ix John Street, Politics & Popular Culture (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1997), 57.Ģ This orientation can also be understood as a part of the broader contemporary political landscape.viii For example, see Mel van Elteren, “Celebrity Culture, Performative Politics, and the Spectacle of ‘ (.).vii Chris Wells et al., “How Trump Drove Coverage to the Nomination: Hybrid Media Campaigning,” Politic (.).vi Frank Ankersmit, Political Representation (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2002), 135.v See, for example, John Corner and Dick Pels, “Introduction: The Re-Styling of Politics,” in Media a (.).iv Peter Mair, Ruling the Void: The Hollowing of Western Democracy (London and New York: Verso, 2013).Just as Trump made use of social media, the alt-right utilized memes-and like Trump, the movement attracted attention and visibility through provocations and sensationalism. iii The alt-right capitalized on the anti-immigration and anti-establishment campaign themes of Donald Trump to thrust its ideas into the political mainstream. It includes white nationalists and disillusioned right-wing dissidents who draw from theories like neoreaction, a political theory that is contemptuous of modernism, democracy, and egalitarianism, and favors a form of “nondemocratic system with rule-driven succession.” ii As an online movement, it also has firm links with participatory media networks through websites such as 4chan, 8chan, and Reddit, along with meme and troll culture. i The “alt-right,” short for alternative right, was both a harbinger and culmination of these tendencies during the election. Among these was the lament “Make Trolling Great Again,” by which Emma Green referred to the spiteful provocations emanating from the political fringes. election evoked concerns over the decline in the level of political discourse.
iii For example, Dylan Matthews, “The alt-right is more than warmed-over white supremacy.
i Emma Green, “Make Trolling Great Again,” The Atlantic, September 14, 2016, accessed January 21, 201 (.).