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“But whether it’s at our shows, how we conduct ourselves or what we choose to highlight, I want people to look back on the diversity of the crowds when we’re on stage and how beautiful that is to us. To me, that is a much better legacy to leave behind than fuckin’ bops, you know? We want to make great art, but more than anything, we just hope that we can make people feel welcome.”

PARAMORE for the line of best fit | photography by zachary gray

Why You Should Stan PRETTYMUCH

A lot of people seem to think that boybands are history long forgotten. Surely many of the new ones nowadays don’t seem to live up to the standards that were set back in the day by groups such as Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC. However, I’m here to tell you that this one specific boyband, PRETTYMUCH, is bringing this culture back from the dead. Consisting of group members (from left to right: Austin Porter, Brandon Arreaga, Edwin Honoret, Nick Mara, and Zion Kuwonu), they’re the next-level boyband to keep an eye out for, and here’s why:

#1: They sure know how to bust a move on the dancefloor. Yeah, all boybands sing, but not a lot of them know how to dance, especially while singing. In one of PRETTYMUCH’s latest singles released a few months ago “Rock Witchu”, the boys released a music video for it with them practicing their choreography. You can check out the music video right here and groove along with them. In case you can’t get enough, here’s another music video for their first single ever released called “Would You Mind.”

#2: They’re interactive with their fans on social media. Social media plays a vital role when fans are trying to connect with their idols. Some celebrities or groups don’t have the time or don’t even try to look through all their Twitter mentions or Instagram DMs because they’re flocked with messages. PRETTYMUCH takes the cake by being one of the most down-to-earth boybands as they have a very interactive relationship with their fanbase. They even gave a name for their fans: the BEANZ (get it? The boys names are Brandon, Edwin, Austin, Nick, and Zion!). On all social media platforms, they answer as many mentions and messages that they can so that the fans feel appreciated. How many of your favorite celebrities have the time to answer the millions of messages they receive daily?

#3: Their fashion sense is on another level. When people think of boybands, they think of them wearing skinny jeans and generic high brand clothing. PRETTYMUCH is diverse when it comes to what they wear. Honestly, if you look at how they dress, they can wear anything from name brands such as Louis Vuitton, regular thrifted clothing, or small online shops just trying to make a name for themselves. They can rock whatever they want and they make it look effortless.

#4: DUH, their music! I don’t know about you, but I can’t really sit and listen to generic, bubblegum pop music all the time. That’s a hard statement to preach when talking about boybands, too. When it came down to me initially hearing about PRETTYMUCH, I was like “another boyband that’s gonna sound like everyone else, right?” but then they put me through a loop as I was surprised by their R&B tones mixed with their Pop harmonies. You can have a listen to their gospel-esque vibes in their “Gone 2 Long (choir version)” or their R&B/Pop sound in “Open Arms”

There’s so much more to learn about PRETTYMUCH. If you’re interested and thinking about joining the BEANZ fandom, why not take a look at this nifty little guide on more reasons why you should stan these guys!

#prettymuch #beanz #stan

Intimacy (HCOM 315)

In the film Her (2013), the main character, Theodore, falls in love with his Operating System (OS) which he named “Samantha.” Although this seems way ahead of our present day relationships, the concept of artificial intelligence (AI) is already becoming so advanced to the point where it can potentially mirror the same interactions that we partake in with other human beings in our everyday lives. It definitely isn’t the societal norm, but people like Theodore are discovering that these AI simulators have the capability to mold themselves into a replica of just about anybody. Theodore was able to find love within Samantha even without her having a physical appearance to her, and that just implements how strikingly powerful the concept of AI can be. However, in the end, he did find the shortcomings to her (supposedly) not being an actual human with a physical form. As noted in the Manghani article, they stated, “[l]ove can therefore emerge only within the moment and movement of exteriorization, which . . . is itself technical’ (2006: 18), it is perhaps more appropriate that we think about the mobile phone (and text messaging) not as a technology beyond ourselves which we must adapt to, but rather as something that extends from our very technological ‘nature’; something we ‘carry with us’ as we engage with the discourse of love,” (pg 217). Samantha was able to get Theodore to love again, however the form that Theodore could have been able to touch was not present so the “exteriorization” was not able to make the relationship push forward.

This isn’t meaning to state that what Theodore and Samantha had wasn’t some form of a valid relationship. Even though it didn’t pan out successfully towards the end, it still had the many aspects that could make a relationship. In the Pettman article, they discuss the concept of KARI which stands for “Knowledge Acquiring and Response Intelligence.” Similar to Samantha, KARI is an AI that has the capability to hold human conversations and however she needs a tad more tweaking in order to pass a Turing Test the way that Samantha can. Aside from this, KARI and Samantha both have the codification of intimacy, also stated in the Pettman article. They claimed, “To a certain extent, the codification of intimacy has always been digital, since it responds to a series of ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘on’, ‘off’ options and parameters,“ (pg 192). Being able to simply communicate these series of responses at appropriate times can engage in a broader conversation and have an AI seem more realistic than what we expect.

