The Zombification of Pop Culture

The image of zombies felt inescapable as I got up to speed on Hawk Tuah girl Haliey Welch, a story and character so packed with minor happenings that it could be its own cinematic universe.

Why zombies? Look it what Welch has done since her debut. There are podcasts, public appearances, and now an infamous meme coin. The last of these is clearly tied to her value as a meme, but the others were enabled by her pop culture currency as well. Her ability to do these things at all is a recycling of her first moment, like that ouroborus, eating its own tail, recycling itself. Or, if you like, it is an act of cannibalism, just like what zombies are known for.

I do not mean to criticize Welch here. She’s getting hers. Rather, in being taken in by this sort of thing, the finger points back at us.