Oh the weather outside is frightful this time of year. And so is the lack of substantial news. Which is why visitors to The New York Times’ art section today were graced with a defense of the selfie by actor James Franco.
In a meandering piece titled “The Meaning of the Selfie,” the “Spiderman” and “Pineapple Express” star known for posting self-shot photos of himself on Instagram argued in The Times that selfies are “are tools of communication more than marks of vanity,” even if they are a “little” vain.
“Of course, the self-portrait is an easy target for charges of self-involvement, but, in a visual culture, the selfie quickly and easily shows, not tells, how you’re feeling, where you are, what you’re doing,” writes Franco, saying that people takes selfies “to give others a sense of who we are.
Franco’s article was spurred by an interview with the TODAY show’s Savannah Guthrie in October in which she confronted him about the over abundance of selfies he takes and shares. Franco claimed then that he uses selfies as a tool to market his movies and other products because of how many more likes they receive than photos of the items themselves.
“I mean, I don’t wanna post those things. I just look at the number of likes, and like if I put on a book or something I like, I get, I dunno, this number, and if I just put a stupid selfie, it’s like 10x, though,” he told Gutherie. “When I try and get attention for something else, I’ll put a selfie and then something like, ‘Go see this movie.'”
A cursory look at Franco’s Instagram proves his theory is more or less correct. Selfies of Franco usually garner anywhere from 25,000 to 80,000 likes, whereas other pictures regularly attract roughly 25,000 likes or so.
His popularity on Instagram may have gone a little to Franco’s self-ie since his today interview two and a half months ago, however. In The New York Times, Franco seemed to do a 180 and fully embrace his photographic self-embraces, boasting their existential value. He also sought to put the scrutiny on selfie haters instead of selfie takers.
“I am actually turned off when I look at an account and don’t see any selfies, because I want to know whom I’m dealing with. In our age of social networking, the selfie is the new way to look someone right in the eye and say, “Hello, this is me.”
Welcome to 21 century communication, where a lack of vain photos is a turn off.
See Franco’s recent works or art below.
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