About
MySpace Angles is the practice of photographing oneself at a strategic angle for the sake of obscuring one’s own flaws. This “beauty through obscurity” phenomenon has existed possibly since the dawn of photography itself, but the term “MySpace angles” or simply “The Angles” emerged soon after the peak in MySpace’s popularity. Despite the implications of the name “MySpace angles,” this phenomenon is not confined solely to MySpace; the term can be used to refer to vainly obscured photos on nearly any social networking sites.
Origin
MySpace was created in August 2003 following the success of Friendster in 2002.
Although it remains unclear who first coined the term “Myspace angles,” the practice of capturing and showing one’s “most flattering picture” likely stems from the insecurities many encounter when putting their pictures online. Such online behavior shaped by vanity and self-image can be also observed elsewhere across different languages and cultures; for example, in Korean, the same angling technique is referred to as Ulzzang angle.
Early Instances
One of the first appearances parodying the technique was in a November 2005 video made for a class project. Two self-proclaimed popular girls were seen angling the camera as they took pictures of themselves.
In February 2006, David Lehre uploaded myspace: the movie to his site. The first episode, called “The Photos” showed how users take pictures of themselves. The second, “The Blind Date,” illustrated how a male could be tricked by “MySpace Angles.” Lehre claims to have created the term after "seeing TONS of beautiful girls on myspace… then, meeting them in person and realizing they look nothing like their photos and they, had in fact, figured out their best “angles”. " The video recieved over a million hits in 24 hours, and over 60,000,000 hits as of July 2010. It was mirrored on YouTube February 8, 2006, where it has recieved over 2,000,000+ hits.
The phrase did not appear on Urban Dictionary until February 10, 2006.
The Technique
The desired effect is often achieved by raising the camera high above one’s head, at arm’s length, as depicted in the following image.
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Taking a picture from above, with a high-angle shot or at least a shot that shows mostly one’s face, emphasizes the face and deemphasizes the body.
The top Urban Dictionary definition added later in 2006, also implies that the contrast and brightness of the photos may be manipulated in order to get the desired effect.
The angle is usually associated with the MySpace photoshopping which consists of a ridiculous brightness and contrast adjustment which makes it even harder to see who the person is.
Sometimes used to make grim people look alright.
Example:
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Controversy
Though men and women alike have been known to practice using “the angles,” there is a common perception that women utilize the technique more often than their male counterparts.
Furthermore, there are many who feel as though they have been “tricked” after having met someone who does not live up to the image they have portrayed online.
Spread
This problem was discussed and criticized on many blogs like the article I look Stupid on Slate.com, and the highly popular Beware of the Dreaded Myspace Angles on Officialdatingresource.com, as well as their followup article that Revenge of the Myspace Angles.
There are also more serious studies about the impact of Social Network Sites (SNS) on people, which have also been quoted by newspapers like The Guardians in July 2009.
The discussion of the hazards of MySpace angles also took place in the form of YouTube videos.
Some videos compared and exposed Myspace pictures:
“The angles” also appeared in Lehr’s 2008 followup to MySpace: the movie: Facebook: the Movie.
Angles in Viral Marketing: Samsung
On August 2009, Samsung launched a viral campaign for their brand new ST 550/TL225 camera. They hired The Viral Factory, a well-known viral marketing agency to do so.
The result was this short ad, with a modest Own The Angles slogan, showing how classic horror monsters can tranform themselves into cute beings thanks to The Angles:
The AnglesorAngels youtube account was created in the sole purpose of compiling every video from that ad campaign.
Usage on 4chan
Camgirls tend to get plenty of attention on 4chan, and certain favorites are often given the honorific suffix of “-chan” whether they post pics themselves or if someone else simply posts pics of them.
Around December 2008, a new camgirl caught Anonymous’ attention. Her portraits did well in capturing her aesthetically pleasing facial features, but the later discovery of her full-body shots caused Anonymous to dub her, “Pear chan.” For more information, check out the Encyclopedia Dramatica article.
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