The American Meme

Internet footage of people trying to break their noses on opened doors, setting themselves on fire. Footage from horror movie that starred Paris Hilton -- sword impaled through head, stabbings, blood. One of the people in documentary talks of how she engaged in self-mutilation while struggling with anxiety as teen. Guns used as props in social media posts.

Women often appear topless in nightclubs, while one subject pours bottles of champagne over them or sprays whipped cream on breasts. Naked buttocks, male and female. Sexualized images throughout. Women shown holding sex toys. Memes referencing oral sex. Jokes about STDs, anal sex. Talk of masturbation. One subject appears naked, wearing a sock to cover up his penis. Talk of Paris Hilton sex tape.

Profanity throughout. "F--k" used throughout. "Motherf----r," "bulls--t," "s--t," "bitch," "d--k." Talk of various sexual acts throughout. Middle-finger gesture.

Excessive drinking throughout. One subject is known for and shown dumping bottles of champagne on topless women in a nightclub. He's often shown drinking to excess, including one scene in which he enters a liquor store, buys a 1.75-liter bottle of tequila, leaves the store, then chugs the entire bottle in less than a minute. Talk of blacking out from drinking too much, of coughing up blood, short-term memory loss. A man snorts what appears to be a line of cocaine off of a treadmill. Footage of a woman said to be high on crystal meth.

Parents need to know that The American Meme is a 2018 documentary that looks into the lives of internet celebrities and the lengths to which they go to maintain their celebrity status. The documentary is almost a "greatest hits" of bad behavior that went viral -- including teens swallowing Tide Pods, setting themselves on fire, and deliberately breaking their noses on opened doors (and that's just for starters). As such, it's best for older viewers who can understand the broader point the film is making about social media consumption, the over-the-top lengths people go to in order to get millions of "likes," and the darker sides of being "famous for being famous." One of the subjects is known for producing viral content featuring binge-drinking, crass humor, and pouring bottles of champagne on topless women in nightclubs. He's shown hung over (or still drunk from the night before), talking of coughing up blood and short-term memory lapses. There's nudity throughout, mostly of topless women, with occasional images of male and female buttocks. Frequent profanity includes "f--k" and variations. A person snorts a line of what appears to be cocaine. Paris Hilton compares herself to Jesus and Mother Teresa. While some people in the documentary use their internet fame to champion causes bigger than their own egos -- feminism, for instance -- most of those profiled come off as shallow, self-involved, and narcissistic, even at their most vulnerable. For parents of teens who are capable of seeing that these folks aren't the best role models, this movie should spur discussion about how we use and abuse social media, the perils of relying on social media "likes" and validation to fill the voids better filled by real-life friends and loved ones, why people pursue fame for its own sake (rather than fame as an extension of talent and hard work), and whether it requires hard work and talent to create a larger-than-life internet persona with millions of followers.

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