Fado and Selfies: closer than you would believe
Selfies. They are everywhere and in every social medium there is bound to be a selfie getting praise or being trolled on. There is even a song that is about selfies. However, can we determine where and when this phenomenon started? If we were to answer that question, then the next question is why it such a big hit with young adults?
These same questions were going on about the origins of Fado. The question of where it originates has divided some and has become a bit of an argument for many people like the selfie. The difference between the two is that true Fado can only be sung by Portuguese because foreigner don’t the same soul that a native Portuguese has.
Fortunately, selfies are more inclusive and anyone can take one and do what they please with their self-portrait. The people that love sharing their selfies with friends and family and even with the entire world are like that of the fadistas that enjoy singing Fado in local venues. Each person has their opinion as to how they look and in the case of the fadistas the way they sound. Some many go to these venues to get feedback as to how they sound and if they need to improve in a certain area of their performance. This can also be seen in the world of selfie as each like and heart emoji that the selfie receives is seen as feedback that lets the user know that their selfie was enjoyed or well received by others.
The fact that many people use selfie as a method to prove that they are honest is now becoming a bigger trend. It’s seems today, one’s own word isn’t as strong as photo evidence and even then, some become skeptical of the photo and call it photo-shopped. I can understand why photo evidence is a reason to take selfies with famous celebrities and iconic locations since today we can Google images and label them as ours. The same can be said within the fadistas since many of them don’t approve the mimicking of a fado or coping the style of a famous fadista. They instead prefer each fado be interpreted differently with “soul.” The author in the book did her best to leran a fado but she learned the way a certain fadista was singing it and believed that if she were to do the same as the recorded fado that she would be in good shape. Despite her effort she was told to not copy the recording but to follow the lyrics of the song.
Individuality is a major factor in Fado since the argument is that since it comes from the soul you’re are expressing different feelings than everyone else. In the world of selfies, the same rule applies. Lighting, camera angle and posture are just a few factors that some people keep in mind when taking the prefect selfie. Not everyone uses the same lighting and not everyone shares the same camera angle and the phrase “get my good side” differentiates between individuals. This becomes clear when I scroll through my Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat because most of the people that I follow seem to post selfies with their own camera angles with their own preferred lighting and the only difference between their previous pictures is their clothing and the person who they take a selfie with.
