Latest news with #CulturalPhenomenon
CTV News
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Labubu: The viral monster toy taking over Canada
This image provided by 'Showcase', shows Labubu, the plush toy from China's Pop Mart. Labubu, the mischievous, pointy-toothed monster from Chinese toy company Pop Mart, is no longer just a viral sensation – it's a full-blown cultural phenomenon. And in Canada, demand is surging, thanks in part to Showcase, the national retailer bringing Pop Mart products to local malls. 'Labubu is one of many characters in the Monsters series of Pop Mart, but she's the most famous character by far,' said Samir Kulkarni, CEO of Showcase, in a video interview with 'We've been in business for 30 years. This is by far the largest toy trend that we have ever seen.' Pop Mart describes Labubu as 'a small monster with high, pointed ears and serrated teeth' who, despite its mischievous look, 'is kind-hearted and always wants to help.' Originally created in 2015 by Hong Kong-born, Netherlands-raised illustrator Kasing Lung, Labubu first appeared in a trio of picture books inspired by Nordic mythology. '[The artist] remembered hearing Dutch bedtime stories about different monsters … and created figurines to go with those stories,' Kulkarni said. 'There's a story behind the story, and that's what creates that demand.' Although the character began as a background figure, Labubu has grown into the face of Pop Mart's global success, especially since plush versions hit the market in 2023. Labubu This image provided by 'Showcase', shows Labubu, the plush toy from China's Pop Mart. According to the company's annual report, Pop Mart's revenue more than doubled in 2024 to 13.04 billion yuan (US$1.81 billion), driven in part by Labubu's success. Plush toy sales alone soared more than 1,200 per cent, accounting for nearly 22 per cent of overall revenue. Labubu has been embraced by fans of all ages, though most buyers fall between the ages of eight and 25, according to Kulkarni. 'It definitely skews towards the younger side,' he said, adding there are older customers, especially when it comes to rarer and more expensive figures. Labubu has also become a fashion accessory, spotted dangling from designer handbags carried by celebrities including Olivia Attwood, Kim Kardashian and David Beckham, fuelling the toy's desirability. 'It's a mystery' What sets Pop Mart apart, and Labubu in particular, is the blind-box format. Shoppers never know exactly which figure they'll receive until opening the box. 'It's very different than most toys that are sold in retail,' Kulkarni said. 'In this case, it's a mystery. Sometimes there are rare characters that only appear once every 72 boxes. So, people are looking for the super rare ones, as well.' Those rare figures, once discovered, can skyrocket in value. The result is a frenzied aftermarket, with online resellers charging eye-watering prices for coveted pieces. 'They definitely do get more expensive over time because they are limited edition items,' Kulkarni said. 'There just isn't enough … and demand is much higher than the supply.' Showcase has leaned into the collector culture by offering in-store trading for duplicates and pre-order options for upcoming releases. New Labubu series drop almost monthly, according to Kulkarni, including the wildly popular 'Big Into Energy' collection featuring neon-coloured versions of the character. Labubu This image provided by 'Showcase', shows Labubu, the plush toy from China's Pop Mart. 'That line is the most popular Labubus ever created,' he said. 'We allow for those trades in-store, as well, so that people can … complete their collections.' Labubu vs. Lafufu Tracking down a Labubu isn't always easy. While Pop Mart operates an online store that ships to Canada, there are no physical Pop Mart locations in the country. Labubu figures are also available through a range of retailers — including Showcase, its national partner — as well as independent shops and online resellers. But fans should beware: a growing number of fakes, known online as 'Lafufus,' are circulating in the market. Lafufu, a counterfeit of Pop Mart's hit toy, has gained unexpected traction on social media. The name riffs on the word 'fake,' and their exaggerated flaws like misaligned eyes, uneven fur and lumpy bodies have turned them into a meme of their own. Despite being knockoffs, Lafufus have attracted a following. They're cheaper and more accessible than the genuine article, offering a low-cost entry point into the fandom for buyers who aren't fussy about official branding. There are a few general ways to tell the difference between a Lafufu and an authentic Labubu: genuine figures typically come in Pop Mart packaging with verifiable details, such as a QR code. Lafufus, by contrast, are often sold in unbranded bags and may have visible flaws.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
31 TV Shows That Were Once Wildly Popular But Are Now Completely Forgotten
Is there a TV show you used to love, but it seems like nobody else remembers it? Recently, Redditor u/lonelylamb1814 asked r/television about "shows you're surprised are now culturally forgotten." Here are 31 of the top responses: 1."Ally McBeal was pretty huge for a short time. Calista Flockhart was a household name. It even had that weird dancing baby. It's almost totally forgotten now." —JohnnyFootballStar 2."Melrose Place was fucking huge in the '90s. People would have watch parties, and Kimberly's scar reveal was late-night talk show fodder for weeks. There was even a Seinfeld episode about the show! And now? It's total pop cultural crickets." —JamMasterJamie Here's the scene: 3."People claim Game of Thrones's popularity/presence evaporated overnight because of the terrible finale, but in reality, that happened with How I Met Your Mother." —Dnashotgun 4."Desperate Housewives