Regardless of what you think about Kylie Jenner, it's important to remember that she's a young person with feelings, just like the rest of us. And a new video by William Rebein strives to remind us of the Jenner behind the photos. In the nearly four-minute video, Rebein has edited one of Kylie's makeup tutorials in reverse, while an anonymous voice reads particularly harsh comments people have written about Kylie's looks.
"I created the video for two reasons: to convey how cruel comments were about Kylie, and to bring awareness to the anonymous culture [of online commenters]," Rebein said in an email. "Whether it's a celebrity or not, [people] criticizing someone's physical appearance online is a growing issue." He found the comments used in the video on two different digital articles about Kylie and her sister Kendall — and they were all the top-voted comments. "I had this idea of [Kylie] doing a short film where a person would wipe down her makeup and leave her in the raw and vulnerable state while a person reads the comments about her," Rebein said. "The best alternative was to use found footage and play her tutorial in reverse."
The video makes a mighty statement. Seeing Kylie's makeup go from full-on to barely-there while people call her "fake" and "plastic" humanizes her and shows us exactly where those words are landing. "People are quick to judge online because it's convenient and can be done anonymously," Rebein said. "I think many people get enjoyment from bashing a celebrity online...because it gives them a feeling of power."
Rebein hopes that the video will help create a dialogue about the effects of negative comments on the internet. "People need to have self-awareness of how harsh and powerful written comments really are," he said. We couldn't agree more.
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