kitsch

Now we arrive at the stage of kitsch, which is an absolute requirement for any story to become a Story.

Through Cartman’s over-the-top scheming — like trapping a fellow kid underground while faking an apocalyptic meteor strike just to make it to dinner —we’re reminded of the way certain spaces, no matter how kitsch or questionable, become essential to our personal narratives.

Take a young, shirtless Kanye West depicted with thick gold chains and an ornate crucifix casually slung over his shoulder; a naked Doja Cat balancing on a rock, aiming her Cupid’s bow and arrow at the clouds; Miley Cyrus floating in the night sky in a glittering, barely-there pink G-string; and Pamela Anderson, with a braces-adorned smile, baring her breasts in a kitsch bedroom scene.

“The album period wasn’t my favourite but if people still like it and find it fun, that’s cool. I’m happy with being the retro kitsch guy,” he says.

One of the mildly endearing things about Republican conventions of the pre-Trump era was the devotion to GOP kitsch.