Beyond The Emoji (2019) - Documentary Review

By Bishakha Koirala

Picture Source: Internet

Emojis have evolved into a critical communication language in the twenty-first

century. Many experts have referred to it as the "world's fastest developing
language. According to the research, 92 % of online consumers use emojis. Emojis
are bridging linguistic divides and increasing human engagement. They aren’t just
cute little icons anymore, they are a huge cultural phenomenon in digital
communication. Beyond The Emoji (2019) is a documentary directed by Mea
Dols de Jong and produced by Olivia Scruringa via VPRO-television for
VPRO who is trying to make us understand that even though we use these cutesy
icons as an integral part of our everyday texting or tweetings, only a few people
know where does it come from.

This documentary film also follows a number of people as they approach Unicode
with emoji ideas. Each group makes a presentation to demonstrate why this
particular "Picture Character" should be included in the universal language.
There’s a supreme council of internet communication that controls our emoji
options on the keyboard which is called Unicode Consortium. This group of tech
titans determines linguistic decisions and develops the internet world's architecture.
Representatives from Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Google, IBM, Netflix, Amazon,
and Intel established the worldwide standard for symbols, characters, and typefaces
in digital (visual) language, ensuring that all of our gadgets can communicate with
one another without difficulty. The 12-member "Emoji Commission" is a part of
Unicode. Unicode is most recognized for being the emoji gatekeeper, publishing,
standardizing, and accepting or rejecting new ones. Anyone can propose a new
emoji by following the process and timeline described as per the Unicode emoji
website but there must be a convincing argument why the emojis should be
included. It can't just be because someone wants to include them; they need to
provide some excellent, solid reasoning for why they believe the emoji they've
proposed would bring value to the emoji keyboard. However, there has been much
concern about the committee which has the power over these emojis. The question
is that if emojis are turning to be the universal language of the digital age, then
why should it be just decided by predominantly white American males text
encoding engineers in California.

While people who have the power over this emerging universal language are trying
to be as representative as possible, Beyond the Emoji documentary also has tried
to highlight the story of Tea Uglow, a lobbyist transgender flag emoji who faced
challenges when she tried to advocate for the transgender community All
under-represented groups recognize the value of visibility, whether on screen, in
films, in publications, or even in our language. It's a major deal for trans people to
be able to say "transgender" in emoji, to be out and proud, and to have their allies
see the support for the, She had submitted the proposal back in 2016 but it only got
approved in 2020. Her story reflects that even something seemingly little, such as
an emoji, might leave oppressed people forgotten and that she had to provide
extensive facts and data to prove the inclusion of the transgender flag is so
necessary.

Another story covers Maggie Curry, lobbyist white wine emoji who is director of
marketing at Kendall-Jackson Winery in Sonoma County. Kendall- Jackson
Winery’s Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay has been the number one selling white
wine in the United States for the past 27 years, as per Curry. Because it's such a
popular wine, Kendall-Jackson employees and customers frequently post it on
social media. Curry and her colleagues thought that the lack of a white wine emoji
(the existing options: red wine and sparkling wine flutes) was a mistake and that
they could make it happen. Little did they know that these cute little emoticons
would frequently need two years of waiting, research, and presentations. She
eventually became the one who submitted the 18-page plan. The proposal
examines internet and social media search data for the keyword "white wine" to
show how many people are interested in this product on the internet. White wine
emoji supporters feel that the inclusion of the emoji will help companies interact
with a wider range of customers. Curry also feels that someone messaging with a
meetup with red wine emoji and white wine emoji makes a significant difference.
Even though there are around 50 additional advocates for the white wine emoji, it
has yet to be approved. This experience can hugely show the consequences of a
lack of diversity in the IT industry which will have long-term consequences for our
society.

It is a huge shock on a personal level to actually understand that these little icons
that we see on our emoji can mean so much to a lot of people. For some it can be a
victory of visibility, for others it could be a hustle against the predominant council.
Emojis are a universal language regardless of anyone’s native speech. So it is
important to have a council that goes through what emojis should be included
because it is important to actually make sure that emoji which is now a language
should not have any universal offense. Emojis surely have become an important
texting form because a message which includes a “tear of joy” emoji is taken more
light-heartedly among our friend circle than the text without emojis. Emojis have
become the nonverbal cues in the world of digital communication and I think that
without emojis, the text would be just monotonous and may not exactly depict the
emotions that we are trying to express.

Conclusion
At least, in the end, what we understand is that they don’t just appear magically
and there’s a lot of hard work that goes behind its approval and incorporation. But
as we have already understood the impact that emojis can have, it is necessary to
bring change even in the place where the decision comes from. Then only it is
actually possible for the representation that the team is trying to bring.

Total Words: 1005