Basics of Play
In #fixurl8tionship you are invited to play two roles on Instagram:
- a flawless fixurl8tionship Instagram influencer, and
- an ordinary fan in trouble seeking relationship advice.
(You can play both roles as one character.)
We imagine that all the #fixurl8tionship influencers know or know of each other and are friendpetitors. Use the#fixurl8tionship hashtag on Instagram.
Remember: a relationship can be a friendship or filial (family) not just romance.
Consider
Have you ever made a relationship look better online?
What filters (real and metaphorical) do you use to cast a better light on your relationships?
What’s the worst relationship advice anyone has ever given you?
Create Your Influencer Character
The basic fiction: You are a popular relationship advice-giver on Instagram. You post tutorials and fans seek your advice. But you’ve got relationship problems of your own!
Invent a relationship advice expert
- Who are they? Write a paragraph about your influencer’s background and personality for future reference. Remember to satirize those higher in the food chain than you; in comedy we punch up, not down. How did they get started? Do they have sponsors? Do they do product placement?
- What style do they use for advice? Pick a genre of social media influencer expertise that intrigues you. Examples: beauty, gaming, fitness, parenting, mechanical repair, sports skills, music skills, cooking, etc.
- How do they sound? Use the vocabulary of the genre you selected and apply it (actually mis-apply it) to relationship advice in your posts. Google “[yourgenre] vocabulary” for handy lists.
- What are they hiding? identify a personal relationship your influencer character is in that is not going well. Write a paragraph of backstory about this relationship for future reference. Helicopter parent? Significant other who feels insignificant? Competitive sibling?
Comments Your Influencer Character and Your Fan Character Can Make
- As a fan: ask for specific, personal advice in response to an influencer’s broad relationship topic
- As a fan: Tell what happened when you took the advice (on the other person’s post)
- As a fan: Ask followup questions:
- As a fan: reply with a reaction to another fan’s or influencer’s comment
- As an influencer or a fan: #SecretDiary
When characters use the hashtag #secretdiary they write as though no one can read this text and pour their hearts out — their hopes, their fears, their vulnerability. It’s like a stage “aside” or “soliloquy” when characters turn and share their innermost thoughts with the audience.
Ideas for 30-second Videos
Video One, As influencer: Give broad advice on a particular relationship topic (e.g. first dates, anniversaries, holidays with politically diverse family, etc.) Remember that the influencers give terrible advice. They only care how a relationship looks on social media, not how it feels to the participants.
Video Two, As influencer: Give specific advice in response to a fan’s specific question.
Video Three, As fan: “I tried your advice with horrible consequences; here’s what happened”
Big, Big Questions
How do we present ourselves on social media? How is reality TV a model for how politics is presented in contemporary society? When are people in all walks of life being authentic and when are they acting for the camera? How has our ability to edit and modify our communications affected their content?
We are living in a moment of kayfabe. Wikipedia defines “kayfabe” as: “In professional wrestling, kayfabe /ˈkeɪfeɪb/ is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as “real” or “true,” specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not of a staged or predetermined nature of any kind. Kayfabe has also evolved to become a code word of sorts for maintaining this “reality” within the direct or indirect presence of the general public.”
How does the concept of kayfabe apply to internet influencer’s media presence? How does kayfabe apply to musicians’ or politicians’ social media presences? How does kayfabe apply to your friendship groups on social media?