I.C.Y.M.I.: 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' Shares Political Edition of Mean Tweets, Rock The Vote Uses Minecraft To Educate Young People On Voting

Greetings, fellow pop culture aficionados, and welcome to week 39 of our I.C.Y.M.I. (In Case You Missed It) blog series, where we recap a handful of trending tidbits from the past week(s) in popular culture, in case you missed them.

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Last week, we touched on the return of The Mandalorian to Disney+ as the second season of the popular Star Wars series debuted on the streaming platform. This week, we lead with a timely political edition of Jimmy Kimmel Live's long-running "Mean Tweets" segment. Read on!

Mean Tweets: Political Edition

Mean Tweets, the established mini series that features well-known individuals on camera reading back actual messages they've received from Twitter users, ran a political edition of the popular comedy sketch this past week on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

The full clip, embedded above, features politicians from both sides of the aisle sharing "some of the worst things ever written about them" on the social media platform.

Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Ted Cruz, Andrew Yang, Anthony Scaramucci, Nancy Pelosi, Cory Booker, John Kerry, Al Franken, John Kasich, Pete Buttigieg, Adam Schiff, and Mike Bloomberg are all included in Kimmel's piece, which of course comes right in the middle of our country's election coverage. Hopefully, it provides a little bit of comic relief in between refreshes of your news feeds for updates on the U.S. presidential race.

Build The Vote Uses Minecraft To Educate on Voting Process

Visitors of MoPOP's Minecraft: The Exhibition (or just general fans of the world's most popular video game) should find this one interesting.

Rock The Vote has created the first 2020 American election in Minecraft. Aiming to engage first-time voters and future voters on the election process, the nonpartisan nonprofit set up a Build The Vote server where players can go for a walk through of the voting experience.

Teja Foster, social media director at Rock The Vote, says the hope is the simulation will help educate young people on voting.

"There's no way for kids, before they get to the voting booth, to actually have a practice round and understand the process," says Foster. "It's just, like, you turn 18, and here's your ballot."

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The Build The Vote server starts with players entering a large voting house, where they "register" to vote. Checkpoints along the way enlighten the user on different elements of the political process, including private rooms where players can "vote" on current issues including racial equality, healthcare, immigration, global warming, student loans, and more. 

"We don't direct anyone to vote for anyone in particular but what we do is expose them to the issues that matter to them," Foster says.

Build The Vote represents another example of how Minecraft continues to be much more than a game, but also an educational tool and community builder.

What Else To Catch Up On This Weekend

• Grow Up!, our coming-of-age virtual watchalong series, continues at 6 p.m. PT this Saturday, November 7 as we explore The Virgin Suicides with special guest Hazel Cills, pop culture reporter at Jezebel. Registration for the free event is open now.
• This November our POP+ series explores womxn in hip hop as we Celebrate The Queens of the genre who—despite being marginalized, underpaid, underrepresented, and underrated in hip hop music and culture for decades—have always been integral to the art form and culture.
• Applications are now open for Sound Off! 2021, the Pacific Northwest's premier 21-and-under music showcase and competition.
• Our Be Heard—Vote! campaign encouraging civic participation in this year's election wrapped up this past week as we shared staff answers to the simple prompt, 'Why I Vote'
• And our milestone series celebrating 20 years of MoPOP continued with entry No. 18, highlighting our building's LEED Gold certification.

What'd We Miss?

Now that we've filled you in on a few things, what do you feel we failed to mention? Let us know in the comments, or hit us up with a suggestion on social media. We'll look to include your ideas in our next edition of I.C.Y.M.I.

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