As one of our persistent readers, you may find yourself contemplating what Marooners think of pop cultural events outside of the editorial section. Like, for example, Stella and Lily, what the hell do you think about the Fruit Love Island TikTok phenomenon? Prospective reader, we are so glad you asked: we have opinions varying from environmental critiques to commentary on low-brow comedy. 

Here’s what Lily Bordelon, campus news editor, had to say: There’s only one thing I have to say about the discontinuation of fruit love island, and it’s ‘thank God’. This piece of trashy entertainment is exactly that: trashy. It’s not the good kind of trash entertainment either, so why did it climb the ranks so quickly?

I’m certain part of it was because of the sheer irony of just how terrible it was, which I can understand to a certain extent. People watch horrible shows all the time to have a good laugh and indulge, but this has turned into something much more sinister for multiple reasons.

Firstly, the qualitative standards for entertainment are in the pits of hell because of shows like this. I genuinely believe that because of the amount of slop people consume on social media, it has become nearly impossible for said people to critique and analyze films or determine the quality of films. There are definitely some recent movies and shows that are really, really good and some that are bad. It truly seems that the general public has lost so much media literacy that they criticize good pieces for being “too vague.” Jokes have been spreading across the internet that someone could jingle keys in front of an audience today, and they’d still be thoroughly entertained. I hate that I’m doubting this less and less. 

Secondly, it is becoming increasingly evident that comedy is becoming more prioritized than cause. I can brush off people being entertained by satirical crap easily, even if I don’t like it, but the fact that there’s something so intrinsically wrong with how it’s being sourced makes it impossible to ignore. Fruit love island was made entirely by generative artificial intelligence – the environment and the communities within it have been facing irreparable damage. AI data centers use insane amounts of water to power their technology, and in most cases, this leaves little to none for the ecosystem around it. Homes near these centers have incredibly low water pressure, and said drinking water is becoming too contaminated to drink. Why are people willingly ignoring these issues to watch AI fruits get freaky on TikTok? It’s incredibly dystopian.

I believe content like fruit love island is indirectly destroying human connection. Our empathy is going down the drain alongside our appreciation for authentic art. It’s come to the point where we are simply chasing whatever gives our brains a sliver of dopamine, even if the content is horrible in nature.

At the end of the day, if you want to preserve humanity in your life, I highly recommend sticking with trash tv shows like Big Brother. Don’t degrade yourself by watching whatever shit someone scrapes off their shoe.

Now here’s what our other Campus News Editor, Stella Perdue, had to say about the whole situation: For those who like this kind of “slop”, as it’s been endearingly coined, I do not want to associate with you! That tells me you don’t place trust in human creativity or that you don’t value the environment–or even quality content. 

As an actual lover/devout watcher of Love Island UK and USA, I find the fact that they are tarnishing the “Love Island” Intellectual Property name to be utterly ridiculous. This just goes to show that you people aren’t patient–why don’t you wait for the next season of Love Island to come out? Or even watch All Stars in the wintertime? Or maybe even, I don’t know, check out older seasons. 

Like my dear confidante Ms. Bordelon said, there is actual good, anthropological “slop” out there if you’re looking for it. My personal favorite is any franchise from the Bravo world: Real Housewives, Vanderpump Rules, Below Deck, etc. As we shift into an era polluted (literally) by artificial intelligence, it is my opinion that human art/creativity carries even more meaning than it did before. It can be an act of defiance or protest to continue creating despite the status quo. It says something. Art has always been political, even when it is AI generated slop. Fruit Love Island just goes to show that we aren’t valuing meaningful creative works, that instead we’re happy with efficient, low quality iterations. 

Basically: if you like that shit you’re pretty annoying.