By: Angela Li
Since the app TikTok was released, wilder and wilder trends known as “TikTok Trends” have been rising in popularity before eventually shrinking down. One of the trends currently rising in popularity involved teens dressing in full suits, sometimes even sunglasses, with stone-hard expressions to see the new minion movie, the Rise of Gru. The TikTok trend, called #gentleminions, has received over 65.4 million views from the hashtag alone.
From the U.S. to Australia, young people are dressing up in formal wear – usually a suit and tie – and sometimes causing chaos at the theater. They upload a TikTok video of themselves cheering, leaping, and yelling at the screen. It’s unclear why this trend has taken off, but the teenager has said it was just for fun. Most groups have not caused issues. This trend has also caught on for many TikTok and YouTube famous stars, such as huge YouTubers like Brent Rivera, who has over 20 million subscribers, and MrBeast, who has close to 100 million subscribers. Things are getting pretty wild in this trend.
Aside from being famous on social media, the trend may have something to do with Rise of Gru having huge box office sales since its release. The film reportedly grossed about $164 million in its first week of release. However, there’s been resistance to the TikTok trend from some theater owners. Theaters have begun posting cautionary signs on their front doors warning that due to the “Gentle Minions” trend and the disturbances they have caused mid-movie, guests in formal attire will be refused entry. But this act did not stop most teenagers from finding a loophole around the system. They started disguising their suits with other clothes, with theater owners having no idea.
However, when you are going to be in a full suit in the middle of the street, it is going to be pretty awkward with the other people around you, with one teen going as far as saying that they get stared at wherever they go. “Doing these types of things, you actually get a lot of stares,” said Devan Rajen, another 18-year-old student pictured in the video who posted the video from his own TikTok account. “People probably thought we were humiliating ourselves.”
Although the theater owners may not be big fans of this new trend, Universal Studios is loving it. Tweeting last week, “To everyone showing up to @Minions in suits: we see you and we love you.”
Citations
https://www.kktv.com/2022/07/07/heres-why-teens-are-dressing-up-suits-see-minions-rise-gru/