Portfolio Assignment #6

I’ve learned from Sarah Banet Weiser, “If there is, among all words, one that is inauthentic, then surely it is the word “authentic.’”( quoted by Maurice Blanchot’) There is so much construction that takes place to create something authentic specifically within the digital era of marketing and promoting. In “What Does It Cost To Be Big On Instagram?” we begin to peel back to superficial layers of influencer-dom noting that influencers aren’t as effortless as they try to pass off on social media. Many hours, and more than their disposable income is usually required to keep up with their perfectly quaffed looks. Their authentic identity is nothing more than a shell of brand-friendly, orchestrated content, which is likely being sponsored by another company.

As Banet Weiser notes “just as we lament more and more that it is a world of inauthenticity, that we are governed by superficiality; People pay exorbitant rents to live in the part of town that is edgy and “real:’ that has not yet sold out to bland suburbia; we go to extraordinary lengths to prove we are not “sellouts”; we defensively define ourselves as “authentic’. And this fear of selling out, this interesting cornucopic environment of authenticity and consumerism has created a perfect storm that continually lures unsuspecting consumers into fraudulent. In “FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened” we see just how far someone will go to procure fame. Overall did all of this information change my opinion about authenticity? The answer is no. From my own experience, I have seen how “fake” authenticity can be, especially within the digital space. Most authenticity is fueled by who you want to be not who you are.