Populism 101: Comic Book Edition

By: Shahid Meighan| MGMadero | Cindy Gu| Kamila Navrátilová

With the world reeling from the changes that the new political era has ushered in, the words populism, extremism, and terrorism have become part of the daily vocabulary. As Donald Trump continues his presidency in the U.S., Mexico’s infamously populist presidential candidate gains more followers, Venezuela’s president turns into a tyrant, and Jeremy Corbyn throws the term populism around freely in England, the political world has been quaking with change.

Anxiety around populism stems from hateful rhetoric rooted in irrationality that divides populations through race or religion (in an ethnically mixed global population). Less than a century since has passed since the atrocities committed during World War II gave the world a clear look at terrifying extremism and tyranny that populist movements are always at risk of unleashing. Pitting social groups against one another successfully fuels scapegoating of whomever the leader(s) deem a useful target, as the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (the infamous Nazis) did focusing on non Aryan individuals.

The same tactic has become commonplace in current political debates and candidates’ speeches, although modified to today’s modern population. People’s trust in institutions and media networks is being chiseled at, xenophobia is being fueled indirectly through nationalistic discourse, and the uncontrollable stream of information (true or not) through social media has led to the creation of fake news. As well, the increase in fear and the decrease in viewing institutions as trustworthy has fed into the creation of new citizen ideologies, focused on hate and exclusion of the other. This type of speech comes as a relief and provides an outlet for venting people’s discontent and fear towards today’s rapid change.

In a modern world that faces much emotionally charged political turmoil, rapid confrontation against these types of rhetoric is essential for the harmonious adaptation to modern times. Analyzing populist contexts highlights the lack of education there is on populism and its characteristics, the lack of free flowing information and the impulse of biased opinions that grow from nationalistic speech. Seeking to combat these, “Treatment” is a comic book with the intention of educating college students about populism and its characteristics through a globally recognized narrative medium.

Presented in a digital format, “Treatment” can be translated to different languages and used to exemplify what populism looks like when taken to the extreme. By demonstrating key populist characteristics, students will be able to identify the red flags that go unnoticed in populists’ actions nowadays.

Epilogue

Populist rhetoric tends to appeal to people who feel both politically and economically disenfranchised, left behind because of social changes, and/or physically threatened by those they perceive as “outsiders”. Populist leaders tend to use emotional rhetoric to exacerbate these insecurities instead of offering genuine solutions, and in turn use these fears to gain widespread support, justify the exclusion of those who are different, and vilify anybody who speaks out against them. This rhetoric does not give genuine solutions to the people and is extremely divisive. It scapegoats immigrants as the reason for both economic and crime problems and creates a wall of fear and hate. A real life example of this was in 2015, when Donald Trump called Mexican immigrants drug dealers and rapists. He most recently demonized them again, claiming that they are “animals” and blaming them for crime in the United States. It goes without saying that this rhetoric was not only divisive and false, but dehumanizing and sustains this wall of fear.

In our story, both Sam and Utina represent the average, disenfranchised citizens who found themselves in a tough economic situation, with a rising cost of living and wages that stayed the same. Poppy represents a populist leader who claims to have all of the answers and blames the planet’s economic and social problems on the “monsters”. The monsters represent both immigrants and people of color who are convenient targets for Poppy’s rhetoric. The “Populax” pills that Sam and Utina were taking represent the feelings that the rhetoric has on those who are most vulnerable to it. Populist rhetoric and extremism paints those who are different as enemies, or in this case, “monsters.” By them taking this pill, they felt they were justified in hating the monsters and were willing to accept Poppy’s simplistic solutions to their problems, including building the wall. Poppy’s proposed wall is a representation of how easily populism can turn into extremism and what can happen when it goes unchallenged.