The Reelocene Epoch: Digital Mimesis and the Erasure of Cultural Idiom in Kashmir

Abstract

This study presents the concept of the Reelocene epoch, characterised by excessive consumption of short-form videos, or reels, on popular platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, with a primary focus on Kashmir. The research examines how local youth, observed in educational settings, are captivated by visual media without recognising its infectious influence on local culture and identity formation. This Reelocene commodifies culture, ruptures the localised value system, and incorporates alien cultural elements that render vulgarity and obscenity aesthetically pleasing. The study uses the conceptual frameworks of cultural capital (Bourdieu) and hyperreality (Baudrillard). The research also examines the capacity of reels to engage teenagers effectively while standardising their use as a factor in cultural exclusion and inclusion. The preference for the influencer or celebrity's verbal expressions, style, and tastes, regarded as culturally superior, contrasts sharply with the local cultural norms, perceived as inferior, and is examined in detail through the observed behaviour of participating students. The study ultimately argues that Reelocene not only endangers culture but also supplants it with its own norms, language, and regulations, posing a threat to the local context.