Ep. 168: Floptropica

In this week’s episode, we discuss the legacy of Floptropica, the absurdist, queer world-building experiment that flourished during the first years of TikTok, populated by unhinged characters from funeral home directors to ultra-vulgar rappers and characterized by lurid, aggressively overprocessed imagery. We situate the Floptropican mode in its historical lineage, from the zaniness of Ryan Trecartin and the lawless carnage of early stan twitter to the Dubai Chocolate Labubu 6-7 variety of slop that followed in its wake. We also deconstruct the rituals of diva worship, exaggerated femininity, and fabricated conflict that define Floptropican culture, and we convene to address the concerning downward mobility of its denizens and the nation’s diplomatic relations with China and the Philippines.