The Black Mirror episode "The Waldo Moment" strikes a disturbing chord when viewed with the 2016 presidential election in mind. I think when this aired in 2013, people could not seriously imagine the idea of a President Trump, reflected in this clip from the Daily Show in which John Oliver endorses the joke of a Trump campaign. Much like how Waldo's campaign was a joke at first, Trump's campaign was written off for being so nonsensical. Why wouldn't it be? Trump's attitudes and opinions were almost that of a cartoon character in terms of how over-the-top he approached his campaign. The main difference between Waldo and Trump is that Trump acted like a character, and Waldo actually was a character.
Then both campaigns begin to pick up steam. They're both still regarded as characters and even portrayed as such in the media, but not only are they not going away, they're getting more support. Waldo's campaign is entirely based on mudslinging, and to an extent, so is Trump's campaign. The goal of most debates seemed to be to walk out with less mud on your face than your opponent rather than furthering the candidates' viewpoints on key issues.
What's interesting to me is the point in which people were vocally supporting both Trump and Waldo. Of course Waldo's support was portrayed so blatantly as to get the message across, but Trump started acquiring support that could not be ignored: internet support. From people on social media to people on forum-based websites (e.g., reddit), the support for Trump turned from joking support to legitimate support. The media then kept bashing Trump supporters, which only made support for Trump much more feverish. Suddenly, this wasn't about putting Donald Trump in the White House; it was about sticking it to the media and sticking it to the way politics is handled in the country. It became about the "silent majority."
Waldo may not have won his election, but it had upset the status quo so much that it may as well have won. Waldo had a hold on people's minds, being able to use them almost as his minions. I don't want to say that Trump can have the same effect, but with how accurately Charlie Brooker predicted a political upset, who knows where it's headed? The beauty of fiction is that it can make meaning out of such outlandish ideas, but that beauty is rather terrifying right now.
1 comment:
I wholeheartedly agree with your post. It is almost as if Trump was elected to simply make a point, but it is at the cost of many people's sanity. Times do seem to be changing for American politics, we will only have to wait and see how positive or negative these changes will be.
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