This new TikTok movement is an antidote to the doom and gloom of #corecore
If you have been scrolling through TikTok recently, you may have noticed that the platform is less dancing and lip syncing, and more debating some of life’s existential questions. With Gen Z cultivating art movements through hashtags to do this, we ended up with Corecore as one of the main formats that took on the algorithm and succeeded. The videos challenged modern life with intentionally badly edited clips in a bid to expose the flaws of capitalism. The anti-trend movement saw users come together to bond over a feeling of dystopian hopelessness, soon becoming a trend itself – it was ironic, to say the least.
Perhaps an issue with the Corecore movement is that its discussions left people feeling rather lost, and not many TikTok users have any power to change these norms even if they are pointed out to them. But the introduction of Hopecore has started to fill in the space that Corecore left. With 300 million views on the hashtag, it does what it says on the tin by restoring the belief that good things are out there if you choose to notice them. It is saying that humanity isn’t all doom and gloom if you would just take a moment to notice.
The edits are characterised by their positive messages but thrive in their feeling of nostalgia and longing. It’s a reaction to doom-scrolling through wades of capitalist ads and the endless news cycle, helping users reconnect to this feeling of hope. Scenes from uplifting movies are cut together, like Michelle Yeoh in Everything, Everywhere All At Once telling her daughter “I will always, always want to be here with you,” or Olive from Little Miss Sunshine dancing on stage with her family in a display of sheer childhood innocence.
Ultimately, the feeling of hope highlights how love and connection can truly heal. It doesn’t ignore struggle but tries to promote the joy that can be found in these individual journeys. One of the most summative videos for this feeling of Hopecore is when Amy Winehouse won the Grammy for Record of the Year in 2008 with her song ‘Rehab’. The clip shows the singer in a state of shock after Tony Bennett calls out her name, as her backup singers and band embrace her and celebrate. It’s not really feeling that can be put into words, hence the clips doing the talking for themselves. And as per Winehouse’s life, we know that she had her own struggles, and Hopecore isn’t ignoring that, it just chooses to show the moments of purity amidst this. “Her eyes… she looks like a little girl again,” one user comments on the video. “She looks so genuinely happy. This is making me tear up!” says another.
A figurehead of the movement right now has to be actor Ke Huy Quan from Everything, Everywhere All At Once. The star and his selfies at the Oscars went viral after he took a picture with every celebrity from Brad Pitt to Malala to Michelle Obama. “He is so real for this,” say commenters, usually followed by an “I love him I love him I love him.” It was his win as the husband of co-star Michelle Yeoh that marked him as one of Hollywood’s greatest comeback stories after appearing in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies in the 90s. His tearful speech was the epitome of Hopecore: “Mom, I just won Oscar! My journey started on a boat. I spent a year in a refugee camp. And somehow, I ended up here on Hollywood’s biggest stage. They say stories like this only happen in the movies. I cannot believe it’s happening to me. This — this is the American dream!”
Award shows like the Oscars are a big part of Hopecore. Another favourite of the hashtag’s aficionados is Frances McDormand at the 2018 Academy Awards accepting Best Actress for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, in which she demanded gender parity in the entertainment industry. Every female nominee in the Dolby Theatre stood with her in solidarity. The edits are sprinkled with politicians standing up for their rights (“I am speaking Mr. President,” says Kamala Harris), sportswomen celebrating goals together and Cher’s famous “Mom, I am a rich man.” They are clips we have seen time and time again on the internet, but perhaps through our doom-scrolling, forgot to acknowledge the part they play in this journey.
There are even image edits with quotes over the top that read “I choose to believe in the idea that people are fundamentally good at heart” or “people who can bring the light from darkness are wonderful.” It almost feels like an extension of the wildly popular account @werenotreallystrangers, which aims to point out that love is everywhere. With 5 million followers and counting, it inspired other forms of art accounts that point out the beauty in everyday acts of kindness or humanness, like @subwayhands. Perhaps this suggests that amongst all our debates and fights for more, this new movement is a necessity. How about we all take some time to start dream-scrolling instead?
