critics consensus

The American Meme dives into the shallow end of modern celebrity, emerging with a series of fascinating -- and surprisingly deep -- observations. Read critic reviews

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The American Meme Photos

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Movie Info

Four social media stars, Paris Hilton, Josh Ostrovsky, Brittany Furlan, and Kirill Bichutsky, hustle to create empires online.

Genre:

documentary
Original Language:

English
Director:

Bert Marcus
Producer:

Cassandra Hamar, Bert Marcus
Writer:

Bert Marcus
Release Date (Streaming):

Dec 7, 2018
Runtime:

1h 30m
Production Co:

Bert Marcus Productions

Cast & Crew

Kirill Bichutsky
Self

Hailey Bieber
Self

Dane Cook
Self

DJ Khaled
Self

Matthew Felker
Self

Brittany Furlan
Self

Show all Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews for The American Meme

All Critics (31) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (29) | Rotten (2)

"The American Meme" is a polemic as shallow and artificial as it thinks its subjects are.

December 18, 2018 | Full Review…

Kyle Turner
New York Times
What is fascinating, and valuable, about American Meme is its ability to reveal the desperation, loneliness, and sheer Sisyphean tedium of ceaselessly chasing what will most likely end up being an ever-diminishing share of the online-attention economy.

December 10, 2018 | Full Review…

Naomi Fry
New Yorker
Suffused with vapidity, the doc somehow finds its way to an unexpected sadness and maybe something deeper and cautionary.

November 16, 2018 | Full Review…

Joshua Rothkopf
Time Out
It's both highly entertaining and an essential snapshot of the narcotic voyeuristic parasitic American fishbowl.

May 2, 2018 | Full Review…

Owen Gleiberman
Variety
When Paris Hilton is the lone voice of reason in a documentary, one can't help but worry for the next generation. North Korea can't fire the nukes soon enough.

June 4, 2019 | Full Review…

Pat Mullen
POV Magazine
A surprisingly insightful and even illuminating look at the influencers who entertain the online masses.

February 11, 2019 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Matthew Pejkovic
Matt's Movie Reviews
An engaging documentary that deserves your 'likes'.

January 12, 2019 | Rating: 6/10 | Full Review…

Matthew Turner
VODzilla.co
I highly recommend The American Meme... it is going to change the way you view both social media and society.

December 21, 2018 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Rachel Leishman
The Mary Sue
Paris Hilton was the first to discover that you don't have to do anything special to get famous, you just have to be good at grabbing people's attention.

December 20, 2018 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Christopher Null
Film Racket
Without labouring the point, [director Bert] Marcus reveals the existential emptiness at the centre of this entire, precarious new economy.

December 18, 2018 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Andrew Collins
Radio Times
It's like entering a bazaar, or a zoo, and not being able to take your eyes off what they present to us. [Full review in Spanish]

December 17, 2018 | Full Review…

Pablo O. Scholz
Clarín
The American Meme says as much about its viewers and consumers as it does about its viral celebrities - perhaps even more.

December 17, 2018 | Full Review…

Petrana Radulovic
Polygon