Overall, intimacy can take on different forms and ultimately, we can never truly understand if it is genuine or not, especially in technological, other worldly spheres. The idea is to trust in the intimacy and that is exactly what Theodore did. Although it didn’t work out the way he wanted it to, he was able to share himself on many other levels with another entity post-separation from his ex wife even when he thought he hit rock bottom. It showed him that intimacy and love can grow again.

Labor (HCOM 315)

Nowadays, it is becoming more of a commonality to have people work from home instead of everyone heading out to a 9-5 office job. Especially with the rise of social media, labor being handled in the context collapse of “workleisure” or “leisure + work” is becoming a norm, but also an aspiration for many fans/amateurs especially in the newer generation. We can witness many social media moguls taking part in this influx of new labor styles, and also raising their fans personal interest and goals of aspirational labor.

Within social media, men and women have different experiences when it comes down to the labor they put into their craft. According to “The romance of work: Gender and aspirational labour in the digital culture industries” written by Brooke Erin Duffy, she states, “female media workers regularly confront masculine work environments (the so-called “boys club”), sexual harassment, and the normalization of the sexual division of labour,” (pg 2). In a recent post made by Kylie Jenner (@/kyliejenner), she posted one of the shots from an Interview Germany photoshoot. Within the photo, she is depicted sporting a strappy, corset piece and, of course, Kylie’s fans were quick to release their input within the comments. Several of the comments from her women counterparts were endearing and empowering, however many of the comments left by the male followers were either sexually obscene or demeaning. People tend to forget that these celebrities are real people just like the rest of us. When someone such as Kylie reads these types of messages, she has to undergo a form of immaterial work, more specifically emotional work. To keep a professional persona, she has to mask how she feels because lashing out on each and every distasteful comment could potentially diminish her brand. Although, this doesn’t mean that she has to mask how she truly feels all the time on social media. In another Instagram post, Kylie was actually able to deter away from her emotional work and express her feelings towards her baby, Stormi.

Moreover, there are certain aspects to social media and labor that make someone particularly successful. One of them is the concept of “reputation” which can ultimately make a celebrity stand out more compared to the rest. In the article “Structuring feeling: Web 2.0, online ranking and rating, and the digital ‘reputation’ economy” by Alison Hearn, reputation is “marked by contradiction - between uniqueness and acceptance, distinction and commonality, and, most of all, the desire for transparency between what one truly is ‘inside’ and what others see and celebrate,” (pg 424). Reflecting on reputation, Ashley Graham (@/ashleygraham) has had the reputation for years of being the first plus-sized model for Sports Illustrated and promoting body positivity for all. In a recent post on Instagram, Ashley posted herself in a slimming dress with the caption “#RockYourConfidence.” In comparison to when she first started putting her modeling material out to the world, she has slimmed down her figure and it doesn’t fit the certain reputation that people knew her for. From this, she has received backlash at times for not clinging onto the figure she had prior. It just shows that once a reputation is built, people tend to stick around for that, yet find their perception skewed once a change occurs.

Fans and Amateurs (HCOM 315)

On social media, celebrities and fans make interactions with one another on a daily basis. When a celebrity or other high figure within a platform(s) is able to configure exchanges underneath a post they make, it contributes to the concept of “participatory culture” which Fuchs reiterates within Social Media as Participatory Culture as, “in which fans and other consumers are invited to actively participate in the creation and circulation of new content," (Fuchs, 54). When it boils down to fans and their idols merging into a culture together, it is significant to maintain the idea that a celebrity’s brand/association is an essential aspect of who they are and how they thrive in their field. In knowing this, the idea of “copyright” is a tool that needs to be utilized so that authenticity can remain and so that fans/amateurs cannot replicate a celebrity’s brand identically.

