INNER PIECES
Artist Statement
Objective of my short film series project is to capture the adolescents’ paradoxical relationship with social media: self exploration of developing one’s identity, surviving within the unrealistic standards of the social media culture. Everyone has different experiences with social media, but for me, it’s an inviting space to explore different forms of expression. The unrealistic standards, which co-exists as social media, act as a juxtaposition and rather encourages me to be vulnerable with my most authentic self.
The second part of the series “Paradoxical Relationship” is a social experiment through film. “How does social media make you feel?” I left this following question up to my peers' interpretations and allowed each individual's experiences to build upon one another, to depict a sense of wide range of paradoxical relationships between adolescents and the social media culture.
Social media takes a big, unnecessary but necessary, part in Gen Z’s and millennials' lives, and has a direct relation to adolescents' mental health. Though, social media offers a powerful space to validate others’ experiences and bring blooming within the community, and in doing so, allow adolescents to find healing through vulnerability. I hope that we can come together to make our social media platforms into places of not validation, but authenticity and growth. A space for adolescents to unapologetically explore themselves. Through my project, I hope to celebrate the uniqueness of the individual as well as the shared experiences that connect all of us.
Rozella Florence Kim
Seattle, Washington