The Rise of “iPhone Faces”

Last month, in October of 2024, I was able to see the indie horror hit directed by Coralie Fargeat, The Substance, starring Margaret Qualley and Demi Moore. The film focuses on the complexities, not the subtleties, and terrors of being self-consumed. The movie has been widely discussed and loved, but it got me thinking about the rise of plastic surgery and cosmetic trends that women all around the world are constantly falling for, myself and Demi Moore included. Hell, even my Grandma gets Botox. But what does this mean for us? What does this mean as consumers, movie enjoyers, and individuals? 

This “trend” is scary. Not only are celebrities, those that the general public looks up to and admires, but micro-influencers and niche internet celebrities are encouraging their audiences to buy as many products, creams, serums, and surgeries as possible. They want us to purchase the “answer” to solve problems that would not have existed without this market of self-hatred. I notice this in the women around me, lamenting about needing to buy pimple patches or get their eyebrows done, or some new TikTok shop product they’re thinking about trying because this influencer they “just looooveee” gave it rave reviews, yes it was sponsored but “influencers are always honest!”. While I am guilty of falling for these traps and admit that getting my eyebrows and nails done and “treating myself” feels wonderful, I wish more of the women around me would slow down and appreciate the beauty they have naturally. But, how could I ever expect them to? 

When thinking about the women in my life that I know and love personally, I could make an educated guess that a majority of them have either: a. Gotten work done, b. Wants to get work done, or c. has thought about getting work done. How could I blame them for falling into a trap that I fall into every day, just like they do, just like the celebrities we admire do, just like the “perfect” influencers online do? I will never blame a fellow girl, who has been told her entire life that she has to live up to a patriarchal society's ever-changing standards of beauty, for reducing herself to someone with a plastic face, or someone who spends an obscene amount of money on beauty products. 

I wish I could wrap my thoughts up on this issue with a neat little bow, but, it is with a heavy heart, that this “iPhone face” phenomenon will not be stopping, and with the rise of 12-year-olds running amok in Sephora, I don’t see it stopping with the generation after us either. What I can say though, is that ridges and bumps, big noses, acne scars, soft jaw lines, chubby cheeks, and any other thing the marketing world can convince you need to be solved with their products, are all beautiful in their own right. despite how much the world tries to sell you differently.

Written by Lucy Anderson

Photography by Mark Bluemle

Director, Talent: Lucy Anderson

The Kids Are Going Hollow

My mother used to tell me to not sit too close to the TV. Something about bad eyesight or it frying your brain, I never really cared, close was where I wanted to be Close to the action, close to the laughter, close to my "friends", often forgetting the foreign glow that separates us.

Now it is everywhere, everyone is always sitting too close to the TV, and I don't

think they know how to stop.

Like most, I own an ecosystem of technology and media. My earliest memories were of watching VHS tapes of Disney movies, and Saturday morning sitcom re-us Back then remember feeling a sense of safety. I know how this story goes, I know these characters and these storylines, and in 30-60 minutes everything will work out This ultimately made it easy for me to ignore the harshness of reality, and instead wisk myself away in my childhood imagination. While a coping of sorts, it's also a large part of my love of film and IV, it's why I love writing and creating and why my career even exists.

But, Day by day I find myself spending more time on my phone, or in front of the TV I try to reason it away by saying it is for work, but I know it feeds a loneliness that I am too busy to question. I let myself soak into whatever my screen is feeding me and I'm not sure I want to anymore. It's an honest thing, a very human thing, to interpret knowledge and emotion from each other as special or independently unique. Of course, the message on your for you page is meant just for you, no doubt the song playing on the radio was written for your ears only. I don't think it's a crime to relate to something so deeply it feels divine, I think that the transcendent connection that has made such an act capable is beautiful.

However, within this, it's hard to recognize how much of it is connection vs consumption.

In marketing, you're taught about all the ways a person might interact with something, and what path is best taken from product to person. Some things work best in your face, bold and accessible, while others are best served on a platter by peers, and sometimes without even noticing, they reach out like a friend.

I think that's what makes today's age of art, technology, status, and consumerism so hard. Everything is in one place and we let it act out in normalcy. We buy into the lives of those who try to sell it back to us, and slowly everything becomes a billboard or a product, even the people who never signed up to be one.

"Celebrities" today are a difficult definition. Still, the de-finable, affluent ones, hold a fan base dedicated and connected to each other and their subject. Before, you'd hear whispers in tabloids and the drama in the papers.

With the internet, what we care about and for has changed, as well as how we show it. At its best, you can stumble upon just about any community for anything your heart desires

From the niche to the vintage to the oddities of what creeps into Reddit communities. The purpose is to find and feel the beauty of art made by those who love what they do, but as we grow on, These bits and pieces, blurred lines of artist, art, and viewer, blend so easily with one another it's no wonder some forget they don't actually know the person on the other side. More than that, at its worst, they forget there even is a person on the other side. When it's all so close together, your ads, your friends, your admiration, the worlds leak into each other. you treat a person you're a fan of like a product you've purchased.

I often wonder what it might be like to hear public opinion on your choices or mistakes. If the world knew of my every embarrassing moment or mini breakdown, I'd never pick up a phone again, but still with ease we share and comment on the lives of celebrities, strangers, and even our own become outsourced content in favor of strangers on the internet.

If we're not careful, we consume the lives of people we don't know and forget to live our own.

Running away like this, hiding in the corners of our minds, numbing and holding out for mere resemblance to the world and a cure to our emptiness, steals pieces of our humanity little by little

How much is too much? When do we look down and discover we are being eaten alive?