was 'water-cooler' TV at one point in history…But in general, any TV show older than about 15 years." —Msdamgoode 5."Home Improvement was a huge ratings draw (Tim Allen and Patricia Richardson declined a combined $75 million for a ninth season) and probably the third most successful '90s sitcom after Seinfeld and Friends, and yet, it's not talked about anymore, something that the other two clearly have achieved." —mxinex 6."Rugrats. Kids don't know who Tommy Pickles or any of the other Rugrats are, and that freaks me out." —Krazy_Kane 7."The O.C. was an absolute cultural phenomenon from 2003-2006. Now, it is barely spoken about, and when it is, it is just referred to as another random teen show from the era and not a culturally defining one." —Dabrigstar 8."Scrubs has vanished for how big it was; honestly felt like it was on par with Friends at one point." —Wanbizzle 9."My answer will be American Horror Story. It's basically nothing now, when it was HUGE just a few years ago." —paulojrmam 10."Moonlighting was also massive. It helped to create the modern network dramedy. Launched Bruce Willis's career and was one of the go-to examples of 'will they/won't they' couples on TV for a long time. But it always had production issues, irregular scheduling, and never got the numbers to make up a syndication package, so it faded from view. Yet recently, it's shown up on a few different streaming services and seems like it might also be having a bit of a revival." —Belgand 11."Now, the one that nobody talks about is Thirtysomething. It wasn't just a massive hit, it was the defining yuppie show. It doesn't seem to be streaming anywhere. Even if it had an audience and wasn't just 'that show your parents used to watch' for people that are now past their thirties themselves, it's no longer easily accessible." —Belgand 12."Murphy Brown, as it even had its own presidential-level scandal, when VP Dan Quayle criticized Brown (a fictional character) specifically as a single mom, and the show responded the next season. [Editor's Note: According to CNN, in the Season 5 premiere, Murphy responded to Qualye's speech by inviting several "non-traditional" families onto her broadcast. She said, "I'd like to introduce you to some people who might not fit into the vice president's vision of a family. But they consider themselves families nonetheless. They work. They struggle. They hope for the kind of life for their children that we all want for our children."] Quayle's remarks caused quite a stir in the media, and Brown was also a divorced, professional, successful female character — not exactly a regular occurrence on TV at the time. Nobody talks about it much anymore." —Hippies_Pointing Here's the scene: 13."When I was a kid, I honestly thought Jimmy Neutron was as big as SpongeBob and Fairly OddParents in their primes, so it does surprise me that there isn't as much nostalgia for this compared to other 2000s cartoons." —Upbeat_Tension_8077 14."Babylon 5 is more relevant than ever, but unfortunately, it never had the staying power of any Star Trek series, despite it being pretty popular in its heyday." —NovaHorizon 15."I'm kinda surprised how quickly the Arrowverse (especially Arrow and The Flash) disappeared from pop culture. Seems like they were decently popular (at least among young people), and now they almost feel forgotten." —mrmonster459 16."3rd Rock from the Sun." —EyesWithoutAbutt "That show absolutely holds up. I've taken a couple of ten-year breaks from watching it, and each time I go back to it, it's still laugh-out-loud funny. Surprising for a laugh track sitcom from the '90s." —SleepyFarts 17."24 seems to have vanished from pop culture." —Wazula23 18."Although it was before my time, I was surprised to learn that George R. R. Martin had been nominated for an Emmy for working on a show called Beauty and the Beast as a writer. I'd never even heard of it." —Big_I 19."I'm surprised The Larry Sanders Show isn't more talked about — ran for a long time, hilarious show with a great premise." —Truethrowawaychest1 20."Nip/Tuck. That shit was nuts at the time." —Msdamgoode 21."Picket Fences was such a huge deal when it was on. It's never mentioned anymore." —gothamsnerd 22."It was a while ago, but NYPD Blue incited a lot of alarm when it first aired because of the language and nudity, which was on network TV (though late at night). I remember people protesting and everything." —foxsable 23."Heroes. 'Save the cheerleader, save the world.' Then they did, but they wanted to milk the cow, and everyone forgot about it." —poopapat320 24."Fringe was pretty fucking rad when that was airing. Most people haven't heard of it, let alone seen it." —Nillows 25."Boardwalk Empire. It was HUGE…. And now it's all but forgotten." —EmergencyCritical890 26."The Good Wife. I still tell people it's one of the greatest television shows. And I loved The Good Fight as well, but hardly anyone knows about that one." —Grand_Menu620 27."The Walking Dead felt like it was up there with Game of Thrones as water cooler talk and as the biggest show in the world 12 years ago. Now it's almost forgotten about." —Stpbatman 28."Bonanza was on the air for fifteen years." —thefuzzybunny1 29."Mad Men. I don't think it's like 'forgotten' per se, but IMO, it should be around the top ten shows of all time discussions, but rarely is. Which really suprises me, honestly." —Wolfwing777 30."I'm always surprised how little people talk about Mr. Robot anymore compared to how culturally dominant it seemed when it was airing. Maybe it just got too real?" —littlebigcheesefries finally: "Boston Legal was hot when it was on. Everyone was talking about it. Now I never see it anyplace." —clinging2thecross Is there a movie you love that no one else seems to remember? What makes it worth watching? Let us know in the comments! Note: Some responses have been edited for length/clarity.
