Cameras, crumbs, coffee, and couture. At a mere 20 years of age, YouTuber Emma Chamberlain has managed to wield these four terms with tremendous success, grace, and above all, influence.
When it comes to Emma’s audience demographic (girls in their teens and early twenties) she is arguably the most influential creator of her generation. Like all successful influencers, however, this wasn’t always the case. So how did Emma go from making videos in her childhood bedroom to becoming a Louis Vuitton ambassador, coffee businesswoman, and podcast host in less than 5 years?
While others may point to her collaborations, influencer friendships, and humor, I believe the secret to Emma’s achievement and longevity lies in her distinct aesthetic and ability to master the art of perceived interconnectedness.
Cameras
While Emma’s earlier content reflected the trends of the time, in recent months Emma’s videos have adopted an aesthetic or “vibe” that is almost antithetical to the kinds of videos she posted as recently as a year ago.
Emma has shed the click-bait titles and dramatic graphics and edits for a more minimalist approach that is almost cinematic in nature. Already having amassed a subscriber count of 11 million, Emma no longer posts videos “collabing” with the likes of other famous influencers such as James Charles, Jojo Siwa, and the Dolan twins in order to engage and attract viewers. Emma is now the sole subject of her videos, her parents serving as occasional guest stars.
In a recent video entitled “Voyager à Nouveau” (in all lower case letters), Emma documents the process of traveling from Los Angeles to Paris for Paris Fashion Week Fall 2021. While Emma has received an invite to fashion weeks in the past on behalf of luxury fashion brand Louis Vuitton, the way she depicts this particular trip embodies all the aspects of why Emma’s current following finds her content so appealing.
While others may point to her collaborations, influencer friendships, and humor, I believe the secret to Emma’s achievement and longevity lies in her distinct aesthetic and ability to master the art of perceived interconnectedness.
Cameras
While Emma’s earlier content reflected the trends of the time, in recent months Emma’s videos have adopted an aesthetic or “vibe” that is almost antithetical to the kinds of videos she posted as recently as a year ago.
Emma has shed the click-bait titles and dramatic graphics and edits for a more minimalist approach that is almost cinematic in nature. Already having amassed a subscriber count of 11 million, Emma no longer posts videos “collabing” with the likes of other famous influencers such as James Charles, Jojo Siwa, and the Dolan twins in order to engage and attract viewers. Emma is now the sole subject of her videos, her parents serving as occasional guest stars.
In a recent video entitled “Voyager à Nouveau” (in all lower case letters), Emma documents the process of traveling from Los Angeles to Paris for Paris Fashion Week Fall 2021. While Emma has received an invite to fashion weeks in the past on behalf of luxury fashion brand Louis Vuitton, the way she depicts this particular trip embodies all the aspects of why Emma’s current following finds her content so appealing.
Crumbs and Couture
The video opens with a gradually zoomed-out shot of the Los Angeles skyline playing over a soft guitar track. Next, you see various shots of Emma eating snacks in her pajamas, trying on different outfits, and finally her lying in bed with her cats talking about the daunting nature of her upcoming ten-day trip. She doesn’t mention where she’s going, or why, creating a sense of anticipation. The camera is positioned directly above her, making the viewer feel as if they’re standing over her having a conversation. If you’re new to watching Emma’s content this might strike you as odd, but it is a technique Emma uses consistently.
In short, Emma’s videos are simply conversations, with her fabulously successful life serving more as context than a backdrop. Yes, she is traveling to Paris for fashion week, but what the audience gets to see are things the average person does somewhat regularly. Activities such as packing a suitcase, choosing an outfit, boarding an airplane, going to dinner, and eating breakfast. Emma takes an extremely exclusive situation and chooses to portray its most basic elements, leaving very subtle hints (crumbs) of glamour.
