Writer and social media expert Evan Ross Katz and Variety‘s Adam Vary stopped by the HBO Max Coffeehouse at South by Southwest to discuss the cultural phenomenon of “The White Lotus” and the hold this series (and its actors) have over Twitter, TikTok and Instagram.
Katz, a writer and podcast host, has become a fixture within the ever-expanding world of social media pop culture accounts, known for curating his account by capturing the zeitgeist of the latest slack tangent or group chat pile-on. Recently, following the premiere of “The White Lotus,” the social media savant has developed a reputation of “meme-ing” and posting Instagram recaps following the Sunday night episodes.
Throughout “The White Lotus” chat, Katz revealed his strategy for making a hit show a hit meme, from scrolling through “gay Twitter,” to viewing the episodes with a watchful eye, to understanding exactly what visuals (and quotes) would resonate with users who don’t keep up with “The White Lotus.”
“I feel like when I see a thing I like, I start to shake and I want to disseminate it and share it and talk about it and have discourse,” explained Katz. “So I feel like gay Twitter is one of those places where there’s a lot of conversations that begin and you sort of like you test drive the conversation on Twitter, and you’re like, what do we think collectively? Is this have legs? Is this funny?”
Katz noted that the White Lotus’ large social media presence emerged within a culture “that is so often apathetic or hate-watch prone.” Katz added, “There was something about it where it felt like a family like a fan community coming together to show love for this thing that we all not only admire, but we super admire.”
Katz pointed out that while “The White Lotus” focuses a one core theme per season, but it has the unique ability to “spawn” several conversations that touch on a series of ancillary topics. “That’s what’s so great about ‘The White Lotus,’ was how many conversations that it spawned, especially in queer culture that weren’t directly related to the plot.”
Although the second season’s theme was primarily about sex, Katz didn’t shy away from the graphic images that had audiences talking. Katz clarified that posting this particular show did raise some ethical questions, “I would message [the cast] in advance. So after the episode would air and I would just get their consent” said Katz. “I think that it was at the point where they expected we it was sort of, you know, 10:30 PM on a Sunday. I think a lot of the cast would be ready for a DM exchange of some kind.”
Watch the full conversation above.
