Wes Anderson inspires TikTokers to romanticise their lives
Wes Anderson has inspired TikTok creators to turn their lives into art. Photo: Getty
Thanks to the explosion of TikTok’s Wes Anderson-inspired trend, everyone can pretend they’re the main character in life.
People are using TikTok to romanticise their lives by emulating Anderson’s dreamy style to document their adventures in their videos, and in one case, even the reality of war.
That has meant TikTok has been drenched in warm colours, with symmetry being used to frame subjects to create some beautiful videos.
Some have documented journeys on a train, while one captured a simple visit to his in-laws. But all in all, it’s a wholesome trend that turns the mundane into something special.
It appears the trend was kickstarted by 26-year-old Ava Williams, who was journeying back to New York after visiting her family.
She told Newsweek she had watched Anderson’s 2021 film The French Dispatch the night before with her parents.
Sad to be leaving her family after a short visit, she decided to “make the most” of the trip home.
“I thought about how I could enjoy the trip if I basically romanticised the moment, made it more exciting and tried to enjoy the train ride in style,” she told Newsweek.
“The video was really a way for me to document a moment I didn’t particularly want to enjoy and try and enjoy it.”
It’s not the first time Ms Williams has imagined what life would be like through Anderson’s lens.
In 2022, taking inspiration from another creator who imagined what it would be like heading to ‘Wes Anderson High’, Ms Williams dressed as though she was living in one of his films.
She said back in January 2022, she frequently got comments about how she looked like a character from one of his films.
@avawillyums With a good imagination, everything is symmetrical. Let a girl day dream! #wesanderson
Perhaps one of the most powerful videos created was by Valeria Shashenok, who imagined a Wes Anderson movie filmed in Ukraine.
The beautifully framed shots juxtapose the destruction of Ukraine, showcasing ruined homes and buildings, and how people are still living their lives.
Ms Shashenok, who has written a book about living in a bomb shelter in her home town of Chernihiv after Russia’s invasion, said on TikTok she was inspired to make the video after seeing another creator make a video about a train trip.
The video was praised, with one person saying her video spoke “volumes to both devastation and resilience”.
@valerisssh Inspired by a girl in TikTok who made a video about her train trip and I decided to make something like she, but about war consequences that happens everyday. #ukraine
Creators like Keith Afadi have turned lunch dates into really beautifully directed videos, while others have showcased their art.
One creator, Josh Rimmey, showed what it would look like if he let Anderson into his wood shop.
Rock Island Design Co showed what it was like in a wood shop, with bonus points for having a dog star in the TikTok.
A knitter, India Rose Crawford, who creates handcrafted animals, made a video of a knitted frog getting ready “leisurely”.
One person remarked the sweet video had potentially “out-Wes Andersoned Wes Anderson”.
@indiarosecrawford Couldn’t resist joining in with this trend 🐸💖 #wesanderson #robertyeoman #knittedfrog
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