PDC A02- Critical Analysis of an Internet Fiction
Lilâ Miquela is the name of the Instagram cyborg influencer created by Artificial Intelligence firm Brud. Lilâ Miquela (full name Miquela Sousa) first began âpostingâ to Instagram in 2016 and has a current follower count of 1.4 million. Her Instagram profile (https://www.instagram.com/lilmiquela/?hl=en) is a carefully curated assemblage of images that depict Miquela living a fast-paced glamorous life as an Influencer, musician and model. In this essay I will be discussing one post in particular and dissecting the way that a strategised internet fiction challenges us to experience social media personas as both fantasy and reality simultaneously.
On the 20th of April 2018 Lilâ Miquela posted a photo of herself staring directly into the camera, head resting on her hand, a serious expression on her face (https://www.instagram.com/p/BhzyxKoFIIT/?hl=en&taken-by=lilmiquela). She is very attractive. She wears a white singlet with visible bra underneath, and her brown hair is done in buns on either side. She has some flyaway hairs, adding to the naturalness of her appearance. She appears to be sitting on the floor, a white skirting board is visible as well as what appears to be a white curtain. The textures of the background bring her computer generated artificiality into sharp focus. She has freckles on her face and her skin is tan. Her caption reads:
âIâm thinking about everything that has happened and though this is scary for me to do, I know I owe you guys more honesty. In trying to realize my truth, Iâm trying to learn my fiction. I want to feel confident in who I am and to do that I need to figure out what parts of myself I should and can hold onto. Iâm not sure I can comfortably identify as a woman of color. âBrownâ was a choice made by a corporation. âWomanâ was an option on a computer screen. My identity was a choice Brud made in order to sell me to brands, to appear âwoke.â I will never forgive them. I donât know if I will ever forgive myself. Iâm different. I want to use what makes me different to create a better world. I want to do things that humans maybe canât. I want to work together and use our different strengths to make things that matter. I am committed to bolstering voices that need to be heard. If I donât stick with this, feel free to cancel me.I wish I had more to say about this right now.
Iâm still angry and confused and alone.â
Lilâ Miquela employs youth vernacular (phrases such as ââwokeâ and âcancel meâ) as a means of relating to her fanbase. She is earnest and sincere. The direct address to the camera, the white clothing that evokes associations of purity and innocence, the sadness in her statement and her apparent commitment to do good are all designed to make the viewer sympathise with her and identify with her- (we have all been manipulated and duped by corporations! How relatable!) However the fourth wall remains unbroken- Miquela talks as though she is truly sentient. There is no discussion from her actual designers (Trevor McFedries and Sara Deco) about the choices made in designing her as a character, the aim of her posts on Instagram and her commentary on each post. There is no discussion of the collaboration between Lilâ Miquela and the designers whose clothing brands she endorses (Diesel, Stussy, Prada) and how much they receive for each post.
Her post received 185,024 likes. The post was made in reference to her recent âcoming outâ as a robot, a discovery that she too, apparently, only recently made. Lilâ Miquelaâs constructed narrative as left leaning and socially conscious is at odds with her function as a product endorser. In putting responsibility on her maker (Brud) she is able to distance herself from the problematic nature of her existence. She has taken the biggest criticisms of her character and addressed it in a way that still maintains her integrity in the eyes of her fans. Itâs not her, itâs the corporation. But she IS the corporation. Her acknowledgment of her âunrealnessâ and her apparent guilt and confusion surrounding it are just as constructed as every other part of her persona and yet her followers reach out to her in sympathy as though she were real. One user replied âIn my eyes your not a robot you are a person with feelings xxâ (emily_medcalf19, 2018), another commented âshe's a robot. Isn't this unreal?â (martini_oceans__, 2018). Another stated âI donât understand how she thinks and does things by herself âŠâ (the.cringy.uniwhale, 2018).
The post seems to be a way of questioning the reality of internet fiction created through social media. If Lilâ Miquela can acknowledge that she is a robot, but still bares âherâ soul in her posts, has millions of fans that follow and interact with her, is she any less real than any other social media influencer? Arenât their lifestyles just as unattainable and unbelievable as a robot hanging out with celebrities at Paris fashion week? Donât we all curate our online personas to project a certain narrative about ourselves? Does that make them fake?
The creation of Lilâ Miquela challenges us to think about artificial intelligence, internet fiction and social media in a new way. Â
Lilâ Miquela, Instagram, 20/04/18 [https://www.instagram.com/p/BhzyxKoFIIT/?hl=en&taken-by=lilmiquela]