Emma takes advantage of “disclosive intimacies”, a term Crystal Abidin defines in her essay “Communicative Intimacies: Influencers and Perceived Interconnectedness”. While plenty of influencers capture the “trivial and mundane aspects of everyday life”, Emma does so in a way that feels less “behind-the-scenes”, and more like a scrapbook of conversations, one might have with their best friend via FaceTime (Abidin, 2015). Her simplistic editing style and calming choices of music only heighten her ability to maintain her position as the queen of parasocial relations (2015). It only takes a quick scroll through Emma’s comment section to understand that there are thousands of girls who see her as their friend rather than a multimillionaire content creator. Emma is the reliable “cool” friend who despite her fame and wealth doesn’t come across as standoff-ish. The viewer never feels ostracized or judged, not just because the connection is essentially one-sided, but because Emma makes a conscious effort to not allow her audience to feel that way.
The video opens with a gradually zoomed-out shot of the Los Angeles skyline playing over a soft guitar track. Next, you see various shots of Emma eating snacks in her pajamas, trying on different outfits, and finally her lying in bed with her cats talking about the daunting nature of her upcoming ten-day trip. She doesn’t mention where she’s going, or why, creating a sense of anticipation. The camera is positioned directly above her, making the viewer feel as if they’re standing over her having a conversation. If you’re new to watching Emma’s content this might strike you as odd, but it is a technique Emma uses consistently.
In short, Emma’s videos are simply conversations, with her fabulously successful life serving more as context than a backdrop. Yes, she is traveling to Paris for fashion week, but what the audience gets to see are things the average person does somewhat regularly. Activities such as packing a suitcase, choosing an outfit, boarding an airplane, going to dinner, and eating breakfast. Emma takes an extremely exclusive situation and chooses to portray its most basic elements, leaving very subtle hints (crumbs) of glamour.
Emma takes advantage of “disclosive intimacies”, a term Crystal Abidin defines in her essay “Communicative Intimacies: Influencers and Perceived Interconnectedness”. While plenty of influencers capture the “trivial and mundane aspects of everyday life”, Emma does so in a way that feels less “behind-the-scenes”, and more like a scrapbook of conversations, one might have with their best friend via FaceTime (Abidin, 2015). Her simplistic editing style and calming choices of music only heighten her ability to maintain her position as the queen of parasocial relations (2015). It only takes a quick scroll through Emma’s comment section to understand that there are thousands of girls who see her as their friend rather than a multimillionaire content creator. Emma is the reliable “cool” friend who despite her fame and wealth doesn’t come across as standoff-ish. The viewer never feels ostracized or judged, not just because the connection is essentially one-sided, but because Emma makes a conscious effort to not allow her audience to feel that way.
Coffee
This relationship is further supplemented by Emma’s podcast Anything Goes which covers lifestyle topics and offers advice, in addition to whatever Emma is in the mood to speak about on that particular day. Clips from the podcast often go viral on TikTok with individuals claiming that her thoughts are relatable and address topics most teenagers don’t often speak about such as mental health, divorce, toxicity in relationships, etc. She also uses her podcast to promote products, including her own brand, Chamberlain Coffee.
While many influencers find success when starting their own product lines, for Emma success was virtually inevitable. Perhaps more than any other microcelebrity within her demographic, what Emma says, wears, and does is considered “cool”. The clothing she wears in videos, often found in local thrift shops, tends to predict the trends of the upcoming season with remarkable accuracy, suggesting that she is likely a key contributor to the trend’s popularity in the first place. In Malcolm Gladwell’s piece “The Coolhunt”, Gladwell explains how the Coolhunters of the 90s sought after trends that were both simplistic and authentic, spontaneous and unique (Gladwell, 1997). Part of Emma’s appeal is that she embodies these characteristics so naturally. The constant evolution of her content is what keeps her audience engaged and coming back every week for her latest upload. In our increasingly digitized world, for better or for worse, it doesn’t feel that surprising or inappropriate to have a best friend that’s only a click away.
