SOCIAL CRITIQUE + DESIGN

Final sketch used for The Daily Ye logo. I kept the hand drawn feel when turning it into vector.

make america kanye again?

Phase 1

High profile performer Kanye West is known for a lot of things. Most recently, he’s made headlines for a botched attempt at running for office, and his questionable attitudes on just about everything under the sun. Public opinions of West are polarizing; To some, he is a legend— for others, a menace.

The culture of celebrity idol worship runs deep in this fan base. West’s public Twitter account is the spotlight for so many of his antics, I wondered if I could find the messages that keep his fans so loyal.

Phase 1 of the project centers on sorting Kanye’s tweets, and finding those diamonds in the rough— then presenting the inspirational quotes in a daily digestible format so the audience can enjoy them free of judgement or shame. The quotes are uplifting, inspirational or funny with only a dash of arrogance in typical Kanye fashion.

An example of Kanye’s original tweet, and how it gets transformed into a #DailyYe post. I cherry pick the good stuff and reject anything of shock value…that’s what fans do anyway, right? — An example of Kanye’s original tweet, and how it gets transformed into a #DailyYe post.
I cherry pick the good stuff and reject anything of shock value…that’s what fans do anyway, right?

Kanye is a
Kardashian

PHASE 2

CELEBRITY IDOL WORSHIP DIRECTLY CORRELATES WITH PARASOCIAL RELATIONSHIP STRUCTURES. WHEN A CELEBRITY DOES SOMETHING TO DISRUPT THE RELATIONSHIP (EX.ENGAGE IN BAD BEHAVIOR), THIS CAN HAVE NEGATIVE IMPACTS ON THEIR FANS AND CAUSE FEELINGS OF LOSS, ANGER, AND DEPRESSION.

The image on the left shows the Wikipedia definition of Parasocial Interaction; a term coined by Donald Horton and Richard Wohl in 1956.

IT IS IN THE FANS BEST INTEREST, TO IGNORE, EVEN REJECT, CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THEIR IDOLS.

While most parasocial interactions have been through the context of TV, movie stars, sports celebrities, and even fictional characters, it is very much present online. The Kardashian-Jenner family is one of the most notorious families in Hollywood today. With “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” and 24/7 access to their social media presence, this star hungry family is the perfect example of what an entity can gain from parasocial interactions; even though the relationship is an illusion, the feelings a fan has around it are very real. Kanye West is an important part of the Kardashian empire and his twitter account is a hub for parasocial interactions. What would it take, for West’s loyalists to digest his more controversial thought points, use critical thinking, and weigh them on a scale of ethics?