We all know well Andy Warhol's 15 minutes of fame prophecy, and experts have talked long enough about how it found confirmation in the success of reality shows and social media. In fact, current cultural cycle is all about fame seekers and the celebration of all forms of narcissism.
But it seems that the next cultural cycle will promote a dramatic shift.
To me, nothing epitomized the current cycle better than the rise of the Kardashians. As a cultural phenomenon, KUWTK is shallow, frivolous, and apparently harmless entertainment like any other reality show. However, they knew how to tap into the cultural trends and harness the power of social media to boost their business like no other.
Since its debut in 2007, the show has become one of the longest-running reality shows in the US. It has also followed and fed some of the most important social media trends of the last 15 years.
From Kim's 2015 Selfie book to Kylie's lip fillers, KUWTK helped reshape women's self-image worldwide. Mixing scandals with constant over-the-top displays of wealth and self-indulgence, it helped amplify online toxic beauty standards. When we look back to the first 20 years of the 21st century, there will be more selfies than any other image.
So, what's the next cycle about?
If narcissism, decadent indulgence, photoshop, and image editing apps were already getting outdated before the pandemic, the coronavirus only sped up its downfall. But with millions of people hunkered down consuming social media content for too long, people begin to talk about the effect of constant promotion of perfection on teenagers, especially young girls. When a major global brand like Dove starts to lead the conversion about toxic beauty standards with its 2021 Real Beauty platform new campaign, it is undoubtedly becoming a mainstream topic.
It is not like the world will suddenly ban fake beauty, fillers, or filters for good. People will continue posting pictures, craving for validation.
But Gen Z, who has grown up with reality shows and social media, seems to have had enough of it. The pendulum of history always goes from side to side, but this time it looks like it's beyond that. It seems more about a long-needed adjustment.
But this shift makes me wonder what will happen with celebrities and artists who banked on social media as a way to amplify their reach, careers, or business?
Kim Kardashian, the savviest of the bunch, has already started to reshape her career as a law student and ambassador of prison reform. The rest of the family still keep posting half-naked and pouchy lips selfies on Instagram.
And this is gender-free practice. Looking at some other famous actors' social feeds, we'll find the same old barrage of selfies and carefully edited casual pictures.
Take Oscar winner Jared Leto, for example. Once his generation's rebel, the actor turned sex symbol, rock star, and most recently fashion icon didn't make anything of notice since his Oscar win with Dallas Boys Club. But he has been posting selfies or shirtless pics every day. The same guy who personified the opposite of a high school jock male stereotype, and won an Oscar portraying an HIV-positive transgender character, became a poster boy for social media narcissism and conformism.
Going in the opposite direction, Timothée Chalamet, the Jared Leto of the Gen Zs, only posts occasionally, and his posts are basically promoting one of his films or magazine covers, combined with a couple of "non-edited" pics and some random stuff like a picture of a road in Massachusetts. Maybe, just like Leto (49), in the future, Chalamet (25) might shift from a talented and pretty, and yet awkwardly, actor into a fashion icon and sex symbol too. Who knows. But as for right now, they represent polar opposites.
They both use social media to keep in touch with their fan base, but their feeds portrayal very different images. Chalamet is the new fresh look of the 2020s, while Leto's image seems to have devoured the person. One seeks recognition and connection, the other feeds his fans with a narcissistic ego trip quietly promoting unobtainable beauty and life standards.
But the narcissistic aspects of social media had a way more onerous impact on girls. Research studies point out that young women are the most vulnerable audience to the pressure to conform to beauty standards promoted online. But today, there is a new dynamic happening. Different forces are playing opposite each other ; or it might be the passing the torch from one cycle to another.
Let's look at Zendaya and Kylie Jenner's case. Just like Leto and Chalament, regardless of their ages, they represent totally different cycles.
Zendaya and Jenner are in the same age bracket, making the actress and the social media and cosmetic mogul both Gen Z. While Jenner inherited and embodied the Kardashian Instagram indulgent and highly filtered ethos and esthetics, Zendaya represents a more modern, socially and environmentally conscious fresher take on beauty and life. Dove's new campaign is targeting this audience. Young girls who will be will be adults in a couple of years and look for brands related to their values. The new cycle signals a shift from narcissism disguised as self-empowerment to a natural, democratic, and more organic promotion of people's enablement.
As rich, powerful, and influential as Kylie Jenner is today, it seems like she has peaked unless she shifts her image too. In 2021, narcissism is so last season.