This relationship is further supplemented by Emma’s podcast Anything Goes which covers lifestyle topics and offers advice, in addition to whatever Emma is in the mood to speak about on that particular day. Clips from the podcast often go viral on TikTok with individuals claiming that her thoughts are relatable and address topics most teenagers don’t often speak about such as mental health, divorce, toxicity in relationships, etc. She also uses her podcast to promote products, including her own brand, Chamberlain Coffee.
While many influencers find success when starting their own product lines, for Emma success was virtually inevitable. Perhaps more than any other microcelebrity within her demographic, what Emma says, wears, and does is considered “cool”. The clothing she wears in videos, often found in local thrift shops, tends to predict the trends of the upcoming season with remarkable accuracy, suggesting that she is likely a key contributor to the trend’s popularity in the first place. In Malcolm Gladwell’s piece “The Coolhunt”, Gladwell explains how the Coolhunters of the 90s sought after trends that were both simplistic and authentic, spontaneous and unique (Gladwell, 1997). Part of Emma’s appeal is that she embodies these characteristics so naturally. The constant evolution of her content is what keeps her audience engaged and coming back every week for her latest upload. In our increasingly digitized world, for better or for worse, it doesn’t feel that surprising or inappropriate to have a best friend that’s only a click away.
ReplyDeleteHi Adrienne,
I really enjoyed reading your piece on Emma Chamberlain’s professional development. I have watched several of her videos and agree with your assessment that she definitely embodies contemporary “coolness.” I also agree that Emma’s videos definitely contain an essence of connectedness and authenticity. More so than other content creators, Emma allows her fandom to see her candid reactions to real life situations and some of the less than glamorous aspects of celebrity lifestyle. As Abidin explains, Chamberlain allows her viewers to see the behind the scenes of her life (as per the packing the suitcase example), effectively creating a feeling of attachment and connectivity.
Your commentary on her development as a creator is extremely interesting as you deem her immense success to coincide with a more toned down media identity. Marwick describes a micro-celebrity as “a self presentation technique in which people view themselves as a public persona to be consumed by others, using strategic intimacy to appeal to followers.” A large component of micro-celebrity, according to Marwick, is branding (which is central to capitalism). As Chamberlain has gained more attention and status, she has transitioned to a traditional celebrity status. In doing so, her presence on social media does not solely depend on attention grabbing content but instead a window into her real life which provides insights that fans crave. She has been able to cement her role as a household celebrity name and as a result reinvent her image without fear of losing her fanbase.
Although, Chamberlain does exemplify the commodification of one’s self. This post acknowledges that she has launched her own brand, Chamberlain Coffee. This practice boils down to the culture industry which pushes commodities at creators and viewers. While I agree with the assessment of “cool” in this post, I propose that Devon Powers’ (more negative) assessment that commodification of coolness ensures that cool can be “decoded, extracted, and imitated” reveals a less visible capitalist agenda that Chamberlain has adopted. In this sense, Chamberlain is adhering to the contemporary form of neoliberal commodification and using her committed fanbase to push revenue generating projects.
Thanks for writing such a cool piece!
Hello Adrienne,
ReplyDeleteYour blog post was amazing and very intriguing. I personally am not a subscriber to Emma Chamberlain’s video but have heard great things about her channel and her as well. You made some very informative points about the “intimate” relationship between her and her audience, some of her “behind the scenes” content, and her contribution to “coolhunting.”
