Shalini Kantayya’s “TikTok Boom” isn’t here to glorify the app that’s become one of the most dominant social media platforms in the world. Neither was Kantayya when she joined her…
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Perfection is rarely achieved in movies, but this heaven-sent concert doc hits the sweet spot. Over two days in January 1972, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin — she was 29 at the time — sweeps into the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Watts in front of a congregation and testifies to God in song. The blessed thing took nearly half a century to come out because director Sydney Pollack failed to sync the image with the sound. Then digital angels stepped in, and glory, glory, hallelujah!
Shalini Kantayya’s “TikTok Boom” isn’t here to glorify the app that’s become one of the most dominant social media platforms in the world. Neither was Kantayya when she joined her documentary subjects, TikTok influencers Deja Fox and Feroza Aziz, to discuss the film at the Variety Virtual Sundance Studio presented by Audible. Feroza said she long expected someone to make a documentary about TikTok, but “TikTok Boom” appealed to her because Kantayya was eager to hold the app accountable for toxic behavior.
“So far people were seeing such positive things, but no one was like really focusing on some shady stuff that’s happening on the app,” Aziz said.
The shady stuff includes censorship. When Aziz posted a video a few years ago criticizing China for human rights violations, the video was banned and taken down by the social app. Aziz went viral for speaking out against the censorship, only for TikTok to put a statement apologizing for the mishap and saying, “TikTok does not moderate content due to political sensitivity.”
“They first released the statement about my video. I knew it was bull,” Aziz told Variety. “I knew it was all lies. It just got under my skin that they’re letting this happen again. And again, and again and again, but to say the least, I was not surprised, unfortunately.”
Foxx has earned millions of likes on TikTok thanks to her activism work, but she notably says in the documentary that being an influencer can feel like being in an abusive relationship. Foxx’s activist and political work makes her the target of cyberbullying and harassment, but she can’t leave the platform because it provides a source of income for her and her mother.
“As a content creator, this is where I gain financial stability,” Foxx told Variety. “That gives me a lot of freedom in life, but it’s also where I endure some of the most intense harassment and abuse. I think that that push to produce makes it really complicated in terms of the reception of the videos. Am I being intentional with what I’m creating? Am I proud of what I’m making in my personal life? I always have these complicated feelings about wanting something to do well, but also being really scared of being perceived at that level.”
When Donald Trump announced a ban on TikTok in the months before his presidency came to an end, Feroza didn’t bat an eye because “if TikTok was going to be taken down, there’s going to be something else that replaces it.”
“Let’s be honest, there’s always something new that’s coming in because of technology and because of the internet,” Feroza said.
“I have a feeling that [TikTok] is going to die down soon,” Aziz continued. “But I’m sure something’s going to replace it. I don’t know what app the name would be. They have like such cool creative names, but I’m sure there’s going to be something else that will provide a platform for funny or entertaining videos. It’s just not trendy right now. Soon. It will be a trend.”