Define Beauty: FacefixxFor the opening episode of the latest season of Define Beauty—our flagship series exploring the boundaries and conceptions of beauty—directorial collective Youth Hymns, who have previously worked with Snoop Dog and Wolf Alice, present Facefixx: a poppy dystopian take on social media and hyperreality. Body-altering apps are the focus of the London-based collective’s film, following four app testers whose desire—and increasing obsession with physical augmentation—drive them toward an eerie unraveling of their physical and personal identities. Born from an unhealthy obsession with filters and body-bending manipulation, the fascination with going under the digital knife exposes the curiosity and anxiety that goes hand-in-hand with daily digital behavior. Jake, Johnny and Jolyon—the minds behind Youth Hymns—ask whether dog filters and cartoon eyes, despite their apparent harmlessness, are damaging our ability to be comfortable in our own skin. Flexing their skills with unsettling special effects, Youth Hymns offer an intimate glance into the personal desires and anxieties that fuel our digital second lives.
