Trends of the week

MANILA, Philippines - Twitter as a logjam of fandom is the most confusing Twitter version of all. This week, it gave solace to underprivileged fans of British boy bands and fans of underappreciated TV shows.

One Direction in Manila could blow up Twitter, social structure

Already causing a Twitter class war as a mere rumor last month, the One Direction Manila concert has now driven Pinoy fans — known as “Juan Directioners,” as one trending topic revealed — into near-dystopian panic. It is now a real thing: it is happening next year and tickets are already being sold. #PLEASEMOVETHESELLINGOFTICKETS immediately trended, the desperation literally spelled out in all caps, as ticket prices finally confirmed a predominantly lower class fanbase’s worst fears. The cheapest ticket, which would get you a seat from where the floppy-haired lads would appear microscopic, is going for P1,150 — more than the cost of one full semester at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. The ticket that would get you the closest to them sells for P17,950 — almost twice the monthly minimum wage.

It’s surprising fans haven’t organized a full-scale revolution yet. Juan Directioners of the world, unite!

‘Mad Men’ finally makes a dent in mainstream Twitter

Mad Men is not very popular here. It does not involve zombies or medieval dragon fantasies that occasionally dabble in treacherous slaughters and incest. It is also my favorite TV series of the 21st century by a mile, and so seeing Don and Peggy — its two main characters — trend worldwide this week was such a joy, if not a total surprise.

Maybe the passionate minority is getting louder now that the series has only half a season left. Or maybe this week’s episode, “The Strategy,” was just too good not to trend.

Mad Men is infamous for its glacial pace, its slightness of plot, and episodes where “nothing” happens. But “nothing” is TV-speak for “absence of obviousness,” and describing Mad Men through TV language is a mistake. Even “cinematic” seems inaccurate because Mad Men is really more like “video literature.” In all those “nothing” episodes, everything was happening. Just because a hundred blows can’t crack a rock doesn’t mean they can’t be felt. This week, Mad Men split that rock in two, and only hardcore fans know it wasn’t that episode that did it — but all the blows that had come before.

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What are your thoughts on this week’s top social media trends? Tweet us @PhilStarSUPREME.