Poppy is a YouTube personality gone viral due to her creepy yet oddly mesmerizing videos. Some are only less then a minute, while others feature Poppy simply saying “I’m Poppy” over and over again for the duration of 10 minutes. Poppy’s antics also include talking to plants, mannequins, and donning increasingly bizarre costumes. She tackles topics like God and gender with only a few sentences and doe eyes to the camera. Her videos have been a cornucopia of material for conspiracy theorists all over the internet, having shown alleged Satanist and Illuminati imagery. Obviously, conspiracy theorists will jump on anything with a triangle in it, but something about Poppy’s videos keeps you so hypnotized that you start to wonder what you’re really watching.
Shortly after discovering Poppy’s channel, it wasn’t long before I discovered her VEVO channel. Perhaps it makes more sense that Poppy is a singer since singing is a much more common talent than interviewing plants, although arguably less interesting. She released her EP Bubblebath in 2015, including the tracks ‘Lowlife‘ and ‘Money.’ The songs have catchy beats that accompany Poppy’s somewhat typical teenage vocals. The songs are purposely too sugary and childlike on the surface. The music videos for both tracks showcase some compelling symbolism including but not limited to the all-seeing eye, Satanist hand gestures, and even the devil himself. Her more recent singles seem to step away from the misguided Illuminati symbolism and focus more on her newly found internet fame. In an interview with Zach Sang, she revealed that her album, titled ‘Poppy.Computer,’ will be released October 6, 2017, and will be followed by a U.S. tour.
The supposed mastermind behind Poppy’s videos is known as Titanic Sinclair, a director and musician with a very clear artistic vision and style: minimalist yet creepy videos that are just short and open ended enough for you to be left guessing at the real, underlying message. On his channel, he makes videos extremely similar to the ones that he directs for Poppy, however, he has posted much less frequently in the past couple of years than Poppy has. In one of his videos, he introduces Poppy as one of the many actresses he works with. Despite there supposedly being a great number of actresses that Sinclair works with, only one other is known and she has striking similarities to Poppy. Her name is Mars Argo, and she seems to have been Titanic’s original muse. Just like Poppy, Mars has platinum blonde hair, huge eyes, and a talent for making music as well as for making people uncomfortable with piercing stares and ominous smiles. Titanic and Mars made a few videos together on a channel called grocerybagtvdotcom, where some of Mars’ music videos were posted alongside a video called ‘Delete Your Facebook,’ which has since been recreated by Poppy. There is much speculation about why Poppy replaced Mars as the face of Titanic’s creative operations, especially since Mars Argo has not been active online or released any new material since the conception of Poppy’s channel in 2014.
Very little is known about the actress who plays Poppy, but perhaps that’s what keeps her persona so believable, despite sometimes seeming absurd.
Commentary on the typical 21st-century technological experience is all but rare, however, I think Poppy is so meticulously manufactured that she perfectly exaggerates the fundamental makings of any modern celebrity. I am fascinated by the idea of Poppy because she personifies the internet and media so accurately that it’s unsettling. Everything on the internet has its own way of trying to capture you in the allure of being connected and supremely knowledgeable. She is seemingly benign, an actress with a pretty, innocent face delivering a somewhat cryptic message about the things society tricks us into believing. She is a satire on internet fame to some, to others she is a metaphor for media corporations, and to a select few, she’s yet another member of the Illuminati. Take a very close look and listen to Poppy, but don’t worry – she assures you that this is definitely not a cult.
