Today I'd like to delve a little deeper into the realms of personality politics. (I know. It's surprising. Somehow in a blog primarily concerned about campaigns we haven't said everything that could possibly be said about personality politics already.) I would like to do this by focusing in on Kim Jong-un and the news that he has been making lately. Wait, except, it's not exactly him that's making the news. Alright, stay tuned. You'll see.
As most of you probably know, Kim Jong-un is the supreme leader of North Korea, succeeding his father Kim Jong-il after his death in December 2011. The internet almost immediately took a "liking" to Jong-un. Memes, cartoons, satire of every kind sprung up about the young ruler, a sampling of which (along with some background info) can be viewed here. Maybe it has to do with his chubby, boy-like demeanor, which juxtaposes so nicely with one of the most brutal, totalitarian regimes of the modern era. The carryover from Kim Jong-il and his cult of personality, and the comedy that resulted from that didn't help. I would especially like to direct your attention to kimjongillookingatthings.tumblr.com, which is exactly what it sounds like. Pictures of Kim Jong-il observing the products of his industrious (?) nation. In the words of that blogs author, "Why is it so funny? I have no idea either."
So, it should be no surprise that 4chan took an automatic, worshipful reverence to Jong-un. For those who don't know, 4chan is an online image sharing forum that has become one of the most infamous sites on the internet, not only for its ability to create memes, but also for its (rather psychotic) trolling and hacking capabilities. On regular a basis, 4chan will rise as one, accomplishing tasks such as hacking Sarah Palin's email account or tracking down animal abusers whose videos end up online. The benevolence and malevolence of 4chans actions are reputably random. For 4chan users, it's a lot less about whether or not what they do is good or bad, and more about that they can.
One activity that 4chan often engages in is mass voting on internet polls to manipulate the results. Recently, it decided that a worthwhile activity would be voting up Kim Jong-un in the online poll for Time's Person of the Year, which Time magazine (probably) takes into account for their selection. As reported by the Huffington Post here, success is imminent.
*Also included in this article are links to a story about China's Communist Party newspaper reporting on the Onion selecting Kim Jong-un as the Sexiest Man Alive without knowing that it was satirical. Just another mystifying display of the image culture surrounding young Jung-un.
However, the never complacent 4chan, then looked to the next feat in this game of voting, aiming to not only get Kim Jong-un atop the poll, but to also make the rest of the poll spell out KJUGASCHAMBERS with the first letter of each candidates name. And apparently as of December 8th, they've succeeded.
I think this whole event says a lot about the circulation of personalities as opposed to politics online. Increasingly, information communities have moved online and into spaces where people are concerned more with novelty than with actual political implications. Now, that's not to say that these spaces are devoid of actual political gauge or influence. There's a reason that 4chan and the internet community are drawn to the political situation in North Korea in the first place, and that 4chan decided to make the Time poll spell K(im)J(ong)U(n)GASCHAMBERS as opposed to KFCBUTTSEX (which was apparently the second choice). But lately, the staying power of these political figures has to do with how much modern audiences are willing to spread this figure (most often online). This can explain the phenomenon behind Kony 2012, and the fact that Time named it the #1 viral video of 2012. Meanwhile, other similarly terrible world leaders such as Hugo Chavez, or even Bashar al-Assad do not get the same attention. No ridiculousness? No viral videos produced by comedians or activist groups? No 4chan love.
Alright, so moving on to a little bit about this blog itself. Seeing that this is the second to last Monday of the semester here at the University of Maryland, I believe that this will be my second to last blog post, or at least for a while. I'll do a final post next week, perhaps wrapping up some loose ends and talking about whatever else might be on my mind. And then, from there on out, my maintenance of Post It Politics will be more sporadic, with me blogging about things as they come up, instead of scrounging for imagery on a weekly basis. (Is scrounging the right word? Does it seem like I'm scrounging? Maybe not. Either way). So tune in next week! Until, then, don't be too ronery.
@Post_It_2012
I think this whole event says a lot about the circulation of personalities as opposed to politics online. Increasingly, information communities have moved online and into spaces where people are concerned more with novelty than with actual political implications. Now, that's not to say that these spaces are devoid of actual political gauge or influence. There's a reason that 4chan and the internet community are drawn to the political situation in North Korea in the first place, and that 4chan decided to make the Time poll spell K(im)J(ong)U(n)GASCHAMBERS as opposed to KFCBUTTSEX (which was apparently the second choice). But lately, the staying power of these political figures has to do with how much modern audiences are willing to spread this figure (most often online). This can explain the phenomenon behind Kony 2012, and the fact that Time named it the #1 viral video of 2012. Meanwhile, other similarly terrible world leaders such as Hugo Chavez, or even Bashar al-Assad do not get the same attention. No ridiculousness? No viral videos produced by comedians or activist groups? No 4chan love.
Alright, so moving on to a little bit about this blog itself. Seeing that this is the second to last Monday of the semester here at the University of Maryland, I believe that this will be my second to last blog post, or at least for a while. I'll do a final post next week, perhaps wrapping up some loose ends and talking about whatever else might be on my mind. And then, from there on out, my maintenance of Post It Politics will be more sporadic, with me blogging about things as they come up, instead of scrounging for imagery on a weekly basis. (Is scrounging the right word? Does it seem like I'm scrounging? Maybe not. Either way). So tune in next week! Until, then, don't be too ronery.
@Post_It_2012
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