Written and Photographed by Toni Desiree

Far-right Aesthetics, Consumerism, and the Rise of Trump

The morning after the election was a deeply emotional day for so many. The feelings of hopelessness and the question of how could this happen were floating in the air. For many it was unthinkable that Trump could win but for others, they saw the signs well before election day. We live in an age of mass consumption, the loss of individuality and the need to conform, and aesthetics such as the clean girl. These combined have led to complacency and a rise in far-right attitudes. There is also far more policing in many spaces about what is acceptable and rigid guidelines that must be followed. All too often the malicious intent behind these aesthetics and attitudes is ignored and pushed aside. However it is exactly this that led us to where we are today, something many tried to warn us of as they saw these attitudes arise. 

Mass consumption was an issue before Trump, however, it has only been exasperated in the past decade. Everything from Shein hauls to the need to buy every new product from a trend instead of using what you already have. I have noticed this particular trend in many products but one I picked out most lately is water containers. In 2020 hydro flasks were all the rage, these lasted for quite a while then came the Stanley in 2023, not to be outdone quickly after Owala water bottles at the beginning of 2024. If you look up popular water bottles now hundreds of articles come up telling you what to buy. The concerning aspect is the accelerated rate at which new trends are adopted. The time between hydro flasks and Stanley’s becoming popular is almost three years, meanwhile, the time between the Stanley Cup and Owala is only one year. 

Trends are burning out faster than ever, and the need to always have the newest and best thing is creating a youth that craves consumerism without even knowing it. They are being conditioned, and sometimes even bullied, into having the next best thing. This creates a strain on individuality and the environment as a whole. If everyone is special and has the newest trend then in fact no one is unique and all and this leads to children having no thoughts of their own or individuality in who they are. This leads children and teens to be vulnerable to messaging that best appeals to this loss of who they are. Young men are turning towards Trump in droves because of this loss of individuality. Trump tells them that they are strong, and independent, and should be in charge of others. This message is appealing to young men who have no sense of self and simply want to be above others. They are told they are special and that the other side wants to take that away from them. This leads them to the alt-right pipe line which becomes increasingly harder to pull them out of the deeper they go. 

Not only young men are affected by this pipeline but it comes in almost more sinister ways for young women and girls. Currently, people like Nara Smith and Emma Jordyn promote skincare, clean cooking, and looking your best typically for men. This is firstly a deeply heterosexual trend that also has issues such as fatphobia and racism entrenched in it. They are promoting a look that is almost impossible to achieve for so many. It is also deeply connected to class and the anthesis to many queer aesthetics as it seems to want to erase any individuality and creativity one may have. The use of thousand-dollar dresses while cooking such as what Nara does is an appalling display of wealth that many comments applaud. They range from women should be able to do whatever they want including being a homemaker, to joking in the comments about her absurd cooking videos. This shows it is either taken as a joke or a dog whistle of the far right, encouraging homemakers as a “better” option. The acceptance and encouragement of housewives is not my issue or the main one at hand. It’s the encouragement over a degree, people saying things like I’d give it all up if my life was paid for and all I had to do was cook and clean. The complacency of so many to accept that maybe the past was better is deeply concerning. They also want to encourage women to adopt an hour-long skincare routine and to look put together but also not too much. Emma makes videos on how to attract men and look your best at all times. This focus on luring in men, settling down, and looking put together at all times but not in an expressive way is exactly what the far right wants. They want women to be complacent and men to be in charge, essentially they want to go back to the 50s and 60s, their golden age. And these women are only adding to that not always intentionally but it is pulling far too many in the wrong direction. 

Finally, I want to focus on who exactly this is harming the most, those left behind by these ideals and aesthetics. As I do not want to speak over others I will focus on my community here, the queer and trans community specifically those who are fat or disabled. I grew up as a fat child and still consider myself one as an adult. As a child and teen, all I and many of us had was our identities and our individuality. When things like the clean girl aesthetic or designer clothes and specific outfits trend it almost always excludes us. These clothes do not cater to us the skincare and general aesthetic does not fit our needs. Too often no matter what any of us do we are not put together enough or are considered ugly so we branch out and pick from the only options we have. My creative and colorful wardrobe and makeup are how I express myself no matter what anyone thinks. This flows to my queer identity as well. Many queer people chose to wear more out-there fashion choices as a means of expressing themselves. It also helps flag who we are to others and creates a sense of belonging. We may be different but we do it together. The aesthetic of homemakers and perfection never have and never will fit with the community, one full of expressive and beautifully talented individuals. We deserve to express ourselves without being put down however the far right does not want this which is why these communities are targeted to be erased. Despite this, we persevere, now and throughout history to be exactly who we are.

The future may look fearful but the one thing we must keep is hope. We must also look towards the rise of these trends and aesthetics and how they affect not only others but also the political climate of the country. The only way to combat these issues is to acknowledge them and work on how to get through them. Children must be taught individuality is beautiful and consumerism is harmful. Young boys need to learn to be compassionate and accepting lest they are pulled down the far-right pipeline. Young girls must be taught that they can achieve whatever they wish and the current focus on looking your best and being a homemaker must not be pushed. Finally, we must encourage and uplift communities affected by these aesthetics and ensure they are not erased. There is a way to create a better world but we must work through issues instead of expecting them to disappear. Only then can we create a better future. 

Written by Kat Reed

Photographer: @_.rubbertoe

Director, Production Manager: @dreamingofceleste

PA: @_.amanddaaa

Talent: @katieschieble & @chloe.kaleah