Russia Today
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Russia Today
Donald Trump helped ancient Russians defeat space lizards. Western elites don't want you to know
Heroic Slavic warriors triumph over evil reptilian invaders to pounding phonk beats. These surreal showdowns have racked up millions of views and spawned a wave of spin-offs, including video games, comic books, and tabletop RPGs. What started as a mock academic lecture quickly turned into a full-blown cultural phenomenon – fueled in part by some deep-rooted medieval nostalgia. One of the most well-known stories in the Ancient Rus vs. Lizards mythos is 'The tale of how the Russian hero Danila Trumpov drove the accursed Lizards from the Slavic States of America'. In this fictional legend, a Russian version of Donald Trump defeats a shadowy alliance of humanoid lizards, who are supposedly aided by Bill Gates. Trumpov wields imaginative techniques like the 'Republican Egg Squeeze' and the 'Texas Burger Bomb,' and even manages to sabotage the lizard lobbyists by replacing the dollar with the ruble. In the end, the forces of Slavic justice prevail, and the Lizards are forced to retreat to the distant planet of Nibiru. This is just one installment in a sprawling fan-fiction universe created as a joke, but which has grown far beyond its origins. What began as light-hearted parody has developed into a full-fledged narrative world that mixes satire, absurdity, and pseudo-history – while also poking fun at the cult of Russia's supposed ancient supremacy. In March 2023, a strange YouTube video appeared, starring an AI-generated character introduced as 'Professor and four-time historian Alexey Sergeyevich Bagirov.' Speaking with an air of authority, the professor unveiled what he described as the long-suppressed truth of Russian history: that the ancient Rus civilization once stretched across nearly the entire Earth. Bagirov's lecture combined several familiar conspiracy tropes – claims of lost civilizations with advanced technology, an ancient war between humans and shape-shifting lizards, divine interventions by pagan gods, and secret documents allegedly hidden from the public. His arguments leaned heavily on loose word associations and 'secret documents,' while the visuals featured intentionally janky PowerPoint slides with exaggerated animations, accompanied by loud, distorted background music. But the creators went further than simply remixing old conspiracies. They built a whole new mythological framework. According to Bagirov, the ancient Rus not only coexisted with dinosaurs – they were actually friends. He explains that the word dinosaur supposedly derives from the Old Slavic root dino, meaning 'child,' and that the name of the Slavic pagan god Zavra identifies him as the 'divine ancestor' of all dinosaurs. In a follow-up video, Bagirov adds a central stylistic twist to the saga: the Slavic reinterpretation of all names and terms. He describes how dinosaurs played an important role in the daily lives of the Rus. Brachiosaurus Brachislav helped build houses and studied astronomy; Styracosaurus Stavrislav took part in mammoth hunts; and a pterodactyl named Pterodimir flew children to school. In the third video, Bagirov introduces the main villains: the Lizards from the planet Nibiru – an idea familiar to fans of post-Soviet conspiracy lore. In this universe, the Lizards are jealous of the glory of the Rus and want to destroy it. Their weapon is deception: they try to seduce the Rus with fake sciences – especially mathematics. To that end, they dispatch agents such as Euclid, Archimedes, Democritus, Plato, and others, each programmed with 2G radiation, to infiltrate the ancient region of Russo-Greece. Through all this, Bagirov satirizes the genre of amateur pseudo-historians who emerged in the post-Soviet space – those who claim access to secret truths, reject mainstream science, and lean heavily on unverifiable legends or misreadings of historical texts. These theorists rarely seek real evidence, but often captivate audiences with promises of lost national grandeur and sinister enemies. Though clearly absurd, the videos resonated with viewers. The fictional characters were so outrageous, and the tone so deliberately ridiculous, that the series became far more popular than anyone had expected – perhaps even more than the creators intended. The characters of the Rus and the Lizards soon found a second life in short-form video content. These clips featured AI-generated visuals, voiceovers in mock-serious tones, and of course, pounding phonk soundtracks. The