If you’ve been online lately, you’ve probably seen the Wes Anderson trend: short, saturated video odes to the director’s cinematic style, in which creators romanticize everyday moments like a walk on the beach or a visit to a gallery. by turning their lives into miniature Wes Anderson films.
On Alexandre Desplat’s “Obituary”, a song from Anderson’s film soundtrack The French Dispatchvideos usually feature staccato title sequences, sunny bubblegum pastels, carefully stylized shots, visual symmetry, and quirky characters.
@avawillyums With a good imagination, everything is symmetrical. Let a girl dream! #wesanderson ♬ Obituary – Alexandre Desplat
The trend started on TikTok with Ava Williams, who posted a video of herself Anderson-ified in April Shore Line East train ride. Soon after, the trend began to pick up speed on the internet, with participants such as Democratic Party and art-world notables whose gallery walls were perfectly prepared for Wes Anderson’s treatment. THE Van Gogh MuseumTHE South London Gallery, and the National Art Gallery all joined in the celebration. Videos under the hashtag #WesAndersonTrend have now amassed over 166 million views.
Recently, the cast of city of asteroidsAnderson’s latest film, which premiered May 23 at the Cannes Film Festival, even took part in one of the trending videos. It was a meta-advertising move that some commentators called a loop moment or, in the words of one user, a perfect way to “pull off the trend.”
@universalpicsanz we 🤝 Wes Anderson @reece #asteroidcity ♬ original sound – Universal Pics ANZ
city of asteroids, which hits theaters in June, features a cast of big names, including Tom Hanks and Scarlett Johansson. Set in the 1950s, the film follows space-obsessed children who reunite with their parents for a convention in a fictional American desert town, until everything is disrupted by world-altering events.
Wes Anderson himself was asked about the trend of viral videos in a recent interview with the Associated Press. Has he seen them? Short answer: no. “I’ve never seen a TikTok, actually,” he told the AP.
“The only reason I don’t watch stuff is because it probably takes the same things I do over and over again. We have to accept that when I make a movie it has to be made by me “Anderson continued. “But what I will say is that any time someone responds enthusiastically to these films that I’ve made over these many years, it’s a beautiful and happy thing. So I’m glad to have it. But I have a feeling that I would just feel like, God, is this what I’m doing? So I protect myself. »
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