The Year of Gangnam Style

The internet, and the speed of people's talents, has created this kind of almost instantaneous ability to create social commentary. This commentary has the potential to be seen by millions of people within seconds of being uploaded. It's something we've never had before.

Now, of course, 2012 isn't the first year we've had this ability, but it was the first year of an election in a moment when the skill and technology to create this kind of culture was not only available but fully active. In the last election, we had political memes going around and people on SNL doing their impressions, but even that was no where near what it became with this election.

I think the best example of this is a music parody done by College Humor.  The parody takes the insanely popular song "Gangnam Style" lampoons Mitt Romney and his want to be president.  In less than three minutes, the song covers much of the negative side of the persona of Mitt Romney. "You should elect me because I got so much money." It addresses his arrogance, how out of touch he is with the reality of most Americans, homophobia, his bad choice for a vice-president, and how he is really only interested in the upper class.

Now, I don't think this parody caused anyone to NOT vote for Mitt Romney. What it does is illustrate the reasons why people were already NOT voting for him. When they watched this, they thought it was funny, but also realized that, though over the top, it really showed everything about him that made them uncomfortable with the thought of him being president.  The take away at the end where 'Mitt' is dancing with 'Paul' probably sent chills up people's spins.

"Gangnam Style' is a song that mocks the changing culture in Korea.  It's social commentary, but it does it in a very humorous way. Even though the song isn't in English, as we as Americans watched it, we found we understood the kind of ridiculousness being portrayed. The mockery in the video is quite clear, and people were able to use that as a vehicle to make their own political statements.

And no, this isn't the first time this has been done. People have been using humor to make political statements as long as we have had politics and humor. However, what is changing in our culture is the speed in which we can do these things. "Gangnam Style" went viral and within days of going viral, people were doing parodies. "Mitt Romney Style" was current not only in terms of the political figure it mocked, but also the source material for the parody. It was fresh in people's minds, and in many people's minds because the parody went viral as well. People laughed, considered the message, and, very soon after that, voted.

If anything, 2012 should tell politicians that the voting populous values wit. They listen to wit. They communicate with wit. Politicians should be aware of what they say in terms of how it can captivate and inspire. They should consider what they say in terms of how it will be taken seriously, and how it can be mocked. They can't control all of this, of course, but they can begin to find ways to use it to their advantage. It's going to be necessary to learn to do this as we move forward in this culture.