volume of content rapidly multiplied, and the Rus vs. Lizards universe continued to evolve, layering in more absurdist and satirical details. In these stories, the source of the Rus' supernatural vitality is the water of Lake Baikal – an intentional nod to the lake's revered status in Russian culture and to pseudo-scientific beliefs about the mystical power of 'charged water.' The Rus are portrayed as a global civilization, and this is reflected in the fictional renaming of countries: Australorussia, Egyptoslavia, the Slavic States of America, and more. These names parody pseudo-historians who try to rewrite history to suggest that Russia once ruled the entire planet. Religion in the Ancient Rus universe is a hybrid of Orthodox Christianity and revived paganism. On the one hand, characters shout catchphrases like 'You fiends, at least fear the Lord!'; on the other, they perform bizarre rituals to Perun and other old Slavic deities. This mashup reflects the worldview of certain fringe groups who, in recent decades, attempted to revive pre-Christian Slavic faiths – often blending them with nationalist ideology and pseudoscience. Aside from the irony and satire, the meme's success was also driven by how visually compelling the characters were. They looked cool. Their armor, weapons, and over-the-top powers appealed to a younger audience, especially in meme format. This led to a wave of commercial spinoffs. In September 2023, a small indie game studio called theBratans released a video game titled Ancient Rus vs. Lizards. In the game, players control various Rus heroes and fight off waves of Lizard enemies using magical powers and fantastical weapons. One highlight is the 'Slavic Egg Squeeze,' in which a giant chicken assaults the enemy by hurling explosive eggs. Though the game began as a joke, it turned out to be well-crafted, atmospheric, and enjoyable to play. Despite its modest scope, it quickly became one of the ten top-selling games in the Russian segment of Steam, earning 97% positive reviews from players. The game turned out to be so popular that in the spring of 2025, its sequel was released – with improved graphics, gameplay, script, and even with the support of a large Russian business. Shortly after the first part of the game's release, a major Moscow-based publisher began producing comic books set in the same universe. Titles included Rus vs. Lizards: In Africa, Rus vs. Lizards: On the Moon, and Rus vs. Lizards: The Revenge of Drocheslav – the last name being a cheeky play on a vulgar Russian word 'drochit', meaning 'to masturbate'. Next came a tabletop role-playing game, a themed expansion for the Russian collectible card game Berserk (often seen as the local version of Magic: The Gathering), and an avalanche of branded merchandise. In a digital culture where memes rarely survive more than a few weeks, Ancient Rus vs. Lizards has become a rare long-term hit – and there's a good reason why. Yes, the Ancient Rus vs. Lizards universe is over-the-top, funny, and self-aware. But part of its staying power lies in the gap it fills. For various historical and political reasons, modern Russians know significantly less about their own early medieval past than, say, the British know about Anglo-Saxon England or the French about Charlemagne's empire. Most of what we do know about the 9th–11th centuries – a crucial period for medieval storytelling – comes from the Primary Chronicle, a dry and formal chronicle of events in early Rus. Aside from a few famous rulers, we know very little about the daily lives, beliefs, or personal stories of the people who lived during that era. So while Russia has real medieval figures, it doesn't have a vibrant, mythic tradition of legendary heroes – no King Arthur, no Roland, no Ragnar. Attempts to fill that gap with fiction often fall flat: the characters are too perfect, the dialogue stiff, the plots too generic. These stories lack the strangeness and spontaneity that real myths tend to have. Ancient Rus vs. Lizards manages to succeed where others have failed. Its characters are unquestionably noble, its invented 'ancient language' adds flavor, and its plots – however ridiculous – always lead to good defeating evil. The storylines, like the 'Russian-Jewish army' storming 'Lizardburg,' are absurd in the best way possible: they're strange enough to be funny, but structured enough to be entertaining. And of course, this mythos doubles as a satirical vehicle for commentary on US politics, Ukraine, and other hot-button topics – always in high demand with the Russian internet audience.
