Dystopian imaginaries, populism and pop politics

Observations from “The Waldo Moment” – of Black Mirror

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15448/1980-3729.2021.1.40093

Keywords:

Populism, Pop politics, Black Mirror, The Waldo Moment

Abstract

In this essay we intend to demonstrate how the episode “The Waldo Moment” of the British series Black Mirror enables a critical reflection on the emergence of contemporary populism and the role of the media in this emergence. Thus, in the first part we outline the phenomenon of populism, presenting the main conceptualisations on the concept, as well as some of the challenges that liberal democracy faces. Afterwards, we see some current conditions of democracy in times of indignation and contempt for the political class. Finally, we present a hermeneutical analysis of the episode “The Waldo Moment”, believing that it enables us to understand some aspects of the contemporary political landscape permeated by the advance of reactionary populisms.

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Author Biography

Hélder Prior, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), Campo Grande, Brasil; Universidade da Beira Interior (UBI), Covilhã, Portugal.

Doutor em Ciências da Comunicação pela Universidade da Beira Interior, em Covilha, Portugal. Pós-doutor pela Faculdade de Comunicação da Universidade de Brasília (UnB), em Brasília, DF, Brasil (PNPD/CAPES), e pela Universidade da Beira Interior (UBI), em Covilhã, Portugal (FCT). Investigador integrado do LabCom da UBI e investigador colaborador do Observatorio Iberoamericano de la Comunicación da Universidade Autónoma de Barcelona, onde realizou períodos de investigação doutoral entre 2008 e 2012 e pós-doutoral em 2018. Professor da Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, em Campo Grande, Brasil, e da Universidade Autônoma de Lisboa, em Lisboa, Portugal.

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Published

2021-11-05

How to Cite

Prior, H. (2021). Dystopian imaginaries, populism and pop politics: Observations from “The Waldo Moment” – of Black Mirror. Revista FAMECOS, 28(1), e40093. https://doi.org/10.15448/1980-3729.2021.1.40093

Issue

Vol. 28 No. 1 (2021): Single Volume

Section

Media and Culture

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