Social Media Filtered Images as Carnivalesque Resistance

Abstract

A great many may perceive social media filters or lenses as ridiculous and filtering selfies as an act of sheer vanity or blind imitation of glamorous social media influencers. However, from within this pervasive contemporary digital phenomenon, resistance to dominant representations or subversion of societal expectations can be discerned. In other words, filters and filtered self-images are by no means simply and exclusively reproductions of socially idealized beauty standards and pre-existing cultural norms. Some filtered representations often disrupt the effect of the bandwagon from within, using the very digital resources provided by social media and filter applications. In this article, we approach this rather unexplored kind of filtered images from Mikhail Bakhtin’s perspective, precisely employing his conception of the carnivalesque. Using this framework, the aim is to explore the potential subversiveness of certain playful social media filtered representations. Some social media filtered images while satiric and playful also constitute powerful statements with regards to identity politics and the current status quo.