Nostalgia is prospering on TikTok. That is very true within the movies of Fungkiigrrl, a creator who guides viewers by means of a curated universe of ’90s to early aughts experiences which can be virtually tangible however simply out of attain. Vibing out to outdated tunes on her green-screened units that vary from liquidated Borders Bookstores to illustrated Vaporwave lounges, she samples from all corners of occasions previous to deliver us on a journey by means of her thoughts’s eye.
In an interview with Hyperallergic, Fungkiigrrl shared that platforming her work on TikTok over the past 12 months was the fitting match as a result of “it’s just like the weirdo zone,” highlighting the number of energetic subculture communities rife throughout the app.
“There’s like plenty of distinctive, unusual, absurdist, Surrealist stuff on TikTok,” she stated, including that the platform’s algorithm has additionally achieved wonders for the visibility of her content material in comparison with different video hosts like YouTube and Instagram.
In an period of infinite scrolling, shortened consideration spans, and widespread media fatigue, Fungkiigrrl’s content material slows us down and takes us for a spin down reminiscence lane with an air of celebration. Whereas lot of nostalgia-based video content material on TikTok (i.e. liminal space aesthetics, WeirdCore, DreamCore) is born from the disappointment of by no means with the ability to return in time and nervousness concerning the state of the world, the “Fungkiiverse” and its characters are skilled purely by means of the lens of appreciation for the areas and issues which have knowledgeable our existence.
Fungkiigrrl specified that the Fungkiiverse is like an alternate universe that “seems similar to the one which we’re in, however there’s just a few issues which can be totally different.”
“It’s just a bit off — effectively, it’s so much off,” she defined. “The items of this universe that I’m displaying are just a bit heightened or unusual, stranger, as a result of I already suppose that our present universe is unusual. Right here, we’re simply including one other layer to it.”
The creator shoots and edits all of her content material on her cellphone utilizing the CapCut app, and sources her graphic belongings and backgrounds from the Picsart app’s AI text-to-image generator and Giphy database of GIF content material.
“The digital animations I exploit are ready-made, I’m simply placing myself in it to have interaction with them or like making them into characters or integrating it into the world in some way,” she clarified, pointing to the swanky nightclub TikTok that featured bunch of animated ravens all through the composition for example. The costumes however — effectively, they’re not costumes in any respect, actually, however simply a part of Fungkiigrrl’s on a regular basis wardrobe.
The creator has embraced the TikTok-ism of “the girls that get it, get it,” by posting content material with none context, leaving Easter eggs everywhere in the For You Pages of fortunate lurkers throughout. However typically, even with the limitless free actual property afforded by the digital world, the confines of the hand-held rectangle may be stifling for a imaginative and prescient like that of Fungkiigrrl’s which transcends time and delves into trenches of the forgotten. Fungkiigrrl desires to make the Fungkiiverse experiential for all 5 senses, seeking to evoke the feeling of when the large rainbow parachute was the particular exercise of the bygone elementary faculty gymnasium class by means of installations and intervention artwork down the road.
As for proper now, Fungkiigrrl is crowdfunding to assist develop her first indie characteristic movie, Queen of the Nal, which she says shall be a “full immersion into afroneoretrosoulglampop™️.” The creator additionally desires to delve additional into the musical ingredient that propels her videography, attempting to keep away from licensing roadblocks by means of authentic compositions and remixes.
“I’m not doing this within the conventional sense how individuals often make films,” Fungkiigrrl clarified. “I nonetheless need to greenscreen a few of it and perhaps edit components of it on CapCut. It’s a brand new enterprise within the sense that I’ve by no means tried something this lengthy. I believe it’ll match into the experimental movie class, as there’s no linear plot there shall be plenty of time jumps.”
If Fungkiigrrl’s imaginative and prescient for the movie is something like what she posts on TikTok — for free, may I add — I don’t want any additional context as I’m already strapped in for the journey.