360: Charli’s New Direction

By: Madison Sottile

Charli xcx has officially ended the long-lasting brat summer. With the premiere of her satirical documentary-style film at the Berlin Film Festival just over two weeks ago, this English artist has been pushing a new era. The mockumentary titled “The Moment” follows Charli before her hit Brat Tour and the pushes she faces to keep the “Brat Summer” alive. The events are fictional, but they demonstrate the pressures she faces from people surrounding her hit album. Her album surpassed the expectations she had for it and created new expectations for her future projects. 

Charli has stated, “You can’t dread the end when it’s over.” She has moved on to new, exciting goals, and fans should celebrate this with her, instead of mourning the change. She has already found success in the new “Wuthering Heights” film, as she released an entire 12-track album for the soundtrack. While one particular track, “House,” has been trending on TikTok in a memeified, unserious way, the rest of the album has been doing incredibly well. It was praised for its conceptual brat-goth aesthetic and the harsh topics it explores within the Wuthering Heights storyline. 

The next steps for Charli are unclear, but she reassures fans that it is natural to move on eventually. Charli is currently working on more film roles, a fun redirection from her pop-heavy career. She believes that remaining too long in the brat era can create a kind of tension; she describes it as “overstaying your welcome in a cultural space.”  “The Moment” has limited showtimes in theatres, but it is a must-watch for any Brat fans. New things are to come from Charli, and the floor is open for the next cultural phenomenon.