Wes Anderson’s sets are reminiscent of doll’s houses, many of which are in pastel tones. Rotary phones and handwritten letters are standard. The characters of the screenwriter, director and producer are strangely likeable, they drag around long-simmering conflicts, many of them are withdrawn, solitary, others eccentric and narcissistic.
It’s mostly about family conflicts. And although there is some tragedy in these films, they are always entertaining. tragicomic.
The cast brings together big names and it’s always the same actors that Anderson brings together in front of the camera: Bill Murray, Angelica Houston, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Adrien Brody.
These films, which thrive on a good portion of nostalgia and the longing for worlds that never existed, are now conquering the most zeitgeisty of all platforms: Tiktok. Where the content is short and fast and the mere requirement of modern technology is somehow at odds with Wes Anderson and his aesthetic. But drollness and attention to detail hit a nerve there. And so people share videos of themselves, which could be scenes from a Wes Anderson movie, of themselves riding the train or having lunch or in their workshop. With a font that introduces the scene, with symmetrical arrangements, a cool, melancholic look from the filmed and some close-ups.
“You better not act like you’re in a Wes Anderson film during lunch,” says one of these videos, which show a man having lunch with a woman. Sentences of this kind also precede other videos, a joking threat not to behave like a Wes Anderson in an everyday situation.
There is a good portion of self-mockery in these videos. One’s own life is stylized and thus probably not taken that seriously. There should also be young people among them who are just discovering Wes Anderson for themselves. And celebrate its aesthetic.
The British comedian and actor Michael Barrymore has also followed the trend, skilfully staging his Saturday morning in London in the Wes Anderson manner: from the fried egg to the laundromat to reaching into the cereal aisle in the supermarket.
So the “accidentally Wes Anderson” trend is now spreading on Tiktok, but it’s not new. The Instagram account of the same name, which has 1.7 million followers, has been collecting photos from places around the world for years that could also be scenes from a Wes Anderson film.
A new one is set to hit theaters this year, “Asteroid City.” In the trailer you can see, of course, how could it be otherwise: lots of pastel, lots of symmetry, dollhouse backdrops, Jason Schwartzman and Willem Dafoe.
Tiktok has also discovered Franz Kafka for himself. Read here why young people are so enthusiastic about the enigmatic and complex works of the long-dead author.
Sources: Tiktok, The Independent, Instagram, Youtube
