Every day, we send seven billion emojis worldwide. But little is known about the colorful icons that have become an integral part of our daily communication. Who has power over the emoji? Where do they come from? Behind this seemingly innocent world of emojis, rests a powerful group known as “The Unicode Consortium.” Made up of tech giants – Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Google, IBM, Netflix, Amazon, and Intel – the twelve-member “Emoji Commission” is part of this exclusive group that sets the global standard for symbols, characters, and fonts in digital language. But who makes the decisions about the emojis that become part of our daily conversations? What does it take to get a new emoji on our phone’s keyboard? And why is the LGBTQI rainbow flag emoji available, but not the one that stands for transgender people?
In “Third Person,” director Mea Dols de Jong takes us on a journey deep into the world of emojis, uncovering the complexities and controversies that surround these seemingly innocent icons. Join us to discover who holds the power to make critical decisions about our online communication, and why this micro-world of emojis is a reflection of our “real” world.
