James Franco wants you to know that he’s proud of his collection of selfies. Calling it the “prize shot”, the “private portrait” and a “pseudo-personal moment”, Franco took to the New York Times to explain why he’s snapped so many shots of just himself in the past year. His answer might not be politically correct, but it is honest and raw– a dissection, if you will, of celebrity culture from the eyes of the selfie king himself. The editorial featured some provocative gems, including:
‘I’ve found that Instagram works much like the movie business: You’re safe if you trade “one for them” with “one for yourself,” meaning for every photo of a book, painting or poem, I try to post a selfie with a puppy, a topless selfie or a selfie with Seth Rogen, because these are all things that are generally liked.’
‘…the noncelebrity selfie is a chance for subjects to glam it up, to show off a special side of themselves — dressing up for a special occasion, or not dressing, which is a kind of preening that says, “There is something important about me that clothes hide, and I don’t want to hide.”’
‘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.”’
See Franco’s writing chops on full display here. The man is pursuing a Ph.D at Yale, having wrapped up his MFA in creative writing at Columbia. Think this mini-essay could one day spin into a full-blown dissertation?
-L
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