Politics is show business for ugly people. Our political system has become poised with the need of putting on a broadway-style show, our politicians are very rarely voted into power based on their knowledge, experience, agendas, ideologies, or even morality for that matter. Just like show business, politics requires months of preparation, in order to get the act together, the keyword here being 'act', followed by intense PR and marketing to help and sell the facade of impeccable leadership or a solicitous government. And of course, we as a nurtured consumers buy each show they sell post-haste as if it was an unreleased episode of Games of Thrones.
Show business in its original definition is a vernacular term for all aspects that comprise the entertainment industry. Entertainment in simple terms is the art of entertaining, keeping a consumer betrothed, this often involves some form of play on their emotions, whether it be love, hate, joy, anger, fear, or laughter, the key is to control the narrative and steer the story in the direction you as the show master see fit.
Remember to ensure you preserve the interest and support of your target audience, you can never give away too much. All the best films and series always leave viewers on a cliffhanger, whether you like it or not, it leaves you wanting more out of sheer human curiosity.
Sound familiar? That’s because it is. Politicians can be seen to apply these same rules to their work to help optimise their positioning. Take the current global pandemic, for example, how many of our leaders knew about the virus all the way back in Feb/March? How many of them decided to tell you what they know months after it had been left to live rent-free across our planet? Too many. Omitting such vital information can not be blamed on basic human error, or their individual incompetence, rather it is a strategically planned PR move, which acted as a catalyst for months of fear-mongering.
Our world leaders have spent the last couple of months stripping us of all things required to live an independent and somewhat free life, they have bombarded us with mixed messages, contradicting rules and a whole load of uncertainty, leaving us helpless and essentially begging at their feet for mercy. Obtusely, despite our knowledge of the blatant fourth wall that separates us and the spectacle that is politics, we still manage to get blindsided by our naive nature or steered by our obsession with drama.
The human race is obsessed with living inside an exceedingly exaggerated telenovela. Regardless of all our apparent efforts to end all wars, we still end up starting new ones, or weirdly wishing one would happen, remember the WW3 craze on Twitter? That is because ironically conflict excites us. It is in fact scientifically proven that drama can be as addicting as opiates or heroin, as it causes the pituitary gland and hypothalamus to secrete endorphins, which are the pain-suppressing and pleasure-inducing compounds.
Quite often if not always, drama includes some form of tragedy. So if humanity has developed an addiction to drama, it has also developed one for tragedy. On the topic of tragedy, three countries, in particular, have done a capital job at ensuring their nation is in constant turmoil, the United States, Brazil and the UK.
The United States, having elected the artiste that is President Donald Trump, has dominated the shit show that is politics. Just how many times have you received news about the US, and simply felt as if you were watching a BTEC reenactment of Black Mirror? Trump is a prodigious entertainer, regardless of if he rubs you the wrong way or not, but a politician? Not so much, the man can’t even structure a coherent political announcement without sounding like an angry teenager.
The key question is, what political position did Donald Trump have before becoming the President of the most glorified nation in the world? The answer is none, in fact, if you look at Trump’s employment history, he has no political expertise whatsoever. His first career was as a real estate agent, the success of which led him to become an eminent American television personality, who loved to dabble in beauty pageants. Indeed his real estate career made him very in touch with the evil that is capitalism and his involvement in TV allowed him to infiltrate the political realm of things, but he was only scraping the surface. No one with as little experience as Trump should be elected into power. But Trump was because of his sole ability to put on a great damn show, to the point where many of us have been left asking, ‘is this real?’
A study by YouGov found that “Donald Trump is the 4th most popular Republican and the most famous.” This reinforces the importance of notoriety with respect to leadership and power. There is no apparent need for erudite politicians, just good showmen.
Trump has not only managed to leave his country in disarray because he felt the urge to play house, his controversial take on presidency has acted as a catalyst for others to follow in his footsteps.
Although, it would be somewhat inaccurate to say the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has taken every page from the Donald Trump handbook, the similarities aside from the horrible hair are undeniable. Unlike Trump, Johnson does have several years of working in the political world before becoming PM, but that does not make him a good politician. Similarly, Johnson is known for his outlandish remarks, and his ability to evoke drama in times of crisis, just how we have seen him do with the Coronavirus outbreak. His performance at every single Prime Minister’s Questions debate was exactly that, a performance. Rather than develop a structured action plan, Johnson spent his time ensuring that his responses to opposition leader Keir Starmer were witty and comical.
In parallel, a report by YouGov found that Johnson is the 2nd most popular Conservative politician and the 2nd most famous. The study also mentioned that his fans often described him as, ‘comical’, not exactly the adjective you’d use to describe a good leader.
Finally, we have Jair Bolsonaro, the president of Brazil. To most residents of Brazil, Bolsonaro is not that bad in comparison to some of his predecessors, nevertheless, he is far from what a president should be. Throughout the pandemic, Bolsonaro has shown his love for putting on a spectacle, by leading his own anti-lockdown protests, or never missing a photo opportunity. From saying stuff like, he wouldn’t be affected by the virus due to his “athletic past” to purposely breaking his country's own virus restrictions to shake hands with supporters, he has done everything to trigger emotions, rather than take into consideration the impact of his actions, just like a true showman.
Politics haven’t always been this reflective of a hit drama TV show, but with the rise of social media, followed an increased pressure to gain fame or clout as the youth would call it. All three of the men named above are prime examples of clout chasers. Just like most of the general public, politicians have become obsessed with validation in the media, in particular social media. This means that rather than focusing on their duties, politicians are in a constant battle of who can get the most likes/retweets, who can break the internet, or who can be transformed into the most shared meme. Thus far, Trump has been the champion of social media.
Politicians have become obsessed with attention, good or bad, and social media is a direct provider of international stardom. The sole impact of the digital age on politics is a story within itself, still, the decline of conventional politics can be attributed to social media.
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