Thoughts on Topic 6 – Cultural Capital, Social Class and Influencers

DESCRIBE

Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital is underpinned by three fundamental forms that promote social mobility. 1. Embodied – refers to “long-lasting dispositions of the mind and the body.” (Bourdieu, 1986) For example, one’s accent. 2. Institutional – relates to the degrees one holds or the schools or clubs they are associated with. For example, attending a prestigious fee-paying school 3. Objectified – refers to one’s consumption of goods. For example, owning a Rolls Royce. However, In 2020, one can also propel themselves upwards elevating their perceived prestige level through their display of cultural capital and taste on digital platforms, namely Instagram.

Bourdieu (1984), asserts that one’s aesthetic judgement is not an autonomous decision but a socially and historically constituted disposition. This is abundantly clear by looking at social media. Sameness inhabits every corner of Instagram. Everyone is doing the same stuff, going to the same places, taking the same picture. We are all communicating through the same visual language, a world viewed through Instagram’s Valencia filter. While I’m an advocate for the democratisation that has been facilitated via the ‘megaphone effect,’ I’m not sure if its mark on social media has been an entirely positive development, specifically in relation to how users demonstrate cultural capital online.

INTERPRET

Tavi Gevinson is often seen as the original influencer. She organically gained cultural capital online by exhibiting taste online. Tastes are ‘markers of class’ and as such, her blog gained traction producing social capital and economic rewards. This is an example of the ‘mega-phone effect’ as she did not use traditional mainstream media on her road to acclaim. Tavi Gevinson was blogging as a hobby without the aspiration of becoming an influencer. The organic, hobby-like nature of ascending online via a DIY style blog is so much more palatable, personal and sincere than the formulaic path of a lot of today’s influencers.

Instagram has created a culture of familiar aspirational tropes - Acai bowls, cold-pressed juices, avocado toast, expensive coffee. Older generations cringe at the price millennials are willing to spend on aesthetically pleasing brunch food and this has even been cited as a reason why millennials are unable to afford to buy their own home. While this avocado-focused ridicule makes for a good headline, the sentiment remains accurate which begs the question – why does our generation prioritise frivolity? I believe that with our current value system, trivial things denote cultural capital and can be viewed as the building blocks to becoming an influencer. They are the signifiers of taste, mainstays on tastemaker’s social media feeds. But unfortunately, while many successful influencers utilised these symbols on their path to social gain in years past, the rate of repetition and imitation has become laughable at this point.

Everyone knows a local wannabe influencer/micro influencer. They mindlessly cosplay the posts of those who’ve already garnered notoriety in this space. Blogger fedora – tick! The ubiquitous Gucci belt – tick! Why do they all want that beach swing pic or waterfall pic in Bali? Nothing about this is noteworthy anymore. It’s sterile. It’s unimaginative. It’s bereft of any personality. Do these people possess any personal point of view? They consume images online, try to replicate them, many believing that they may follow the same trajectory as the influencers they are mimicking. But this is no longer a new concept. Their actions don’t represent newness. They’re no longer signifiers of taste. They’re merely just another statistic when it comes to how many people hash-tagged #mood this month. A graveyard of poorly engaged #OOTD pictures.

EVALUATE

People fly across the planet motivated by placing themselves into a Google image frame. They flock to the metal Eiffel Tower like magnets. There are 126 million posts on Instagram with the hashtag ‘Wanderlust.’ This refers to a strong desire to travel but perhaps people are incorrectly interpreting this term. A desire to ‘get the pic’ seems more accurate. I don’t see any desire to actually travel, in the sense of exploration or trying new things. The world is so vast but the wannabe influencer chooses to flock to the same place as everyone else, the same ‘must-see’ bucket list locations. There seems to a trend of the Instagram-obsessed exclusively planning trips based on the aesthetic portrayed on social media. This TikTok aptly demonstrates how the romantic location of Santorini in Greece may not be quite as idyllic in real life as it is on our Instagram feeds. Does the prospect of the serotonin release, resulting from sharing their Instagram moment, justify the price of the plane ticket?

The idea of authenticity as a commodity really resonated with me. Taste was originally associated with those who did something new, those that captured our imagination. However, influencer culture has become so formulaic, robotic and uninspiring. Take the Love Island formula. Guy posts gym selfies. Girl posts bikini pics. They are recruited for the show. Post-show, they begin selling protein powder, teeth whitening strips, ‘fit’ tea sachets. And yes, while this is a viable career path nowadays, the increased frequency of these types of shows along with the slew of imitators renders the whole thing dull and nauseating. A meat factory of reality TV alumni desperately clinging on to relevancy. It’s not sincere. It’s overdone. Nobody believes that you really use the products you are promoting. You’d have to wonder if it only works on impressionable teenagers and that’s before we even mention the body image implications.

PLAN

That being said, I think Instagram is here to stay. We may be more “woke” to influencer’s tactics but that doesn’t mean they’re going anywhere. For one to become a tastemaker that’s taken seriously, they need to strip it back to what originally made an influencer an influencer. McQuarrie (2013) talks about how tastemakers acquired their audience by “iterated displays of aesthetic discrimination.” Sameness just won’t cut it anymore. Practically-speaking, for brands looking to capitalise on our obsession with influencers, their best option would be to partner with credible micro-influencers who are displaying taste in a new way and engaging with their following. A symbiotic relationship is the goal - the influencer continues to grow and so does the brand. These partnerships can be lucrative for both parties and if brands have chosen sincere candidates, this will not negatively impact their brand DNA. Similarly, for the influencers in question, choosing authentic brands that synergise with them will have a positive affect on their personal brand. McKinsey’s 2021 State of Fashion report reveals that Gen-Z want to consume things that are ‘unique’ and hopefully this will culminate with some newness on our timelines!

Reading/Media References

Lawler, S. (2005). Introduction: Class, Culture and Identity - Stephanie Lawler, 2005. Retrieved 18 December 2020, from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0038038505058365

McQuarrie, E. (2013). Retrieved 18 December 2020, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259712845_The_Megaphone_Effect_Taste_and_Audience_in_Fashion_Blogging

Stodola, S. (2017). How Instagram Made All Places Seem Like Any Place | Flung. Retrieved 18 December 2020, from http://flungmagazine.com/2017/06/13/influence-how-instagram-made-all-places-any-place/

Topic Six pre-recorded lectures

https://brightspace.tudublin.ie/d2l/le/content/50163/Home?itemIdentifier=D2L.LE.Content.ContentObject.ModuleCO-904294

‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’ clip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq462kfFKI8&feature=emb_logo