Even though you have mentioned how various of her followers see Emma Chamberlain as her friend, I would like to add to your point. Crystal Abidin, in “Communicative Intimacies: Influencers and perceived Interconnectedness,” discusses how influencers are “perceived to represent commonality” as well as try to frame themselves as “ordinary.” In your blog post, you reviewed one of her videos where she was preparing for her trip to Paris for Paris Fashion Week. This is definitely not something that her subscribers are doing or that is considered “common” in society since it does require a lot of money and networking. However, because she includes clips of her packing her suitcase, eating snacks in her pajamas, boarding the airplane, choosing out an outfit, and more, she is still portraying that “commonality” component that Crystal Abidin mentions in her piece that influencers try and perceive in their video content. Additionally, you also express how the position that her camera is held makes it seem as if she is on Facetime with her audience, which is pretty normal for her videos. This is yet another example of Emma Chamberlain representing “commonality” and being an “ordinary” individual by simply talking to her subscribers in a way her audience normally does on the daily with their loved ones/friends. Therefore, although Emma Chamberlain is now becoming a more renowned and wealthy individual, in her youtube videos she continues to illustrate a sense of “normal” to her subscribers, just as other influencers do as well according to Crystal Abidin.
Thank you for your well-thought-out written piece regarding Emma Chamberlain. Not only was it a very entertaining blog post, but you did very well in making the connections back to our course!
- Laura Arellano :)
****Jesse Zhang's response****
ReplyDeleteHi Adrienne,
I enjoyed reading your description and analysis of Emma Chamberlains’ career and style. I agree that she is a very genuine and original creator by today’s standards. She is certainly a trendsetter and not a followers, and certainly for her fans that is the appeal.
I agree with your judgment that her charisma in her perceived interconnectedness. As defined by Marwick, the democratization of media through celebritization created celebrities who are average Joes rather than remarkable stars. While Chamberlain may not be an average Joe, she applies in this case in that she approaches her surrounding, regardless of how luxurious or prominent it may be, from the perspective of a teenage girl. She is like a breath of fresh air in an industry that has grown increasingly mundane and homogenous to the internet community. She is popular because she approaches the world of celebrities from a perspective that many of us can relate to, understand, or aspire to.
However, I would raise the question of whether her perceived authenticity is real or an act. Ouellette and Murray, in their discussion of the commercialization of the real, evoked that personalities like Chamberlain exist in a space between the ordinary and the extraordinary. They reside at the intersection of being a celebrity and presenting themselves as ordinary. She is very skilled at branding herself and marketing her coolness, so I, as a consumer of her content, sometimes question the authenticity of her authenticity. I suspect her engagement in emotional camping (Pasarras) with which she presents a personality across multiple platforms to create consistency and cater to the desire of her audience. After all, she is promoting the idea of “real” and her charisma reside in her perceived authenticity.
**** Anaya Shroff's response ****
ReplyDeleteHi Adrienne! I found it really interesting how you decided to focus on a youtube star (or micro celebrity). Through your article, you managed to capture a lot of the thoughts and feelings I have about my popular media consumption in a way that I can understand more tangibly now.
Storey’s discussion of high culture and low culture is important in the context of Emma’s videos. It is interesting that brands like Louis Vuitton who ooze sophistication and are the epitome of elitism would choose to work so closely with Emma, considering she communicates in such a raw and unfiltered manner with her followers. One of Storey’s definitions of popular culture is “culture that is leftover after we have decided what high culture is.” Yet through Emma’s ability to break through the fourth wall, and emphasis on audience engagement, a high fashion brand like Louis Vuitton chooses to employ her skills as an ambassador for their brand and in doing so make a statement towards the success of influencers in a Gen-Z world. They understand that masters of popular culture are their pathway of breaking through to younger generations in a modern context of ever changing trends and less importance given to classics. This aligns with the idea of postmodernism culture which doesn’t acknowledge the distinction between high and low culture.
As you mentioned, Emma carries off trends effortlessly. Her efforts in speaking so candidly to her audiences increases trust between herself and consumers of her content. Through her podcasts and vlogs, she is able to voice her opinions and show off parts of her personality continuously to her viewers. Her honesty in her videos is helpful when she advertises brands, as well as her own coffee as consumers feel as though her recommendations are authentic. Storey might argue that Emma’s persona online translates into a sort of material ideology through the push of her coffee brand for example, which is an extension of her personality in a material form.