Emma Chamberlain is a 20-year-old Youtube sensation who rose to fame after filming various vlogs revolving around fashion, snippets into her daily life, and personal challenges. Many are drawn to her genuine personality paired with her effortless humor that is both entertaining and relatable. Her videos are aimed at other individuals around the same age as her, specifically teenage girls, though people of all ages, genders, and identities tune in to her content. While her initial videos were hectic with quick cuts and fast-paced transitions, she now focuses on connecting with her audience by opening up about her emotional state and providing insight into her mental struggles. She continues to utilize her platform to entertain, but as she has gotten older, she has focused more on helping her audience prioritize mental health and self care by documenting her own journey.
One of Chamberlain’s recent Youtube videos, a 12 minute vlog titled “I don’t want to go home,” demonstrates her current mental and emotional state. She immediately portrays a natural, casual atmosphere by dressing in sweats and holding the camera close to her face as if she were talking to someone on FaceTime. She speaks in a nonchalant, carefree manner as if she and the viewer are close friends having a casual conversation. In particular, she discusses her upcoming plans, her cats back at home, how badly she needs to go to the bathroom, and how she lost her wallet. When sitting and drinking coffee, she sets up the camera across the table as if she and the viewer were truly having a drink and conversing with one another. Between her discourse, she also provides clips of the Paris scenery around her with very tranquil music in the background, allowing viewers to really immerse themselves in her surroundings as if they were there with her. Chamberlain also goes into her thoughts and opinions of various Van Gogh paintings that she had viewed at a museum the night before, telling her viewers about her experience and essentially allowing them to experience it with her. She also even includes the sounds of the toilet flushing and sink water running to really invite her audience into her personal space.
The comments below the video also speak to the casual, authentic nature of Chamberlain’s content. People have written things such as, “I like when Emma goes somewhere, she shows the city as it is and doesn’t try and overhype it like others” and “I feel like whoever watches her will immediately feel welcomed.” People also communicate directly to Chamberlain; for instance one person said, “you're literally the best friend everyone wishes they had. Every video is full of so much nostalgia in a way & I'm so grateful we get to see you grow & experience things others can't.” Such comments speak to the authentic nature of Chamberlain’s videos and how her content truly allows people to connect and relate to her on a deep, personal level.
Chamberlain’s YouTube channel and overall brand certainly exemplifies folk culture as she embodies “an ‘authentic’ culture of ‘the people’” (Storey, 2009, p. 10). Through her personal anecdotes and the chaos of her daily life, she shows her audience that she is just as normal as they are and she faces the same struggles as they do. She may be a multimillionaire celebrity but she doesn’t act like it, and as seen in the comments above, people clearly appreciate her for that. Other YouTubers may showcase the best and most glamorous aspects of their lives, but Chamberlain is real and raw. She curses frequently and discusses personal problems such as going to the bathroom and panicking about her missing wallet. These are all things that people go through on a daily basis, proving that she is one of “the people” and is not trying to make herself seem superior or elite.
However, Chamberlain also proves her ability to participate in high culture. In another YouTube video, she details her experience getting ready for the Met Gala, one of the most exclusive, high-culture celebrity events. Not only did she get an invite to the Met Gala, she also was given the opportunity to interview celebrities, further establishing her status. “Being difficult ensures its exclusive status as high culture,” and because it is so difficult to gain such a position, let alone get an invite to the event at all, it is evident that Chamberlain has achieved high culture status (Storey, 2009, p. 6).
Chamberlain is also the epitome of a micro-celebrity, which is “a self-presentation technique in which people view themselves as a public persona to be consumed by others, use strategic intimacy to appeal to followers, and regard their audience as fans” (Marwick, 2015). Chamberlain is perceived as both a micro-celebrity and an influencer, as she uses her platform on YouTube and other social media networks to appeal to and connect with others. Unlike a traditional celebrity, Chamberlain’s entire brand is built on digital media as she utilizes visual platforms to reach her fans. Furthermore, her monologues about her personal experiences and struggles provide both backstage insight and intimacy with the audience. “Parasocial relations enable the audience to cultivate an extensive knowledge of [Chamberlain], without any actual reciprocity involved” (Abidin, 2015). By constantly sharing such detailed information about her personal life, viewers develop perceived connectedness to Chamberlain, as can be seen from the comments.
Sources:
One of Chamberlain’s recent Youtube videos, a 12 minute vlog titled “I don’t want to go home,” demonstrates her current mental and emotional state. She immediately portrays a natural, casual atmosphere by dressing in sweats and holding the camera close to her face as if she were talking to someone on FaceTime. She speaks in a nonchalant, carefree manner as if she and the viewer are close friends having a casual conversation. In particular, she discusses her upcoming plans, her cats back at home, how badly she needs to go to the bathroom, and how she lost her wallet. When sitting and drinking coffee, she sets up the camera across the table as if she and the viewer were truly having a drink and conversing with one another. Between her discourse, she also provides clips of the Paris scenery around her with very tranquil music in the background, allowing viewers to really immerse themselves in her surroundings as if they were there with her. Chamberlain also goes into her thoughts and opinions of various Van Gogh paintings that she had viewed at a museum the night before, telling her viewers about her experience and essentially allowing them to experience it with her. She also even includes the sounds of the toilet flushing and sink water running to really invite her audience into her personal space.
