And they’ve built you up till you fool yourself
That you’re somethin’ else, and it’s like a curse
‘Cause you can’t live up to what they made of you
And they tell ya that you’re losin’ friends
You don’t lose when you lose fake friends
‘Fake Friends’ by Joan Jett and Kenny Laguna
I thought I knew all about social media “influencers.” I even knew some of the tricks of their trade – buying bots to follow you on Instagram. I mean, I’m old enough to remember when the President of the United States had an estimated 50% of his followers identified as fake.
What I did not know, not until watching the HBO documentary ‘Fake Famous’ is how people would react if given the chance to become an influencer themselves. Director Nick Bilton was equally surprised by the results of his social experiment that is the basis for this engaging if not always enlightening film. After conducting a casting call, the filmmakers decide on three young people – the three are of differing races/orientations and backgrounds, so presumably, they were getting a decent sampling of personality types.
Bilton starts by purchasing followers for each of the three – what follows is a set of opportunities for them and insights for us. What is there to gain by being fake famous? Is it just about getting money and free stuff, or is it even more about affirmation, no matter how artificial?
I don’t want to go into too much detail about the 3 “subjects” because I enjoyed seeing their different experiences revealed. Bilton means for this to be a commentary on how sad and shallow we have all become- relying on “likes” from strangers (or bots) to validate us as people.
And, yes, we get that message. But I’d be lying if I didn’t think it’d be fascinating to live that life for maybe a year. The problem is that at the end of the year, I would discover that I had sold my soul for a free vacation and a few bucks.
“Fake Famous” is currently airing/streaming on HBO and HBO Max.
Reviewed by Kyle Osborne. 3 out of 4 Stars.
