Julia Mueller
Scripps College, Media Studies
Imperfect Perfection
My senior thesis project unveils the limitations of Instagram as an app and its standards that evoke perfection. In 2020, as we navigated the global Covid-19 pandemic, Influencers were also doing this but in the public eye. With doing so, many controversies surrounding the pandemic came to surface. I chose to analyze three influencer controversies and how this pandemic revealed the emotional labor behind Instagram that is usually hidden because of the way the app is set up to produce unrealistic fantasy lifestyles. I created a zine that discusses the controversies of Arielle Charnas, Danielle Bernstein, and Naomi Davis while also allowing their emotional labor to be highlighted. I created a space for these influencers to be understood and deep analyzed before being "cancelled" so quickly like Instagram allows. With in depth information and multi-media usage my zine exemplifies what is behind the perfection mold of Instagram.