The comments below the video also speak to the casual, authentic nature of Chamberlain’s content. People have written things such as, “I like when Emma goes somewhere, she shows the city as it is and doesn’t try and overhype it like others” and “I feel like whoever watches her will immediately feel welcomed.” People also communicate directly to Chamberlain; for instance one person said, “you're literally the best friend everyone wishes they had. Every video is full of so much nostalgia in a way & I'm so grateful we get to see you grow & experience things others can't.” Such comments speak to the authentic nature of Chamberlain’s videos and how her content truly allows people to connect and relate to her on a deep, personal level.
Chamberlain’s YouTube channel and overall brand certainly exemplifies folk culture as she embodies “an ‘authentic’ culture of ‘the people’” (Storey, 2009, p. 10). Through her personal anecdotes and the chaos of her daily life, she shows her audience that she is just as normal as they are and she faces the same struggles as they do. She may be a multimillionaire celebrity but she doesn’t act like it, and as seen in the comments above, people clearly appreciate her for that. Other YouTubers may showcase the best and most glamorous aspects of their lives, but Chamberlain is real and raw. She curses frequently and discusses personal problems such as going to the bathroom and panicking about her missing wallet. These are all things that people go through on a daily basis, proving that she is one of “the people” and is not trying to make herself seem superior or elite.
However, Chamberlain also proves her ability to participate in high culture. In another YouTube video, she details her experience getting ready for the Met Gala, one of the most exclusive, high-culture celebrity events. Not only did she get an invite to the Met Gala, she also was given the opportunity to interview celebrities, further establishing her status. “Being difficult ensures its exclusive status as high culture,” and because it is so difficult to gain such a position, let alone get an invite to the event at all, it is evident that Chamberlain has achieved high culture status (Storey, 2009, p. 6).
Chamberlain is also the epitome of a micro-celebrity, which is “a self-presentation technique in which people view themselves as a public persona to be consumed by others, use strategic intimacy to appeal to followers, and regard their audience as fans” (Marwick, 2015). Chamberlain is perceived as both a micro-celebrity and an influencer, as she uses her platform on YouTube and other social media networks to appeal to and connect with others. Unlike a traditional celebrity, Chamberlain’s entire brand is built on digital media as she utilizes visual platforms to reach her fans. Furthermore, her monologues about her personal experiences and struggles provide both backstage insight and intimacy with the audience. “Parasocial relations enable the audience to cultivate an extensive knowledge of [Chamberlain], without any actual reciprocity involved” (Abidin, 2015). By constantly sharing such detailed information about her personal life, viewers develop perceived connectedness to Chamberlain, as can be seen from the comments.
Sources:
Abidin, C. (2015) Communicative Intimacies: Influencers and Perceived Interconnectedness. Ada: A Journal of Gender, New Media, and Technology, No.8.
Marwick, A. (2015). You May Know Me from YouTube: (Micro-)Celebrity in Social Media.
Storey, J. (2009). What is Popular Culture? Cultural Theory and Popular Culture.
Marwick, A. (2015). You May Know Me from YouTube: (Micro-)Celebrity in Social Media.
Storey, J. (2009). What is Popular Culture? Cultural Theory and Popular Culture.
Hi Emily,
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate the details you gave in the blog of multiple instances where Emma Chamberlain seems relatable, creating a perceived connectedness with their viewers. It is quite ironic that her viewers find her relatable and down to Earth in her conversations while in the background it the Paris skyline, a city she is visiting because she was invited for Louis Vuitton’s fashion show. She is able to find this blend and create a false intimacy with her viewers perfectly - they know she is there for fashion week but her content often has her seemingly sharing in the viewers’ awe of the exclusivity of this event, bringing her back down to Earth. The idea of the influencer is perfectly embodied by her - seemingly close to us, but in reality so far.
I also wonder whether Emma would still be considered a microcelebrity. As you pointed out, Emma is now being invited to participate in high culture, be it fashion week, or the Met Gala, which makes one wonder whether she has made the shift to regular celebrity. A microcelebrity is someone who would be famous within their region, which was true for Emma in the early years - she was famous within the US, but not globally. Now however, her brand has grown, so much so that she could commodify it in the form of her coffee brand, 'Chamberlain Coffee'. This global recognition makes it highly plausible that Emma has undergone celebritification to the point of being a mainstream celebrity.
Hi Emily,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, great work on your blog post! Very informative and thought-provoking piece that made me reconsider influencers. Your work reminded me of Walter Benjamin’s piece about aura and cult of personality. As an audience, we feel an urge to feel as close to the celebrities or online influencers we admire. We want to replicate the feeling and crave the feeling of “the aura” which is the “here and now of the artwork.” In this case, this is watching Emma Chamberlain’s videos because there are intimate looks into her life. Viewers of Emma Chamberlain feel “the aura” with her seemingly candid and raw videos. This is interesting to the viewers because they are “relatable” content as well as have a friendly feeling of interacting with someone you know.
Additionally, much of Emma Chamberlain’s videos rely on her personality rather than the actual content, relating to the “cult of personality” that Walter Benjamin mentions. This cult of personality is developed as a result of selling a relationship with the viewers. As you said, she shares intimate parts of her life like losing her wallet or sharing negative emotions, which attracts viewers as it shares her relatable side and makes it seem like she is your close personal friend. I want to know more about your thoughts on how Emma Chamberlain’s whole brand is built on being relatable, but she still has glamorous parts of her life like attending the Met Gala.
Overall, really great work on your piece! Very interesting and engaging work!
- Bettina Catoto