| dc.description.abstract | Today’s social media landscape is inhabited and used by a wide variety of people. A growing group of
people has developed fame and fortune on platforms such as Instagram mainly through selfbranding. They are now classified under the umbrella terms that are called influencers and microcelebrities. The way in which these people ‘influence’ is diverse, but it is almost always monetized
through cooperating with brands and products. In recent years, a new kind of influencer/microcelebrity rose to popularity. These are the virtual influencers. Their entire character is made up. Their
profiles and posts are made and styled by said characters’ maker(s). Sometimes they are presented
on multiple platforms, embedded in a transmedia narrative. This research focusses on the case study
of the fictional transmedia- and brand character Miquela Sousa on Instagram. In this thesis it will be
outlined how Miquela’s posts, her narrative, and the dialogical relationship between her and her
audience give reason to reconsider the boundaries between the dichotomies of
embodied/human/real versus disembodied/virtual/artificial. The research results will showcase that
Miquela’s posts, narrative and the dialogical relationship with her audience affords a kind of
posthuman performance and (role)play. Thereby posthumanism will be presented in a different light,
one that through fictional phenomena like Miquela is approached in a more positive and
appreciative, less paranoid and negative way. Eventually it will be suggested that these terms of
embodiment and artificiality should be reconsidered in light of recent developments, such as
Miquela, in contemporary digital culture. | |
