#simonhunt

When satirist #SimonHunt decided to parody Politician #PaulineHanson he endorsed a civic culture. Dressed up as a drag version of Hanson, Hunt not only became a social media sensation, but his portrayal of Hanson no doubt gave her additional exposure. His video clip “I don’t like it” made the top 10 in the #Aria charts.

In case you need a recap, watch the video which was seen by 672k viewers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4tZRZSGxcE

Subsequently, Hanson became a social media mockery thanks to the video which was accompanied by memes and haters over various platforms. Take the #HungryJacks and burqa meme as an example. Someone had a creative mind, yet I wonder how #HungryJacks feels about the association and pun depicting their slogan “The burgers are better at…”

 (Pauline Hanson Memes 2017)

Why am I mentioning this and what does #PaulinePantsdown have to do with politics and civic culture? Well the first is obvious, Hanson is still in politics and the second being her civil duties she upholds on behalf of the voting community. Uncannily, Hanson has a direct way of backing herself and her civic duties such as the burqa uproar.

Watch Hanson here https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/stun-nation-pauline-hansons-hijab-hijack-of-parliament-backfires/news-story/6ad1a80e147e9eb2fb246cf21437f9ad

Hanson made a very clear statement to parliament as to how she thought other Australians perceived the wearing of the burqa (civic duty). She also “taps into the quintessential Australian humour of self-ridicule so as to appear human.” (The Sydney Morning Herald 2013). She says what others fail to say and if she were male, I would say she has big balls. However her antics are attacked due her outspoken mannerisms. It seems people want a voice and do not like ‘fake’ politicians, yet when Hanson tries to be authentic she is ridiculed.

Regardless if you hate or love Hanson, I have no preference. I do though admire her ability to call sh*t out, yet I do not necessarily agree with her views. My point, Hanson is attempting to prove that she is here to help the Australian community above and beyond the political agenda. For example, in an interview with #Studio10, Hanson made it evident that other pollies were bringing up “school yard stuff” and they should “grow up.”(Hanson 2017) Hanson then linked the interview to her Facebook page, Pauline Hanson’s Please Explain, in support of her voice.

The full interview can be found here https://www.facebook.com/PaulineHansonAu/videos/693823307488651/

While Hanson is not what I would call an active participant on social media, she does have a decent 223K likers on her Facebook page. Here Hanson links Facebook posts to her Twitter account; basically doubling the same content. These actions or lack of, to me, seem contradictory in her pursuit to represent Australians. Personally, if I was a concerned Politician I would separate the two, differentiate their content, making exclusive and personal posts, not copying for the sake of doing so. To utilise her power within civic culture, Hanson should make an effort to connect through social media, possibly resulting in more votes. Engaging on a social media platform ‘demands a certain amount of commitment.’ (Jericho 2012,p.266).

But, can Hanson extend herself to create strong ties (where she is perceived of as family or a friend) that are instrumental for spreading both online and real-world behaviour? If she can then is that a winning method come voting day?

Read more about strong ties and social media here https://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/strong-and-weak-ties-why-your-weak-ties-matter

There is no doubt that the internet has expanded the volume and sources of political communication, but has it expanded the audience? (Young 2010, p.212). Furthermore, can the pursuit for civic and politician participation culminate by joining social media and personal actions resulting in a greater chance of being elected? I guess it depends if the voters are lovin ya work or hatin on it!

Cheers,

Sarah :) 

  REFERENCES

Brown, E 2011, Strong and Weak Ties: Why your Weak Ties Matter, Eileen Brown, viewed 12 April 2018 <https://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/strong-and-weak-ties-why-your-weak-ties-matter

Jericho, G 2012, 'How many votes are there on Twitter?', in The Rise of the Fifth Estate, Scribe, Victoria, Australia.

Kristy Farquhar 2008, Pauline Pantsdown – I don’t like it, 10 August 2008, viewed 12 April 2018, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4tZRZSGxcE

Pauline Hanson’s Please Explain 2017, Pauline Hanson on Studio 10, December 2017, viewed 13 April 2018, <https://www.facebook.com/PaulineHansonAu/videos/693823307488651/

Pauline Hanson Memes, [image], in Pauline Hanson Memes 2017, viewed 13 April 2018, <https://www.facebook.com/paulinehansonmemes/photos/a.496839504031751.1073741829.254852621563775/497689030613465/?type=3&theater

The Daily Telegraph 2017, “Stun Nation: Pauline Hanson’s hijab hijack of Parliament backfires”, The Daily Telegraph August 18, 2017, viewed 12 April 2018, <https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/stun-nation-pauline-hansons-hijab-hijack-of-parliament-backfires/news-story/6ad1a80e147e9eb2fb246cf21437f9ad

The Sydney Morning Herald 2013, Social Media stakes: Rudd & Abbott, viewed 17 April 2018, <http://images.smh.com.au/file/2013/08/07/4640158/Web_ElectionSocial/>.