Charles White’s 2008 animated short films OMG BFF LOL investigate the American teen as image and idea. The title is in teen code created by texting abbreviations for oh my god, best friends forever and laugh out loud. These abbreviations are actually verbally said now by teens as well. He uses the cliché stylization of valley girl teens; who say ‘like’ all the time and are focused on shopping, being pretty, and boys. The films show images of rich white teen girls, while together in public, and alone in their rooms.
The first animation, Mall, is the longest with three parts. It is the only part of OMG BFF LOL with dialogue. First the two teenage girls are in the mall and have a discussion about Having and Wanting. They discuss if the mall is heaven or hell. Tara, the more perfect and popular one, says, “The mall is heaven. It’s like a massive crystal palace of total happiness.” Her sidekick Blakey says, “At the mall is all the stuff you want, but like, can’t have right? That’s like totally being in hell right?" They can’t decide if it better to Have or to Want. They end up with Tara saying, “Life is about wanting to have and then getting and then having and then like, wanting more.” They go on to shop till they drop, and are relieved by a shared cookie and a smoothie. The girls’ interactions show they are only interested in shopping, hanging out together and having things they want to look cute. This is the cliché image that many young teens would watch and not think anything was strange or amiss about this film. Other teens may think the girls are stupid because of the way they talk.
The next part, Bedroom, shows Blakey alone in her room. She has a large room filled with expensive things. Her bed looks like a throne. She is channel surfing and then it bored and turns the TV off. She sits by her bed and eats chips. She looks in the mirror and sees herself as fat. She criticizes her face. She turns on the radio and stares at the posters of boys above her bed. She holds her teddy bear and stares at her phone, waiting. Bedroom shows an unseen image of a teen girl bored among all her things. She has nothing to do and goes from one ting to the next. The feeling is sad. She is without purpose. The last part, Bathroom, shows Tara crying in her bathroom. There is no explanation of why she is crying. You just watch her crying and slumping to the floor. Again, she is surrounded by wealth, yet not happy.
Charles White is making these films in the context of fine art. They have been exhibited in museums and galleries around the world, and been discussed in Art in America and Art Forum. Putting these cliché silly teen images in the fine art context, charges the images with art history and gender, sexuality and consumer politics. His uses the pop culture medium of cartoon, drawing the girls in the genre of Barbie or Bratz dolls. He is choosing to show and fight these stereotypes from within. I am curious why he is so interested in teen girl culture as a man. As a woman I connect personally with these films. I have been the girls shown, flitting around the mall, being bored in my room, crying when I am alone.
I watch these films and see a culture where young girls feel they must conform to the image of a pretty, silly girl who just wants to have fun. You want to be rich and popular because it’s better than being unpopular and lonely. Then you achieve popularity, and you are just as lonely as when you started, because you have changed yourself to fit an image. You are not being yourself, but you are scared to lose your status. It is all based in insecurity and fear.
