Zoo's Place in British Pop Culture
In the early years of the 21st century, British pop culture was defined by an aggressively masculine, often misogynistic, celebrity culture centered around brash humor, boisterous excess, and conspicuous consumption. This culture was epitomized by magazines like Zoo Weekly, which featured scantily clad models and crude jokes aimed at young men, making it a lightning rod for criticism from feminists and cultural critics alike. Despite this controversy, however, Zoo had a significant impact on popular culture that extended far beyond its pages. References to Zoo appear throughout TV shows, films, and music from the era, highlighting its cultural penetration and enduring legacy.
One example is The Inbetweeners, a hit sitcom that ran from 2008 to 2010. The show follows four teenage boys as they navigate their way through high school, dealing with crushes, bullies, and parents while constantly trying to impress each other. In one episode, Will, played by Simon Bird, describes his dream job as working at Zoo Magazine, a reference to the real-life magazine that was known for featuring photos of scantily clad women alongside humorous articles. The joke suggests that Zoo represented a certain kind of lad culture that many teens aspired to emulate.
Another example can be found in the song "Kids" by MGMT, released in 2007. The track features the lyrics "I'm sick of Zoo magazine / I don't care what you think," suggesting that the magazine had become such an omnipresent part of British pop culture that even anti-establishment bands were referencing it. The song also touches on themes of youthful rebellion and disillusionment with mainstream society, which were common motifs in early 2000s British pop culture.
Zoo's legacy extends beyond the media landscape as well. Its style and attitude have been echoed in later magazines like FHM and Nuts, which sought to capitalize on the same demographic but with more explicit content. Even today, the image of young men reading Zoo remains a shorthand for an aggressive, hypermasculine identity that is often associated with lad culture. While some have criticized this representation as harmful or exclusionary, there is no denying that Zoo carved out a distinctive place in British pop culture as a symbol of early 2000s lad culture.
In conclusion, while Zoo has been criticized for its objectification of women and promotion of sexist attitudes, it nevertheless had a significant impact on British popular culture. References to the magazine appear throughout television, film, and music from the era, highlighting its cultural penetration and enduring legacy. Whether one views Zoo positively or negatively, there is no denying its influence on the way that many people thought about masculinity and sexuality during that time.