Following Emma Chamberlain
Emma Chamberlain is a 20 year-old social media influencer from California. In 2017, Chamberlain decided to pursue her passion for video creation, and started a YouTube channel. With her boldness, confidence, humor, and undeniable authenticity, she feels like everyone’s best friend, and she quickly became an internet sensation. She is extremely relatable because she never filters herself. Her channel’s theme is vulnerability mixed with humor, and her intended audience is other teenagers who want to relax, laugh, and escape.
While her videos are very clearly edited, with zoom-ins, filters, sound effects, etc., they never seem overly constructed. She doesn’t use beauty filters or hold her camera perfectly still. She seems like your friend talking on facetime, which provides a sense of comfort. There is also great variety: she goes on spontaneous road trips, taste-tests burritos in Los Angeles, and attends Paris Fashion week with Louis Vuitton. It’s a new adventure every week, shared with her 10.6 million followers.
One of her videos, “PULLING AN ALL NIGHTER IN NYC,” is a hilarious depiction of being a teenager alone in NYC. The video interestingly starts out with upbeat music and multiple flashes of screens that say, “shopemmachamberlain.com” along with images of various branded clothing items available to buy. This plug for viewers to buy her merchandise reminded me of Adorno
and Horkheimer’s belief that everything is about money and capitalism. In traditional Marxism, a capitalist society was assumed, and it was believed that the base only affected the superstructure. Essentially, Marx thought that social practices and culture (superstructure) were determined and produced by the economy (base). Adorno and Horkheimer thought in a Neo-Marxist way, and they were interested in how the superstructure also affected the base. They believed that culture isn’t just an output of the economy, it also helps to sustain it (Adorno & Horkheimer, 1947). This is evident here. Viewers are encouraged to buy Emma Chamberlain’s merchandise, which reinforces that everything is tied to money. Relatedly, this particular video is sponsored by a company called The RealReal.” Chamberlain “hypes up” the company, telling her viewers to click the link in her description box for discounts, and makes sure to emphasize the fact that everyone should go buy something from the site. This just reinforces that the base and the superstructure do in fact have a symbiotic relationship like Adorno and Horkheimer believed, and that everything is about money. (Adorno & Horkheimer, 1947).
After the introduction, Chamberlain shares that she is in New York City, and that she was sick when she arrived, which led to many mental breakdowns. Chamberlain then cuts to a montage of her crying. Her openness about mental health sends the positive message that it’s okay to not have it together all the time. It feels as though she is giving the viewers a look inside her personal thoughts and feelings, which makes us feel closer to her.
Her plan is to pull a fun all-nighter in New York City. She starts by reviewing some of the unique hotel snacks, and then explores the hotel. She takes us along with her, and the shaky camera movements and mediocre lighting resemble a personal vlog. Along the way, she points out that her acne is bad, which reminds the audience that it’s okay to have blemishes and that there is no need to hide it. Pointing out things like her own acne is part of what characterizes Chamberlain’s style. She is open and vulnerable with her viewers about things that her target audience likely experiences. After some awkward encounters with hotel guests, Chamberlain retreats to her room and props up her camera on her bed so she can debrief with the audience about what just happened. It once again feels like you are video chatting with her. Trying to decide what to do next, Chamberlain inserts a montage of her researching activities. We then accompany her as she strolls through NYC, before a cut to the next day, when Chamberlain tells us that she accidentally fell asleep. She thanks the viewers for watching, says that she loves us, and signs off.
Watching this video through the lens of the thinkers and theories we have studied in class reminded me of the sociotechnical politics of communication. While the telephone is thought of as a liberal device because on a call both people have agency, the radio is thought of as democratic because it is one person just talking to the masses. Adorno and Horkheimer were concerned that listeners were like “zombies” when they listened to the radio because they would all listen to the same thing and be brainwashed by it. They were worried it would become a dangerous tool, used to control people (Adorno & Horkheimer, 1947). Because of this, Adorno and Horkheimer would likely be very skeptical of the video I just watched, and of YouTube as a platform in general. In YouTube videos like Chamberlain’s, a content creator talks to the masses, and Adorno and Horkheimer would be worried that the masses lacked agency.
I also thought about John Storey’s different definitions of ideology and how ‘ideological forms' present a particular image of the world, which has the potential to make viewers believe that there is a certain way that the world is and/or should be (Storey, 2006). This video illustrates what a casual night looks like for Chamberlain, as a white, American, wealthy, famous, female teenager. Viewers might think that her lifestyle embodies how all American teenagers live, and should live. This is unrealistic to say the least, especially given Chamberlain’s status and privilege as a prominent influencer. Nevertheless, her lifestyle is normalized and viewers might feel bad about themselves.
Overall, Chamberlain’s YouTube videos are highly entertaining and well-liked by millions of people. Chamberlain’s ability to make the viewer feel like they know her on a deeply personal level is a huge draw, and it humanizes her to a certain extent. When it really comes down to it, she is just a normal teenager.
References:
Adorno, T., & Horkheimer, M. (1944). Dialectic of enlightenment. New York: Herder and Herder.
Storey, J. (2006). Cultural theory and popular culture: An introduction (3rd ed.). Harlow: Pearson Prentice Hall.
