A new Hulu documentary takes a deep dive into the monetization of cuteness, focusing on a Tennessee teen’s brushup with online celebrity, likes, and opportunity.
“Jawline” follows two subjects: Austyn Tester, “who built his following on wide-eyed optimism and teen girl lust as he tries to escape a dead-end life”, and Michael Weist, a keen 21-year-old gay social media manager from LA.
Liza Mandelup, who made the film, spoke to NNN about the strange and troubling dynamics at play:
People go [online] to find a community because they feel rejected in life and suicidal. There’s no way that can be a negative thing, but being out of touch with reality and losing touch with real-life friends, that’s not very good.
The whole interview is worth a read, and you can watch the trailer below:
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Chrisk
“When they’re 30 and not cute anymore their Instagram career is over”. Well said. Goes for the youtube “influencers” too.
wikidBSTN
Uhm – LOTS of guys in the 30’s are cute. And in their 40’s and 50’s too.
JorgeRivera1356
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JorgeRivera1356
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spacecadet
Yes, wikid BSTN but 30s on up is not what the teen and tweens are going for! Lol
mojo
isn’t there a way to make this lame ad by JorgeRivera1356 go away? And it’s creepy too.
ElPillo
@JorgeRivera1356. GO AWAY
redzebra1
Where’s the report & block options when you need them?
Hermes
People can look very nice at 30 if they take care of themselves and dont’ gorge on drugs and tobacco or vaping.
Beyond that however, If a kid is an influencer from say 18 on until 30 and is careful and saves money -s/he will be wealthy and can have whatever life they want. I follow some influencers on TWITCH, and my favorite one, is ready for the rest of his life at 24.
Dick Gozinia
Meh, even now he’s only ‘cute’ in that way that all teenagers are cute.
spacecadet
No, not all teenagers are “cute” lol. There’s a reason this particular person is being highlighted. It’s not called “Jawline” for no reason.
ShiningSex
Influencers are just idiots telling idiots what to do or wear. BORING!!
Hermes
Thus proving that you know CONSIDERABLY less about what is online than I would have expected. For example, I follow Giorgio Tsoukalos(him of the hair). You may not consider him an influencer, but he is one. I also follow a couple folk on Twitch – they are as well. None of them tell anyone how to eat or what to wear – but they tell us lots of other things.
spacecadet
This is actually a pretty insightful and entertaining documentary. I recommend it. It’s horrifying and funny at the same time. You sympathize for the teen and tween girls because they clearly are in need of emotional support and it’s nice that they are getting that in a way but you also want to scream a them (and their parents) that they are being used for a quick buck by a new type of business that is preying on their insecurities. You also feel somewhat for Austyn because he is a relatively nice kid and he clearly wants to escape his middle-of-nowhere small town America dead-end existence. But instead of trying to succeed in school he thinks he’s found a shortcut to success and wealth by becoming an “influencer”. And like a lot of people today he sadly equates fame with being successful and happy. You can go to his instagram and it’s apparent he’s hoping the Hulu doc will elevate to a higher level of fame. And then Michael is the young shrewd businessman that has becoming successful by taking advantage of both the influencers and the girls willing to pay to see them and buy their products. They are all disposable to him which he freely admit is. He also comes across as a bit full of himself and materialistic, no surprise. Apparently his business went bankrupt last year. The funniest part of the doc for me were the “tours” the influencers go on in front of their adoring fans. Because they have no discernible talent the shows consist of them being announced and running on to stage, taking selfies with the girls, spraying them with silly string, and lip synching to songs. And these kids (and their parents) pay $ and drive hours for this? Lol
ClarkAlan
What hath David Cassidy wrought?
Birdbrain1963
administrator: please block this spammer: JorgeRivera1356
redzebra1
Word! Better still give us report & block options, like on other websites & forums!
Cam
Michael Alig’s inside joke has become reality. Ugh.
ShowMeGuy
I will enjoy; when the time comes, that I start getting job applications which list “Instagram influencer” as a formerly held job……as I delete them.
Tombear
Just remember, David Cassidy didn’t age well!