NEW LENSES: Experimental Capture and Release

I first noticed this trend on Instagram in the wake of the Black Lives Movement protests happening across the country (2020). I mainly saw it on platforms like Instagram where influencers would try and fail at performative activism for likes or views. This report is specifically addressing those types of performative actions that make the individual look good and is not backed by any intentions to do the necessary work to help the movement in any way.

The creators participating in these trends are influencers on Instagram and their primary audience for this content is their followers/general audience on Instagram. This trend seemed to expose a lot of influencers trying to benefit off the tragedy of others.

1. #BlackoutTuesday

Blackout Tuesday was a trend on Instagram that was intended to be gestures of solidarity with protests against the death of George Floyd by the police in Minneapolis. There has been heavy criticism for those who participated in this trend because flooding Instagram’s feed with black boxes obscures posts associated with the movement that are more direct and most likely more helpful than plain boxes with no context. There are usually no resources linked with these posts that can provide viewers ways to actively support the BLM movement and so they become essentially a useless post that helps no one.

2. BLM photoshoot

Instagram influencer Kris Schatzel recovered a lot of backlash after being spotted at a BLM protest having a photoshoot. She brought her photographer Mila Voyna and was seen posing on the side while protestors marched pass her. Instead of being there for good cause, she came out to the protest for other reasons – to get a trendy snap.

“I swear some people think the protest is Coachella or a rock concert. They go there to hang out and flex on social media.”

3. Dear Putin…

This was a video made regarding the war between Russia and Ukraine. The actress made a poem for Putin.

I think this is an indicator of a larger issue which is that actions like these downplay the severity of the situation. When you turn the goal of a movement into a means of getting more followers, its disrespectful and offensive to those who are directly affected. I think with the rise of technology and social media apps, police officers are being held accountable much more often than they were 10 years ago. While this is in some ways a win, social media also gave opportunity for those more privileged to profit off the tragedies of others. While social movements require the opinions of those online and the activists at protests, there seems to be a huge disconnect between the conversations taking place online VS those in real life.

I think this trend will continue happening because social media is not going away anytime soon. The good thing is though that with social media, the public can hold creators accountable for their actions like how Instagram users called out Kris Schatzel. I wanted to do this topic because performative activism especially from celebrities or influencers does more harm than good. I think for influencers who’s main job is to document their life on these social media apps, the protests and the pandemic has changed the way these influencers do their jobs. Authenticity has become very important and often a make-or-break deal for followers. Brands are often more careful of who they are seeking or doing business with because of the heightened sensitivity. The same goes for the other way around since influencers have become more picky on the brands they are willing to work with depending on their opinions to a brand’s response to the movement. Messages sent on social media have shifted to focus more on unity and love.

“The time is now to close the curtains on this performance and open ourselves to the reality that we must do better.”