in the United States, we decided to dedicate this week's edition to what we culled from the video-sharing social media platform for your viewing pleasure. Also, did you know 40% of adults in the United States use TikTok?

‣ A Coptic Orthodox clergyman visits the Met Museum's Africa and Byzantium and reads/sings an 8th-century manuscript on display:

https://www.tiktok.com/@metmuseum/video/7341954916195339562?_r=1&_t=8kg3WHEvyiU

‣ How bad is ageism in corporate America? Really bad:

https://www.tiktok.com/@dandanzhudg/video/7334742259771919658

‣ France has not only made it illegal to buy or sell counterfeit designer handbags, but declared that owning one is now a crime:

https://www.tiktok.com/@mayelondon.uk/video/7330035072105549089

‣ Some advice about "trust fund babies," aka trustafarians:

https://www.tiktok.com/@blakeharrislaw/video/7344162159485553962

‣ Online dating apparently works for some people:

https://www.tiktok.com/@maxcomedian/video/7346216378073943339

‣ How do you hold your wine glass?:

https://www.tiktok.com/@reaganellyce/video/7343701983167073578

‣ Bear in snow!

https://www.tiktok.com/@kickinghorsemtn/video/7345656437420461318

‣ A Disney cruise gone wrong:

https://www.tiktok.com/@roberttolppi/video/7335299873383697707

‣ Some hotel rooms are … a lot:

https://www.tiktok.com/@greenjulia0/video/7337461562430573867

‣ Broken crayons as medium:

https://www.tiktok.com/@lakenzo/video/7325160894411885867

‣ Blakely Thornton might be right: Camilla Parker Bowles, the Queen consort of the United Kingdom, has won the IRL Game of Thrones:

https://www.tiktok.com/@blakelythornton/video/7346284843069656366

‣ AI will cause a lot of people to lose their jobs, including those in fields we don't always think of as being impacted by layoffs, according to billionaire Mark Cuban:

https://www.tiktok.com/@newyork_angelo_/video/7345847209977597227

‣ Chinese Gen-Z-ers are finding interesting ways to fly budget airlines:

https://www.tiktok.com/@candiselin86/video/7346421191340608810

‣ Walter Masterson went to speak at the Owasso County school board meeting in Oklahoma after the death of Nex Benedict:

https://www.tiktok.com/@waltermasterson/video/7346341202418994463

‣ I love it when HOA (Homeowners Association) meetings go wrong:

https://www.tiktok.com/@volumeupvids/video/7345900178366270762?_r=1&_t=8kh4BdbUWMA

‣ A response to gender scholar Judith Butler's recent comments about Hamas:

https://www.tiktok.com/@novaramedia/video/7343566697003109665

‣ On the out-of-control tipping culture of the US (people are funny):

https://www.tiktok.com/@subwaytakes/video/7345171948709727518?_r=1&_t=8kg43tQLdJS

‣ South Korea's population crisis is real and some people think the 4B movement might be working:

https://www.tiktok.com/@2hearts1seoul/video/7345476506518408455

‣ Did you know the US government used local folklore to fight communist fighters in the Philippines? If you want to learn more, check out this article in Esquire Philippines about psychological warfare:

https://www.tiktok.com/@msloan98/video/7331217828369943816

‣ Kinda true, no?

https://www.tiktok.com/@beckettkenny/video/7333357237873806634?_r=1&_t=8kh9MDxHH1K

‣ An Arab American influencer explains how people looking for jobs may be facing repercussions:

https://www.tiktok.com/@wallyrashid/video/7342963173974183210

‣ The birth of the Whitina?

https://www.tiktok.com/@ceil_no/video/7343368638759439658

‣ Social media influencer Mark Laita made the Whittakers famous after posting an interview with them, and then his problems started:

https://www.tiktok.com/@catchupnews/video/7345601470823140651

‣ TikTok users are resurfacing a 1990s soft rock anthem, David Gray's "Babylon" (1999), positing it as the antidote to all sorts of contemporary malaise:

https://www.tiktok.com/@daniellecollins67/video/7342876052282166561?_r=1&_t=8kg4UkNPS9a

Required Reading is published every Thursday afternoon, and it is comprised of a short list of art-related links to long-form articles, videos, blog posts, or photo essays worth a second look.