Kylie Jenner (@/kyliejenner) has her own makeup brand called Kylie Cosmetics. The iconic symbol on her merchandise is Kylie’s lips with lipstick running down them, which can be seen on her post from March 8th (Figure 1). Her fanbase has an immense appreciation for her products and continuously manage to break her website when purchasing her lip kits and other must-buy items. Two years ago, Kylie and Jordyn (her at the time best friend) ventured to Downtown Los Angeles in search of fake lip kits that were rumored to be sold at stands on the side of the streets. As they looked throughout the streets, they eventually found them and confronted the sellers and asked them to stop selling them. They could have gone as far to take legal action for diminishing the brand for their own profit, however the girls decided to take the high road and just let them off with a warning and moved on with their lives. Although many people still continue to sell fraud Kylie Cosmetic products, it just regurgitates the idea that copyright is one hell of a concept that can be used against someone if not carefully taken into consideration. Aside from copyright, the idea of participation from Kylie’s fans could have been undermined from the under-the-table sale of the fake products since instead of engaging with Kylie and her business, people would be influenced that they are supporting Kylie in the participatory culture, however they were doing the complete opposite. This also comes full circle when Jenkins states in Quentin Tarantino's Star Wars? Grassroots Creativity Meets the Media Industry that the participatory culture is mainly dominated by the consumers in the media industry so they are the ones who can ultimately make or break the flow of the interaction between them and a celebrity. In addition, this is also a prime example as to the relationship hierarchy between individuals and society. In the media aspect, Kylie is the economy aspect, the subject is her consumers, and then the sin being committed was, in fact, a form of piracy.

Moreover, there are the concepts of commercial culture and noncommercial culture. As stated by Lessig in Introduction to Free Culture, commercial culture is when culture is “produced and sold or produced to be sold” while noncommercial culture is everything else out there that is not for monetary gain. Commercial culture is everywhere, however an example of noncommercial culture is from Lolo Love (@/itslololove) on Instagram. She posted a #TBT of her and the old boy band B2K and shared it with her followers as a form of storytime (Figure 2). This is a priceless interaction between her and her fans that was not produced to be sold whatsoever -- it was just to show that there is a sense of realness to her just like any other person that would freak out over one of their idols.

(Figure 1 above/Figure 2 below)

Online Minorities (HCOM 315)

Across social media platforms, users are able to follow accounts that spark their interest. By doing this, they can also meet like-minded individuals and interact with one another and build relationships. This is the power of homophily at work. Homophily is the notion that we tend to associate ourselves with people who are similar to us. As stated within the Boyd article White Flight Draft, “Birds of a feather flock together,” (pg 12).

According to the taste slides, the concepts of identity, power, and fashion adhere to the idea of “taste.” Taste plays a huge role in what brings online minorities together. In lieu of the drama that insinuated last week concerning the Kardashian/Jenner family and Tristan Thompson, the evidence of taste can be witnessed between Kylie Jenner and her best friend, Jordyn Woods. Months ago in an Instagram post made by (@/kyliejenner) on September 14, 2018, she posted a picture of herself and Jordyn Woods commemorating their friendship and the new makeup collaboration that they created. Within the picture (Figure 1), both girls are sporting similar hairstyles, makeup looks, and outfits of the same style/color scheme. Here, it is evident that the aspect of fashion from taste can be seen. Underneath the exterior, both identity and power are exuded by Kylie and Jordyn as they both come from rich upbringings and they are widely known across all social media platforms with a mass following of over 130 million users. Since they dictate their lives on social media, it is also relevant that to state, according to the article “‘Just Emotional People’ Emo Culture and the Anxieties of Disclosure” that, “social networking sites lower cultural expectations around privacy and encourage young people to expose more of their lives online, hence making them vulnerable to potential harm.” It is notable that both Kylie and Jordyn have power, yet having such a massive amount can be detrimental and has given them problems within the media before.

In a similar fashion, subcultures have traits that make up the group that they are. Shared ideologies, shared taste, and shared vernacular make up how a subculture exists. In a post on Instagram by (@/hudabeauty) made on February 16th of this year, she posted a relatable meme that many of her followers could identify with in terms of the ideology, taste, and vernacular. The post (Figure 2) uses meme styled caption text which shows the relatable vernacular that followers can agree with. The taste correlates with the topic of the post, “how women feel when they have their nails done versus when they don’t.” In the beauty realm, nails/acrylics are a central aspect of appearance and also can coincide with ideology that long or well-kept nails are the beauty norm.

(Figure 1)

(Figure 2)

Friendship (HCOM 315)

Social media has paved a new perspective on how friendship is viewed within our society nowadays. All across different social media platforms, especially Instagram and Snapchat, it is a common sight to see your friends posting everything they do throughout the day. They could merely be going out for a coffee like any other person and they would post a picture of it on their social media outlets for everyone to see. According to the article Faux Friendship written by William Deresiewicz, he states, “We have always shared our little private observations and moments of feeling—it's part of what friendship's about, part of the way we remain present in one another's lives—but things are different now,” (pg 9). By stating this, he means that we, as humans, have been able to share our experiences with each other through other means like conversations and actually just living in the moment with our friends around us, however many social media moguls like to update us in regards to a majority of what goes on in their lives.

