The American Meme

"The American Meme" explores social media fame under different lights, through various celebrities who have relied on these outlets to gain recognition. The documentary examines the lives of Vine comedians, party animals, models, TV personalities and everything in between, with Paris Hilton as the standout focal point, due to the fact that she embodies American celebrity culture in its purest form and pretty much paved the way for all those who jumped on the fame wagon in more recent times. Many opportunities were missed in the way, where vapid and irrelevant screen time takes away from the more substantial storytelling, who are these people? What drives them?, and is the cost of fame really worth paying?. "The American Meme" has its shining moments, but you will have to navigate through the dull ones in order to appreciate the more meaningful moments.

I saw this film last night at Hot Docs in Toronto and had little expectations going in. I use social media, but I am certainly not immersed in the world. I was truly entertained, captivated and in awe of the subjects of THE AMERICAN MEME from start to finish. I laughed the entire way through, while learning a great deal, and felt deeply for the characters. One thing that surprised me about the movie was that it was a lot deeper and a lot more serious than I thought it would be. I was scared and sad when it ended and I am still thinking about the film and my own personal interactions with social media today. I was also surprised about how diverse the audience was, which was pretty crazy. There was an 80 year old with a walker laughing her head off and a 12 years old sitting next to me (although probably not appropriate for a 12 year old...).

Anyways, go see it. It's pretty amazing.

I do not like the concept of this movie, do not like when people trying to pretend "look how hard I work". Obviously they are really enjoying their life style and the entertainment industry, what they are doing - just leaving in their reality, they are an attention seeking people.

So I went into this thinking that it was going to actually be about memes. You know those things that constantly circulate on social media that people use over and over again. Nope! This was about a handful of no-talent "stars" that have never had to work for anything in there life. All this documentary did was give these people a platform to discuss their narcissistic lives. Completely revolting and a waste of time.

This film encapsulates the mindset of fame in the modern age by letting 4 figures speak on how they conceptualize it. A sickness spreading through all of us. Sad but this is the new normal.