PARADING PARIS AND HER PALS

NETFLIX SHOW FOLLOWS STARS

PARIS Hilton is the godmother of influencers. At least that’s the impression one gets while watching American Meme.

The Netflix Original documentary is one of the latest additions to the streaming site.

It follows the ups and downs of some of the biggest influencers and internet sensations to come out of America.

And at its centre: how a hotel heiress became a star without having a “traditional” talent – long before we knew there was a Kardashian to be kept up with.

We catch up with Paris in her life-size Barbie Doll House (read: mansion) and she tells us her story. From being a girl who liked to party to being labelled a socialite. From having a reality many couldn’t relate to, to sparking what would become the norm in reality TV.

There are photographs and art and social media videos to show the impact she has had on society.

There are also moments when we catch a glimpse of what we are made to believe are moments of vulnerability.

Like when Paris speaks about her sex tape leaking. Or when she tells her mom to keep some of their baby clothes for her and not to give them all to her sister, Nicky, who is a new mom.

And then Josh Ostrovsky, who is more popularly known as The Fat Jew, comes to visit her and we are quickly brought back to the reality that all of this is simply for likes.

In a word, The Fat Jew is annoying. But somehow, he has managed to turn his antics – getting memes tattooed on his body, wearing a nappy or going naked so that people will pay attention to him – into a living.

I was particularly impressed that American Meme did not shy away from calling him out on his plagiarism. In fact, the documentary paints him as someone who has a strange relationship with his father and someone who never grew up.

Among the other social media sensations featured are Kirill Bichutsky, whom who you’ll know from his Kirill Was Here moniker, and Brittany Furlan, who is a failed actress who started popping on Vine.

Those four make up the main stories but there are also appearances by the likes of Hailey Baldwin, DJ Khaled and Emily Ratajkowski.

If you’ve been paying attention to the internet, you’ll know that shows like 3AM, which premiered in 2016, have long been trying to make you take influencers seriously. But people find it easier to act like these stars aren’t stars. And that the cheques they keep cashing aren’t real.

Netflix even has a documentary called Follow Me, a kind of social experiment where an unlikely guy wants to see if he can get cool enough to be a social media star.

The most important question is: Are you paying attention?