The idea of parasocial relationships between strangers and public figures has been a part of our society for years, cementing its place in our media culture in the 1960s with the rise in the popularity of televisions. Over time these connections have grown more intense. Since its introduction into the mass media machine, the ever-evolving lifeform of social media has caused the culture surrounding media as a whole to experience a drastic shift. Growing from connecting with public figures through television to now being able to attach ourselves to anyone who crosses our phone screen, anyone and everyone can become the next spectacle. With the world at our hands 24/7, we have a newfound sense of control over strangers. It creates a feedback loop of content and consumption; where the objects of attention perform beyond themselves for online entities’ approval, and where the audience consumes it like a commodity, not as from a person. Whether it's through reality TV, sensationalist online stories, or social media performance, society has a new-found way of stripping people in the public sphere of their humanity, latching onto strangers, and expecting unwavering performance. ELYSIUM means a place or condition of ideal happiness and displays the uncanny nature of the distorted relationship that is prevalent in our media culture between society and people in the media in unsettling scenes that highlight the various social issues we perpetuate and have grown accustomed to in a world that too often prioritizes spectacle over substance.
