Prioritization Of Propaganda
Gen Z repackages propaganda as aesthetic language, blending irony, intimacy, and algorithmic culture into a new form of soft political theatre.
Model Alex Consani for Jacquemus ‘Winter Retreat’ captures the essence of Gen Z’s peculiar habits and chilled notions. Picture via @imgmodels on Instagram. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Recent talk on TikTok of ‘Propaganda I am/ am not falling for’ covered by Charli XCX's track
‘I Think About It All The Time’ Featuring Bon Iver, has content creating Gen Z’s exploring cliched topics that they decidedly will, or will not, be partaking in. Whilst some contributions do truly portray a sustained political approach, some are personal, while some simply satire.
Propaganda, as explained by Oxford Language, is by definition ‘information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view.’ and whilst this method of political influence is largely spread using social media in today's day and age, compared to the vintage methods like posters as used in past decades, has the term lost its meaning completely?
Gen Z can be labelled as a generation which takes a much lighter approach to politics and current affairs, consuming media each day which is completely structured to their own taste through curated algorithms, less so through picking up a biased global newspaper expressing said propaganda. What our view on ‘propaganda’ may reveal, is the shift in the way in which we are collectively choosing to express our political views. Now, it not only relates to our own personal tastes, but perhaps there is a larger shift as to how we are facing and exploring worldviews and important matters as young people.
The backing track as to which this trend takes place, ‘I Think About It All The Time’, is a popular song off the famed album ‘Brat’, which relates to Charli XCX’s personal experiences and the pressure she has faced in decision making due to outside influences, such as time and age. She shares her uncertainties and existential questions in this song, setting the tone to Tiktok’s contemplative approach on this trend. Listen here: I Think About It All The Time.
Charli shared her own take on the trend, her list of Propaganda she will be falling for included: ‘'This trend'’, artists such as ‘'Addison Rae’' and "Clairo" as well as the niche take of "Therapy, but occasionally a psychic". Charli's particular selected takes on 'propaganda' provide insight as to how we are reflecting on this trend and how personalised the political term has now become.
The supporting song mentions in the trending snippet ‘’So, we had a conversation on the way home// should I stop my birth control?//because my career seems so small in the existential scheme of it all’’. Posing this question has led to people speculating on issues such as the fact that they indeed, will not be falling for the ‘propaganda’ of birth control, due to its limiting and extensive side effects. It seems that any movement, hobby or choice that someone does not agree with has been ironically labelled as propaganda. People have taken a spin on the trend from both sides: popular examples of propaganda they will not be falling for include: men, Labubus, jobs and employment, and the use of AI in creative industries. Decidedly, people want to partake in what makes them feel something good; perhaps politics is not one of those things - it is not on the list of Gen z's priorities.
On the other hand the masses of propaganda that WILL be fallen for, including artist Charli XCX’s own take on the trend into these statistics, commonly include positive emotions such as self love, food, drinks such as matcha, and exercise. These topics are predominantly things which are popular right now, and people are deciding whether or not they will be partaking in the trends. This method of calling out “propaganda”— or more simply said any trend or movement a person is not they’re not influenced by, holds a lighthearted tone compared to wartime propaganda and its origins, but it definitely suits the hobbies and lifestyles of Gen Z in their authentic and expressive energy, where everybody is free to share, and scroll, on the topics that make them feel liberated and seen.
It's interesting to take the speculation of Gen Z’s propaganda further, and look at its deeper integration into culture and art. The fact that such a dense topic is supported by a song from the iconic Brat album seems to further highlight Gen Zs obsession with culture and trends and compiling a universe of popular elements into one place. Brat, Matcha, Tiktok and self-expression, it works as a defining moment. However, some elements of the trend do touch on real political matters, such as Political parties and leaders, as well as devastating wars and protests in other countries. It's effective to see messages being spread on social media platforms covering the real issues in today’s society, which as well as this include matters of body image and beauty standards, or people who spread harmful ideologies across the internet who will not be ‘fell’ for. Integrating awareness into people’s algorithms and ‘FYP’s’ acts as a fast way to spread awareness amongst what is trending, but does this indicate that the seriousness of actual politics is being lost amongst today’s generation? When we are redefining political terminology, such as ‘propaganda’, into something which under this trend states any kind of movement or interest rather than one with a political backing, considering the filtration of wider political issues is prevalent.
Whether this may be a good or a bad thing for us is undecided, since there is a clear positive impact as to how loud all of our voices and our own unique ideas and approaches are in today’s society. We each share a platform where we are free to be our authentic selves and express what is important to us, sometimes striking lucky and getting viral which spreads a message even further. But does the abundance of different opinions and approaches prove how political importance and integrity has been filtered out? Things become more lighthearted and focus is upon trends, rather than using political propaganda meaningfully on social media.
Growing up around this ironic and unserious use of ‘propaganda’ may affect people's lifelong approaches to politics, and the richness of their world knowledge. Despite the fact this could not be a bad thing, since we are focussed on our own lives and have great freedom of speech and expression, will this benefit or regress us in future generations? I guess we will have to sit back and watch. But for now, the propaganda you should definitely be falling for remains, this article.