Before the notion of having to take a picture or a video of everything was a concept, intimate moments with friends were typically kept between each other and served as memories to look back on and discuss later on in life. In a specific Instagram post by (@/kyliejenner), Kylie posted a picture of her baby Stormi and her best friend Jordyn Woods at the park (Figure 1) with the caption, “stormi’s first trip to the park.” This is a token in life that comes around only once. Something of this nature is typically lived in the moment. However, this instance in her and her own daughter’s life was shared to the millions of followers that look at her content. Sure, this post could be aimed at friends within her circle, but the fact that everyone that has an Instagram could view this caused a sense of “nihilism” as defined within Bloor’s article What Are Friends For? Nihilism states that there is no main focus when it comes down to the important aspects in human life. Constantly documenting everything we post blurs the line between what should be kept to ourselves and cherished as a momento in time and the information we release out into the realm of social media for everyone to see.

Within Boyd’s article Hanging Out, Messing Around, Geeking Out: Living and Learning with New Media, they state that, “Youth are developing new norms and social competencies that are specifically keyed to networked publics, such as how to articulate friendships, how to be polite to their peers [...],” (pg. 25). A post created on Instagram back in November of last year by (@/itslololove) was of Lolo and her friends as they’re celebrating the release of her friend Sherita’s podcast release (Figures 2 & 3). Here, we can see an example of networked publics as Lolo demonstrates the elements of “persistence” by capturing the experience and transforming it with the picture of all of her friends and another picture of the podcast released on Spotify, “replicability” by linking Sherita’s profile within her caption and taking a picture that can easily be recreated, “scalability” by posting a screenshot of the Spotify release within her own post, and finally “searchability” by being able to look up this post and all the elements that cause it to be within the form of a “networked public.”

(Figure 1)

(Figure 2)

(Figure 3)

Intro Post (HCOM 315)

I am interested in how social media platforms dictate the way women and growing girls are influenced to conform to beauty standards set by celebrities and other known makeup artist moguls. As an avid follower of celebrities involved within the beauty industry, it is notable that the fanbase that this movement has is steadily growing every day as the follower counts on specific platforms increase. We see posts across all social media platforms, especially Instagram, Youtube, and Snapchat from several of these makeup and fit lifestyle connoisseurs. A renowned name within this culture is Kylie Jenner, also known by her social media handles as (@/KylieJenner) and of course within her show Keeping Up With The Kardashians. Having her own makeup brand, Kylie Cosmetics, and her frequent posts on her Instagram and Snapchat stories adheres to many people following in her exact footsteps, wanting to be a replica of her by going as far as injecting botox in their lips to get the full effect and even more. Victoria’s Secret, also known across all social media platforms as (@/VictoriasSecret), is well-known for their outlook on the ideal model body type that society has watched for decades. Their main body type that is witnessed throughout their advertisements is virtually skinny with a conventionally attractive face. In doing so, this creates long-term goals for women to try to achieve these unrealistic body goals when most of the time, a lot of the pictures they see are depictions of photoshop. Another influencer that holds high influence within the beauty realm is Huda Beauty. Known across social media platforms as (@/hudabeauty), Huda has her own brand and reaches out to her fans within her vlogs and some of her Instagram posts with relatable content, making her one of the most popular makeup artists, also known as MUA’s. Several of her followers always want to recreate her looks, so she creates “Beauty 101” videos that teach people how to be more like her. On a different side of the social media beauty, there is Lolo Love. Known on social media as (@/itslololove), she advocates for the beauty of people of all shapes and forms, especially those who are disabled and shed a positive outlook even on her own situation as a disabled influencer in fun and non-conforming ways. Lastly, there is Ashley Graham (@/ashleygraham). In comparison to Victoria’s Secret, Ashley does not conform to the traditional model body type as she was one of the first few plus-size models to truly influence the beauty realm and make women feel proud of being in their own skin. On several occasions, women and young girls try to become mirror replicas of these famous celebrities and it has caused a shift in how people look at one another, however there are those out there willing to make a change and let others see that it is okay to be just who you are. As more and more of these social media beauty trends rise, the less the amount of originality and realization of unique beauty there will be within our society. Social media within the beauty realm has been used to promote brand usage, as well. In doing so, many young people succumb to purchasing beauty moguls’ products and, in the end, go along with the same trends as everyone else. Having these certain beauty standards shoved towards society’s face, especially through social media platforms, makes it a challenge to not become somewhat in-the-know of women’s beauty standards.

yungpharrell

keep yourself busy so you can stay out of your feelings.

stametsculberr

to quote the icon that is john mulaney: “i have had a very long day, i am very small and i have no money so you can imagine the kind of stress i am under”