Within this reel culture, Trump’s statement – “Khamenei is dead” – is no longer a political declaration; instead, it has become a diss track, a DJ-fusion audio clip, a beat to dance to. A phrase that once belonged to moments of political crisis – linked to state conflict, revolutionary politics, and long historical trajectories – now circulates through social media algorithms as a trending sound. Young users dance to it, create reels with it, parody it, and many may not even know the historical or political context behind the phrase. It is as though a weighty moment of history has suddenly been lifted onto the light stage of digital culture and transformed into a spectacle, a beat, a viral trend. A message once as heavy as a mountain of history becomes, in the hands of the digital generation, as light as a feather of entertainment.
In the digital age, politics is no longer confined to questions of ideology or policy; it is increasingly turning into a form of cultural performance. For Gen Z, who have grown up surrounded by smartphones, social media, and short-video platforms, political messages often become part of entertainment. In the era of Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts, political slogans, leaders’ statements, and even international events quickly turn into memes or trending audio clips. As a result, serious matters such as governance, elections, or policymaking are often reduced to light cultural presentations. Behind the layers of fusion music and dance, our critical mind gradually loses the ability to ask the fundamental question: why is there war?
This tendency can also be observed in Bangladesh’s recent political landscape. During the most recent national election campaigns, various political slogans and leaders’ remarks circulated on social media as reel videos, memes, or trending audio. Short excerpts from speeches and statements by political figures went viral on Instagram and Facebook primarily as entertainment content. In many cases, dance, fusion music, or humorous editing transformed political messages into cultural trends. Politics, therefore, began to function less as a question of civic responsibility and more as a trend within social media culture. Notably, a campaign theme song that became popular in 2018 – associated with a previously exiled and banned political group – resurfaced in public discourse: slogans such as “Joy Bangla” and “Jitbe Abar Nouka” reappeared in digital circulation.
Why is the new generation behaving in this way? To answer this question, we must turn away from the digital battlefield of politics and look toward theories within media studies.
Media critic Neil Postman argued in his famous book Amusing Ourselves to Death that modern media technology gradually transforms public discourse into a structure of entertainment. In the era of television, political debates often took the format of talkshows or entertainment programmes. In the digital age, this trend has accelerated even further. The language of short-video platforms is rapid, brief, and visually striking. Consequently, complex political questions such as social welfare programmes, agricultural policy, gender policy, employment issues, constitutional reform, economic strategies, or international relations receive less attention, while slogans, audio clips, and memes dominate the conversation. Borrowing Postman’s insight, one could say that we begin not to think about politics – but to consume and enjoy it.
French thinker Guy Debord offered an even deeper explanation through his theory of the Society of the Spectacle. According to Debord, modern capitalist societies gradually transform real social relationships into visible spectacles. Politics then ceases to be a space of civic participation and becomes a form of public performance. When political slogans are used as background audio for dance videos or when leaders’ speeches become memes, politics itself becomes a spectacle – where citizens are no longer active participants but spectators.
Jean Baudrillard’s concept of hyperreality also helps illuminate this condition. Baudrillard argued that modern media reconstructs reality through symbols and simulations. As a result, people often experience reality not as it truly exists, but through media-generated representations. For example, many young voters may know little about party manifestos, economic policies, or constitutional proposals, yet they may easily recognise viral political slogans or memes circulating on social media. In such a situation, politics becomes a mediated reality.
Marshall McLuhan hinted at the contours of today’s digital culture in his book The Medium is the Massage. McLuhan showed that the technological structure of media shapes the way people think. He never witnessed platforms such as TikTok or Instagram Reels, yet he anticipated a media environment where fast, brief, and emotionally charged content would dominate communication. Today we see that deeper, analytical political discussions struggle to find space within such platforms. As a result, the political knowledge of many young users becomes fragmented, condensed, and largely surface-level. This transformation also affects democratic discussion. German philosopher Jürgen Habermas argued through his concept of the public sphere that rational debate among citizens is essential for a democratic society. Yet in an algorithm-driven social media environment, this public sphere often fragments and becomes dominated by emotional reactions and viral content. Consequently, the space for rational political debate shrinks.
However, it would be mistaken to attribute this phenomenon solely to the limitations of the Gen Z generation. The algorithmic economy of digital platforms actively promotes content that attracts attention quickly and generates higher engagement. As a result, flashy political slogans or memes naturally spread more widely than in-depth political discussions.
So how can we move beyond this situation? First, critical media literacy is essential. Young people must learn how media messages are constructed, how algorithms function, and how to verify information. If they understand how a meme or viral video produces political meaning, they will not simply consume it as entertainment; they will be able to analyse it critically. Second, political communication itself must adapt to the realities of new media. To reach younger audiences, complex policies and political processes should be explained in accessible ways; through short explanatory videos, infographics, and evidence-based visual storytelling. However, entertainment must not replace information; rather, it should serve as a bridge that makes information more understandable. Finally, there is a need to reconstruct spaces for rational public dialogue. Universities, news media, and civil society must cultivate environments where young people can participate in informed debates about political issues.
Ultimately, it seems we have arrived at an era where even the heaviest words of history become light under the glow of algorithms. Words that once echoed with war, revolution, state power, and ideology now dissolve into DJ beats and dance rhythms. It is as though these words have been taken down from the solemn stage of history and placed in a dazzling but fleeting digital carnival – where memory does not endure, trends do; where thought does not travel far, but beats spread quickly. And in the crowded noise of that carnival, we may slowly forget which words belonged to history and which were merely echoes of the algorithm.
The writer is an Associate Professor, Communication and Journalism, University of Chittagong
