Do Not Research Group Show, 2022, at Lower Cavity, Holyoke, MA
AMPLIFY
Generation Z’s encyclopaedic need for compartmentalisation is reflected in our impulse to master systems: collect, understand, and make connections— a mentality applicable to internet culture, ostensively making real-world things like politics consumable in a fashion that is analogous to playing video games. In Joshua Citarella’s Doomscroll Podcast Episode: Are Millennial Leftists Aging into Right-Wingers? political commentator J.J. McCullough compares said cataloguing to collecting Pokémon, gamification, a taxonomy of so-called ‘politiballs’. Historically, individuals were radicalised through the spirit of nationalism, postwar grievances, mass rallies, propaganda. Now bad actors appeal to the masses with the low-hanging fruit of anti-SJW rhetoric and performative displays of conservatism from individuals evangelized through the holy words long preserved of Magisterium AI.
The Allure of The Esoteric
The Overton window in the UK has shifted as Reform’s right-wing populism leads in the polls. Liberals have made concessions to appear more palatable to the conservative media that further publicises what was once ‘cultural Marxism’ and has now been rebranded as “The Woke Mind-Virus” (phrase courtesy of Elon “Kekius Maximus” Musk). Contrarianism is in— fringe movements flourish from the New York, Dimes Square indie art and intellectual scene of the ‘dirtbag left’ to posters on the infamous 4chan’s /pol/, populated by reactionary hikikomoris who elude accountability through anonymity.
Youths do not form a coherent political monolith, on the contrary, they are most vulnerable to radicalisation considering the figures ruling the internet’s discourse at present. Algorithmic trends are a testament to this: memes reference occultist esotericism such as the mythological Kingdom 'Agartha' and Hollow Earth conspiracy; cosmic Commander Ashtar Sheran commonly pictured alongside as a symbol of Aryanism, while proud neo-Nazi white-supremacists such as Nick Fuentes and Paul Nicholas Miller (more commonly known under the pseudonym ‘GypsyCrusader’) rule the discourse. Extremism online is germane to the zeitgeist, the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk being carried out by one terminally online zoomer, described loathingly as a “Reddit kid” by a former classmate. Democrats and Republicans ping-ponged accusations of the opposition housing terrorists following the debate over Tyler Robinson’s ideological affiliation and motivations, yet no dogmatic Ted Kaczynski level manifesto was released, he identified not with the GDL or ACP, the bullet that killed Kirk’s casing was engraved with a message that of a furry bashing meme— the assassination was a shitpost.
Why choose such a hyper-specific issue for this project, one local to the shadowy recesses of the Internet? Independent media has superseded mainstream news; anti-establishment stances are common in a milieu of authority-scepticism. As a digital native who’s had to consciously avoid the alt-right pipeline, this subject is personal to me. Take Elliot Rodger; self-proclaimed incel who’s mass-killing in 2014 coined the phrase misogynistic terrorism, who maintains a loyal fanbase within Tatesque, manospheric echo-chambers. Hormonal, vulnerable teenagers are groomed; blackpilled, communicating through neologisms and copypastas to say without saying. Recently, the juice box emoji’s use has been restricted on TikTok by the ADL, its use prevalent in lieu of ‘Jew’, the phonetic similarity prompting antisemites to abuse it as a dog whistle.
The cacophonous dissonance while scrolling on X, TikTok, Instagram— it's addicting, sedating. Mark Fisher diagnosed the widespread adolescent malaise in Capitalist Realism as ‘depressive anhedonia’, constituted not by an inability to get pleasure so much as by an inability to do anything else except *pursue* pleasure. Blitzed on dopamine-searching and doomscrolling, the soft narcosis, a disillusionment manifests through self-seclusion, and we redirect our anger and despair in the pursuit of answers. Posting is our catharsis, our art.
Japanese term for people who avoid social contact, particularly young males.
Short for Politically Incorrect, an anonymous political discussion imageboard on 4chan.
Slang term for a member of Generation Z.
Goyim Defense League
American Communist Party
The act of using an online forum or social media page to post content that is of "ironically and trollishly poor quality" to be provocative.
Short for "involuntary celibate", a member of an online community of (typically young, heterosexual) men who are unable to attract women and are miosgynistic and hostile towards women and men who are sexually active.
In reference to social media personality and accused sex offender/trafficker Andrew Tate.
The manosphere is a varied collection of websites and online forums promoting masculinity, misogyny, and opposition to feminism.
The blackpill is a nihilistic, far-right ideology espoused by incels (involuntary celibates).
Blocks of text repeated verbatim on internet forums, often posted for humorous purposes.
Anti-Defamation League
The act of consuming an excessive amount of negative media.
Teenage nihilist ‘prophets of doom’, as neo-Marxist philosopher Slavoj Žižek puts, proclaim the dysfunction of the system is beyond redeeming— we should lay back and perversely enjoy the spectacle. Ironically, they parallel the highfalutin "rational" centrist: things could be worse, we should count our blessings. Both mindsets promote inaction. People are ‘condemned to be free’, surrendering one’s self-definition to a total ideology is a coping mechanism.