How Very: Heathers Over Time If you thought the classic trio was Harry, Ron, and Hermione, think again--it is clearly Heather, Heather, and Heather. In the 1988 teenage cult classic movie Heathers , these three girls dominate Westerberg High School with their shoulder pads, college parties, and unforgiving pranks. But unlike descendants such as Mean Girls, the movie touches on more than just social cliques and image issues. The central plot follows a popular girl, Veronica, who has long been absorbed into the Heather posse and recognizes its toxicity. She sees a way out through the mysterious JD, who becomes her lover and partner in crime as they begin to murder and feign the suicide of many of Westerberg’s populars. However, this sardonic comedy is not just commentary on teenage suicide; it takes on issues of rape, mental health, eating disorders, and descrimination based on sexual orientation (just to name a few). As director Michael Lehmann explains, “‘ It’s a satire ab...
Hi Emma!
ReplyDeleteI loved reading your blog and being able to learn more about Emma Chamberlain. I have never personally heard much about her but I did some research after reading your post and found some of her videos entertaining as you stated! I thought of a lot of concepts that we learned about from class after reading your post in addition to the ones you mentioned and talked about. For example, how Emma is a micro-celebrity because she uses her phone to create and exist on different digital platforms with different content as an influencer, based on what she does and not particularly who she is like Alice Warwick defines as what constitutes someone as a micro-celebrity. Emma is considered an influencer by Abidin because she has a large fan following, of over 10.6 million followers on social media from the visual narratives she creates of her personal life daily. Furthermore, you mentioned that Emma in some of her videos would open up about her mental health and send positive messages to her fans and followers. This is the concept that Abidin talks about of perceived interconnectedness with how parasocial relations enable the audience to cultivate an extensive knowledge of people's personalities without any actual reciprocity involved. Fans have a false sense of connectedness often with characters from a show, but I think it applies here too with influencers because yes celebrities can see the different fans that comment and like their content, but there is no real relationship behind it. Also, I think Emma's front/backstage representation, where she shows her, feels as though she is giving the viewers a look inside her thoughts and feelings, which makes us feel closer to her and more relatable like when she points out that her acne is bad. This makes her more relatable to the audience because everyone has blemishes and she embraces hers. Another concept that I noticed was Melissa Brown’s concept of Boudoir, with how Emma goes back to her hotel room and gives a debrief of her day. She is allowing her fans exclusive access into her bedroom and private space which is another example of her trying to allow her fans to see closer, more personal side of her. Overall I loved your blog and it brought up so many points and concepts that we have covered in class!
Great blog post! One thing that I think we can add to this conversation is the piece written by Kellner with influence from the Frankfurt School. You mention that Emma Chamberlain “seems like your friend talking on facetime, which provides a sense of comfort.” Even though I have not personally watched Emma Chamberlain I have watched other youtubers who present similarly on social media. They all present the idea of standardization and pseudo-individuality. Even though there are multiple different episodes that youtubers can create there is a limit to the diversity of content between a youtuber themself and other youtubers. There are endless amounts of “day in the life,” “hauls,” and “get ready with me,” videos to be found on Youtube but Emma Chamberlain followers will make sure to watch hers because of the sense of friendship and comfort that you mention in your blog post. This presents Kellner’s idea of standardization and the idea that under monopoly all mass culture is identical or the homogenization of content. Kellner would argue that Emma Chamberlain’s content is not unique in her values and ideas. Additionally, the idea of pseudo-individuality is also presented in all youtubers including Emma Chamberlain. Pseudo-individuality can apple to people and products adding little differences to seem unique even though these tiny details are calculated. For example, when Emma Chamberlain makes eye contact with the camera, waves to the camera, talks to you like you are in the room, or even asks the viewer questions these are examples of pseudo-individuality because you are immersed in her content that you think she is talking directly to you.
ReplyDeleteResponse by: Gabrielle Caine
ReplyDeleteI loved reading this! As a microcelebrity, Emma Chamberlain has one of the more “authentic” feeling YouTube channels. Emma is a great influencer to apply the concepts we have learned in class to. She has great fashion taste and advice, but her cult-like following has amassed as a result of her raw personality that you talk about. This reminds me of Abidin’s work, “Communicative intimacies: influencer and perceived interconnectedness”. If you remember, this work discusses the work of microcelebrities, specifically how they create and maintain mass followings. To do this, they abide by certain rules like providing a closer look into their personal lives. Emma is a great example of this as she takes her followers through mundane things in her day, like trying new coffee shops around Los Angeles. She, however, harnesses parasocial relationships with her fans through her authenticity and quirkiness. As you mention, she is open about her mental health struggles, which allows viewers to feel close to her. She also has a level of relatability as we have discussed in class. She often describes her struggles with acne and body image, as well as other things that normal young people deal with, like learning how to cook or keeping decorative plants alive as she lives on her own for the first time. This allows viewers to really feel as if they know Emma and are friends with her. This “perceived interconnectedness” as Abidin describes is ultimately what allows Chamberlain to maintain her following. Without allowing us a closer look into her daily life, viewers would not be able to have a connection with her personally. I really enjoyed this topic and overall, you did a really nice job with this!