Content Deception

In movies, TV shows, and videos there is a certain aesthetic I’m drawn towards. It’s captured well on Instagram: a picture taken in the early morning or evening with a cup of coffee or tea and a notebook or laptop. It radiates a certain stillness and peace. It’s picture perfect.

Once I started working and had money and excess free time I chased this aesthetic. More specifically, I chased this feeling of peace that was portrayed in media. I’d go to coffee shops in the morning, afternoon, and evening, but to my displeasure I couldn’t find this peace. Often, I was bothered by slight annoyances: an uneven and greasy table, no outlets, bad coffee, an ambience that felt manufactured instead of authentic. What also bothered me was that in these same places and situations in which I couldn’t find peace, I saw other people taking pictures and capturing these moments that they were likely going to post on social media. Filters were going to be applied to these moments and transform them from mundane to momentous — to make them enviable. While filters would be applied to these photo, the word filter doesn’t represent what happens. More aptly, these moments were being staged, styled, and rehearsed. Once the performance was over, which was usually quick, the actors would go home, unappreciative of the actual life in front of them.