Fake Famous

...if this isn't the premise for a major network reality competition show within a year. The Next Top Star Influencer hosted by Nick Cannon. I fear for all of us.

There is something seriously wrong with our society lately...and this documentary highlights part of the reason why.

I like to think of the world as before the internet, and after the internet. Before the internet, society was much much better....people were "normal" ..friendly...neighborly....people did things outside with friends and family...met people in person...went out on dates....Now? People have their phones on for hours upon hours a day with no human interaction....people live in a make believe world....and most people are screwed up and on anti depressants or anxiety drugs., or a combo of both..

I feel sorry for the generation growing up today, and for all generations coming after....Growing up in the 80s and 90s was so great...I'm glad I got to experience normal life before the internet....because life today, is anything but normal for most people....So do yourself a favor, GET OFF YOUR RIGHT PHONE NOW AND EXPERIENCE REAL LIFE WITH REAL PEOPLE....There is SO much more to life than your phone...

"Fake Famous" (2021 release; 87 min.) is a non-fiction documentary about "famous influencers". As the movie opens, a voice over reminds us that back in the day, when young people are asked what they want to become when grown up, the top responses typically were doctors, lawyers, and the like. Today the top response apparently is "influencer". The film makers decide to run an experiment: pick 3 random people with very few followers, and turn each of them into a famous influencer. From a pool of thousands of applicants, Dominique (a/k/a "Dom"), Chris and Wylie are chosen. To get started, the film makers purchase fake followers (7500 for $119) for each of them... At this point we are 10 min. into the film.

Couple of comments: this is the directing debut of writer Nick Bilton, who has followed the tech industry for the New York Times, Vanity, and other platforms. The idea of a social experiment is as simple as it is brilliant AND entertaining. Bilton is savvy enough to know what angels to look for in the world of Instagram fame. For someone like me, who cares nothing about being on social media whatsoever, it is a fascinating look behind the curtains. So much fakeness and pretending, all for the sake of getting likes and comments. The idea that you can buy followers and likes and comments is simply astounding to me. We are told that even Kim Kardashian, queen of Instagram with 150+ million followers, relies on tens of millions of fake followers (bots). The very best of this documentary comes in the last 15 min. when it becomes clear what becomes of the three random picks to become a "famous influencer", and, equally fascinating, the unexpected impact of COVID-19 on "famous influencers". Bottom line: I ended up enjoying this documentary far more than I had expected. And frankly it exposes Instagram fame for what it really is (hint: look at the documentary's title).

"Fake Famous" recently premiered on HBO and is now available on HBO On Demand and other streaming platforms. Regardless of whether you yourself are on social media or not, if you have any interest in or curiosity about what really goes on in the Instagram fame universe, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

It's amazing how hard people are working to not have to work a real job. This doc cuts right into the heart of it and shows social media for what it's always been, a farce. While it starts slow, it gets pretty interesting 30mins in and has some interesting twists and turns. Ironically, one of the influencers they used in their stock footage (not the three chosen) actually lives in my building. Never knew until we saw it.....hilarious.

In Adam Curtis's documentary "The Century of Self" he tracked the rise of selfishness from the hippie movement to the Reagan revolution, but this generation of self obsessed narcissist have taken things to a new level.