The Interlude

Laying in bed last night, I contemplated staying up to watch Ariana Grande’s music video for her new single, “Positions.” After clenching my jaw through a less grueling, final presidential debate, I was fatigued (and envious of the smarter people who just didn’t watch for their mental health). I spent the hour after the debate looking at jobs and bookmarking the ones I would apply to in the morning. Then I got ready for bed, ready to collapse. It was 11:48 — could I really make it through another 12 minutes to get a glimpse of Grande’s newest era?

Like most people, I watched TikTok to pass the time. Then, as the countdown began on YouTube, and I waited patiently this time, I wondered what I could possibly see — and then I saw it: The White House. Over the next two-plus minutes, I would watch Ariana Grande play different “positions” throughout the White House — from cook to President, in 1960s fabulous garb. While I saw people tweeting, “This is the president we want!” and “Yes, Jackie Onassis!” I thought to myself, is this really what we want?

Nowadays, I often look forward to content as a form of escapism. Almost any and everything that has been released in the last six months, I’ve enjoyed, including “WAP” by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, a song I didn’t like at first, but made myself enjoy after the tenth listen. Although, having to think about the election for one more second than I had to, made me wince. Grande’s single itself isn’t even political beyond its social politics. In “Positions,” Grande sings about her ability to be everything a lover could desire, someone who is sweet, assertive, and not just sexual, but sexually available. Sure, somewhere in that song is a think-piece about womanhood, but I think the content of the music video speaks to something greater. Grande meanders about the White House, without really doing anything except looking like she’s doing something, such as signing important documents or taking questions at a press briefing. Grande gets to benefit from the association of politics, without even really saying anything, as she cosplays as a woman with even more power. Worst of all, she does so embracing the aesthetics of the ’60s, separating the appearance from the period’s politics.

Ariana Grande has done a lot of good throughout her career, and especially the last few months. Her partnership with HeadCount — a national non-profit organization known to work with musicians to register young voters — during her Sweetener tour gained a lot of attention after breaking the organization’s record, by registering over 33,000 people to vote. Particularly during the pandemic, Grande ensured security for thousands by sending $500 to $1,000 dollars to individual fans, and supporting the COVID-19 fund, Project 100, which provided $1000 payments to 100,000 families greatly impacted by the pandemic. She also donated the net proceeds from her collaboration with Justin Bieber, “Stuck With U,” to the First Responders Children’s Foundation.

Despite all her generosity, she still made the strategic decision to release a music video like this mere hours after the final Presidential debate, indicating she grasps the benefit in capitalizing off this unruly, unrelenting political climate, and still goes for it. Celebrities nowadays are teetering on the line of being political, philanthropic, and capitalistic, but what they’re failing to realize is while they can have it all, their fans can’t afford to. I can’t afford to support a capitalistic system that continuously fails me, as I keep scrolling and re-writing hundreds of cover letters for jobs that often don’t provide benefits. No matter the good Grande’s done, she still greatly gains from the system, and we are all supposed to be happy to bear witness to a music video like “Positions;” one that doesn’t lull me out of reality’s misery, but jolts me right back into it.

I’m tired of pop stars thinking I’ll be content with their quasi-political creations, like we can’t see through the hypocrisy. Periods of turmoil, especially one like this, awaken a deep class divide, and if celebrities aren’t more careful and thoughtful about the content they create, they may need to prepare themselves to be in a better “position.”