{"id":30782,"date":"2021-09-03T17:00:07","date_gmt":"2021-09-03T17:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=30782"},"modified":"2021-09-09T21:17:04","modified_gmt":"2021-09-09T21:17:04","slug":"quinta-brunsons-virality-transcends-the-digital-space","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/quinta-brunsons-virality-transcends-the-digital-space\/","title":{"rendered":"Quinta Brunson’s Virality Transcends The Digital Space"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo courtesy: The Riker Brothers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Quinta Brunson\u2019s humor is etched into the pop culture zeitgeist of the digital age. Some first encountered her comedic genius in an episode of her \u201cThe Girl Who Has Never Been On A Nice Date\u201d Instagram skit series in 2014, which is said to be the first viral video on the platform. Other consumers of the world wide web have undoubtedly witnessed \u2014 and hilariously used \u2014 the comedienne\u2019s enduring presence as ubiquitous memes of cultural commentary. While her virality has transcended its formative space, in her debut memoir \u201cShe Memes Well,\u201d the maestro of digital content is formally documenting her unconventional experience with wit, relatability, solemnity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The memoir, a collection of personal essays, delves into the humanity and dimensionality behind Brunson\u2019s internet stature. \u201cI wanted to contribute to documenting what it\u2019s like to be a creator in the digital age,\u201d Brunson tells\u00a0<\/span>Grazia.<\/span><\/em>\u00a0\u201cI wanted to actually try to document what it looked like to be in this pseudo-journalism-acting-comedic creator world during a social media boom specifically.\u201d For those of us who\u2019ve watched her flourish from the inception of her \u201cHe Got Money\u201d earworm catchphrase, it\u2019s also an intimate exploration into her culturally rich upbringing in West Philadelphia, the unwieldy trade-offs of fame and even the transformative cultural moments in her younger years.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Brunson, who is named after the word \u201cfifth\u201d in Spanish, is the youngest of five and was born to devout parents who were largely influenced by the revolutionary radicality of the seventies. She credits descending from a politically active, spiritually in tune family for her grounded approach in a career that can often drift into focusing on reception rather than intention. \u201cI think with my parents being faithful people grounded me in always trying to keep a spiritual connection to my work and making sure I feel good about my work,\u201d she says. \u201cThat sounds altruistic but that means in whatever I\u2019m doing I feel okay.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

From the improv stage to Instagram, producing at Buzzfeed to starring in\u00a0<\/span>A Black Lady Sketch Show<\/span><\/em><\/a>,<\/span><\/em>\u00a0and now creating the forthcoming ABC comedy \u201cAbbott Elementary,\u201d Brunson\u2019s evolution has been meteoric. Yet, behind a bevy of gilded accolades is the identity tugs-of-war of life. Discussing how materialism, advertising and consumerism (a concept she coins as MAC; \u201cnot to be confused with the makeup brand\u201d) contorted the self-perception of her younger years, she candidly writes, \u201cThe truth was, the more pop culture I ate up, the more I wasted away as a person.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Social media has doubly intensified this vulturous nature of consumption. Oversharing, the pressure of aesthetically-manufactured internet identities and subscribing to unrealistic beauty standards are insidiously ingrained into consumers \u2014 a struggle that the hailed digital personality wasn\u2019t exempt from. Finding the delicate, and often obscured, middle ground meant retreating for the sacredness of privacy. \u201cIt often took a lot of pulling back. I would limit how much I wanted to be in the public eye because I wanted and still want the freedom to grow up in private,\u201d she says. She earnestly admits, \u201cWhen you give a bunch, people expect a bunch.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Moreover, \u201cShe Memes Well\u201d not only cements Brunson\u2019s identity in her own words, but it\u2019s also an offering unto the canon of Black girlhood. Growing up, Spike Lee\u2019s 1994 film\u00a0<\/span>Crooklyn\u00a0<\/span><\/em>and neo-soulstress Lauryn Hill\u2019s album,\u00a0<\/span>The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill<\/span><\/em>, were her memories of encountering the indescribable essence of girls who looked liked her. Those wondrous moments of representation is something she hopes to have returned to the literary space.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cVery often, we talk about Black girlhood and how Black girlhood is often skipped over \u2014 especially like regular Black girlhood,\u201d she says. At the core of this transparency that weaves throughout Brunson\u2019s anecdotes is her yearn for representations of Black girls navigating the mundane activities of life, rather than stories that hinge on their trauma.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When devising what recollections she would include, she looked to what her younger self could have benefited from engaging with positive stories of romance that weren\u2019t fraught with turmoil. \u201cI felt like I wanted those relationships out there so that younger girls can have something,\u201d she says, regarding writing about her dating experiences. \u201cMy relationships weren\u2019t traumatic. They were sad at times and they ended clearly, but they weren\u2019t traumatic. I wish that I read stuff like that when I was younger.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Returning to her adolescence also meant confronting the fear that comes with bearing one\u2019s truth and providing herself the space of grace for who she once was. In one of her essays, she recounts the influences that fed her insatiable appetite for pop culture. Amongst her litany, she names Tina Fey\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Bossypants<\/span><\/em>\u00a0autobiographical comedy book for inspiring her venture into comedy and reminisces on how the visuals for \u201cD.I.D.D.Y, \u201d the hip hop mogul’s self-titled track featuring Pharell, encapsulated an endearing persona that she admired.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With both figures now reckoning with the tides of cultural re-evaluation, Brunson says transposing that reality onto paper was one of the hardest parts of composing her memoir. \u201cAll of that feels scary to talk about because I never wanted it to look like I was praising these people, but I did want to be honest about my influences,\u201d she says. Brunson adds, \u201cSometimes when we look back on our old selves we create this reality of who we think we were or who we wished we were and I didn\u2019t want to do that. I wanted to be honest.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While the New York Times<\/i> bestselling list is the de facto measure of success in the literary realm, Brunson asserts that she measures herself a little bit differently. \u201cFor me what has proven to be the marker of success is Black girls saying, \u2018I feel seen. I feel heard. I feel like I just talked to a friend. I feel like I have a roadmap.\u2019\u201d She adds, \u201cMy hope is that they pass it along to someone else.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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