★ 8 / 10
Watch ‘Jawline’ from start to finish, then think
SWITCH.
Watch ‘Jawline’ from start to finish, then think back to those first two minutes of the film where Austyn is trying desperately and laboriously to capture the…
Watch ‘Jawline’ from start to finish, then think back to those first two minutes of the film where Austyn is trying desperately and laboriously to capture the perfect photo of himself. Can you still see what’s to come? Is the sparkle still there? Or has the filter been deleted?
- Jess Fenton
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https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-jawline-yo-please-like-me-i-want-to-be-famous
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★ 7 / 10
A valuable documentary for anyone parenting teens
CabbageCustard
I enjoyed this documentary much more than I expected to. More surprisingly, I found myself caring about the protagonist and most (but certainly not all) of…
I enjoyed this documentary much more than I expected to. More surprisingly, I found myself caring about the protagonist and most (but certainly not all) of those involved.This documentary takes an unbiased and detailed look at a social phenomenon that, I suspect, may be quite foreign to most of but is nonetheless real. This is the existence of social media 'influencers' and the mostly female fans who virtually worship them. I use quotation marks here because I find it slightly scary that these so-called 'influencers' actually have any influence. This documentary examines the attempts of one young man, 16-year-old Austyn Tester from Nowhere, Tennessee, to become a social media influencer. It gives us some insight into the world of other 'influencers', the girls who follow them and the avaricious managers who exploit them. For many of us this will be a real eye-opener.It is easy to see why a teenager like Austyn would aspire to enter the ranks of the young men who gain celebrity status on the internet. He is a teenager living in poverty, in a dead end town, with no prospects, not much talent and not much going for him. Fortunately, he is not bad looking, he is a 16-year old male and he owns a computer with an internet connection. That's all that's required for social media celebrity status, if you can just somehow create a big enough profile. There is something sad about watching and listening to Austyn as he attempts to make a name for himself. Your heart really goes out to him. He seems like a nice kid, but sadly deluded.The brief interviews with some of the girls who follow these social media personalities, giving them god-like status, are eye-openers too and also heart breaking. None of them are the popular girls in school. They are the girls who are bullied, who are outcasts, who are just ordinary or who just don't fit in. The young men they follow give them a sense of belonging, of self worth and value. It is all so sad. To their credit, it seems the social media 'influencers' recognise this and treat their fans with respect and affection. So they should, because these fans are the source of whatever fame and income they have. You really get the impression that these are two groups of equally damaged people who are feeding off and sustaining each other. As I said, there is something terribly sad and disturbing about this whole scenario.Lastly, we get to see the managers who latch on to these young men to help them achieve their dreams and become the celebrities they desire to be. These people are perhaps the most realistic of the three groups in that they see the social media phenomenon for what it is - and they see an opportunity to make money from it for themselves. These managers or agents or whatever else they choose to call themselves are predators who latch on to and manipulate and exploit aspiring influencers and use them to line their own pockets. They don't care for the people they are 'managing'. Unlike the influencers and their fans, they recognise that these young men don't actually have any talent, that all they have going for them is their looks and that their fame is going to be short-lived but that other young men who rise up to take their places. These managers and agents, particularly the one we see profiled here, Michael Something-or-other, are a fairly unsavoury lot. I said that they were the most realistic group of those involved in this business, but in their own way they are also deluded. They imagine themselves to be real movers and shakers in the entertainment business, people who others sit up and take notice of. These creepy, manipulative individuals who lack the charisma or personality to be influencers themselves, are convinced that they have achieved fame and influence themselves by controlling and exploiting the careers of others. They really are very unpleasant human beings.I found this a fascinating and very revealing documentary. I have no hesitation in recommending it, particularly to parents. There is much food for thought here.
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97%
TOMATOMETER
· 30 reviews
52%
AUDIENCE
6.1/10
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