Instagram, the value of

Viktoria Odintcova, a Russian model sitting in a park. 

Wearing jeans cut off way above her thighs, a black loose fitting t-shirt with a V-cut showing her ample breasts, and tennis shoes, Viktoria Odintcova allowed herself to hang on to the grip of a man 73 stories above the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates dangling in the air to have pictures taken for the 'likes' on her Instagram account. The video features the crew practicing on ground, and then arriving at the Cayan Tower in Dubai to do the real thing (without permission). This is an international problem and she violated laws. The most grievous thing she did was to be socially disrespectful and contemptuous of Arab culture and the rules of safety accepted by nations without exceptions made for 'entitled' people from European countries. Somehow, Europeans and white Americans are snug in their assumptions of exclusivity.

Well, there is another thing not taken into consideration. There are ripple effects. Global economies. The things citizens do in other countries have impact internationally, and during a time of Arabic people's reaction to Western powers she left herself vulnerable in the part of the world who see her in a different light out of a woman's place in their house! Also, an assistant to the chief of police in Dubai said that Viktoria Odintcova “had been summoned to sign an undertaking not to repeat any dangerous moves that could endanger her life in Dubai.” According to Emirati newspaper The National. 

This young wisp of a woman, Viktoria, "grips a blond helper’s hand as he confidently encourages her to lean away from the top of the 1,000-foot building. As she leans back, her hair flows and her eyes close, and somehow she gets comfortable enough to look serene in images captured by her team. As if that were not enough of a risk, she then gets down on her knees, while still holding the hand of her “spotter” and then gracefully flops off the rails, the guy’s forearm strength the only thing keeping her from plummeting to the ground.

Somehow, she still looks beautiful, with her T-shirt falling off her shoulders, and her sneakers (they’re not even fancy suction-cupped shoes or something high-tech!) kicking about as if she’s just dangling from the side of a pool."

The Russian model is a thrill seeker. She has done other stunts in other parts of the world. Daredevils are not unusual. They are generally found in every culture as variations of the sort in guises such as wildly creative musicians or artists, soldiers of exceptional skill, athletes, politicians, parents, and so forth.  In today's world daredevils like this young woman face a challenge: too much attention immediately and a lack of business acumen. They cannot live invisible lives as we older people all have been able to do in times past. She will probably have her insurance rates increase. Undisciplined or uncaring or not knowing better people like her have to broadcast every adventure of their lives to be liked by total strangers, who either love and admire them, or despise them.

For 'likes' on Instagram, Angela Nikolau, another Russian model who last year in 2017 stepped off the roof of a ridiculously tall building in Guangzhou, China, in an adorable dress and heels! Viktoria Odintcova posed on the edge of a cliff in Sri Lanka, and has also bungee-jumped in Sochi, Russia, with a camera in hand, and prettily posed on the edge of a cliff in Sri Lanka.

Top model Coco Rocha pulled something similar when she balanced in pink heels on a ledge lots of stories up with no strings attached for the cover of Harper’s Bazaar Taiwan over the summer. Then she sat on the ledge, saying, “So here we are on set, you think it’s a normal day, until you might be asked to do something like this, and you do it willingly, ’cuz you love the art of fashion,” in her behind-the-scenes video for Instagram. She made sure to add the hashtag #DontTryThisAtHome.

It is childish. It's fun. The urge within them must burn to act out what they envision but the dangers are in the shadows and children raised to be unaware of how things work are easy targets in the vicious political games of terror, exploitation and a few other nefarious ventures. The questions they didn't ask most likely were who would protect them? How do I be disrespectful, and why is it important to have deep knowledge with your dreams?

Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories

Feb. 22, 2017  

Viktoria Odintcova dangling from the 73rd floor of Cayan Tower in Dubai for Instagram likes in Feb. 2017.

Russian model, Viktoria Odintcova dangling above Dubais from the 73rd floor of Cayan Tower in Feb. 2017.