The year is 1420 and you are a peasant in Stuttgart. You are struggling with famine and suffering under a ruling minority; A hotbed of frustration and crisis, all with an unlikely possibility of foreign intervention to quell a rebellion, yet there is no sign of an insurrection – Why? The peasants lack one uniting, organised movement to follow and realise their goals, as without one they are simply a collection of angry workers.
Twenty years later, German printer Johannes Gutenberg invents the printing press; A great work by Seneca which used to cost a house, now only costs a month’s salary, promoting the forming of new ideas and giving fringe groups a platform from which to attract new members. Fuelled by the Italian renaissance, this new terrain allows for the spread of dissident thought and results in the first-ever best-selling author, Martin Luther, rising to prominence. Years later, spurred on by Luther’s Protestant reformation, a revolt led by German peasants in 1524 quickly spreads via pamphlets printed by rebels, soon reaching our town of Stuttgart. Each printed pamphlet contains ‘The 12 Articles’ a statement of principles that creates a common agenda for the revolt. Now the peasants of Stuttgart have what they lacked a century ago – a united front for their cause. The printing press had spread the word of Luther, incited the revolt, and helped carry it on further by focussing the revolution and exporting its ideologies. Whilst the Mammoth Rebellion, as it later came to be known as, was unsuccessful, it demonstrated the power of the printing press which ultimately managed to manifest the centuries-long anti-establishment attitude in the area into a strong rebellion in only a matter of decades. The press gave more power to the people; drawing influence away from the catholic church by allowing greater vernacular translations of the bible which consequently led to the church’s authority on dictating beliefs being challenged by rival interpretations.
Just as Gutenberg’s press had brought political freedoms and revolutionary ideas to the middle class, the increase in quantity and quality of photographs at the start of the 20th Century brought these same freedoms and ideas to the lower class. Now complex concepts that used to only be translatable in text were easily conveyed to both the illiterate and uneducated in a more powerful manner; Seeing a photograph of soldiers fighting over contested lands evokes a much stronger feeling of patriotism than the feeling experienced while reading about that same event. It wasn’t long before the power of photography was realised and adopted by several movements and organisations as a way of gaining influence and bringing attention to their cause. In 1908 The National Child Labour Committee used photos of children working in poor, dirty conditions to anger legislators and citizens, helping to achieve their goal of ending US labour for under 16s. Many countries and political groups soon saw photography as a new form of propaganda and a better way to promote their ideologies since photos are generally more likely to be believed than cartoons or slogans were. Another example is 1966 China - chairman Mao was rumoured to be in failing health and was looking to cement his legacy as the founder of communist China before he died. In order to achieve this goal and dispel the rumours of poor health, Mao swam in China’s largest and most symbolic river, the Yangtze. Throughout his swim, Mao’s personal photographer took photos of the leader in the water and of him waving to fellow swimmers with the Wuhan Yangtze bridge, an iconic achievement of the communist government, in the background. Whilst these photos dispelled rumours of bad health and symbolised the achievement of the communist government, they crucially humanised the person that many Chinese people saw as an icon. Portraying the leader as an average citizen doing an average activity gained influence among the youth, who eventually organised themselves into the Red Guards and kicked off Mao’s ‘Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution’, cementing Mao as a great leader of the people.
The turn of the 21st Century brought with it the mass adoption of social media as a part of society. Whilst social media was, at first, harmless and insignificant, its quick rise in popularity morphed the messaging service into an influencer of the masses. There is no denying WhatsApp’s incredible influence; Since the app’s launch in 2009, WhatsApp has managed to acquire over 2 billion users across 180 countries. It is often described as a ‘political weapon’ because of the sheer number of people who use the app and can therefore be influenced by media posted and easily shared amongst its users; In 2016, one sixth of WhatsApp users in India reported that they were a member of a group started by a politician or political party. WhatsApp was part of the reason why many elections for populist leaders like Bolsonaro and Modi were so successful, with prime minister Modi even discussing his ‘Whatsapp strategy’ with members of his campaign. WhatsApp is unique in that it has ‘end to end’ encryption and, unlike Facebook or Twitter, a lack of censorship and fact-checking, making it the go-to app for revolutionaries and citizens fighting against the government. Just like Gutenberg’s press, WhatsApp has been crucial in organising mass protests and uniting like-minded people. This organisational power was demonstrated during the Arab Spring as many protests were facilitated by the messaging service. This show of power caused many Arab states to take heed of WhatsApp and have since actively worked to diminish its influence in their respective borders. Some Arab states like Syria and the UAE outright banned the app, whilst in other countries, like Egypt, police have the power to stop citizens and look through their social media for incriminating evidence. In Lebanon, the so called ‘WhatsApp’ revolution began after a tax on WhatsApp messages was implemented by the government as a way to suppress the application's use, with the resulting civil unrest highlighting the country’s reliance and affection for the application.
The fact that the ruling authority has attempted to regulate, or in some way censor, the products of these technologies in both the past and present bears testimony to their effectiveness in promoting change and revolution. One of the common factors that these revolutionary technologies share is that in many cases they were able to speed up inevitable changes; The drawing of power away from the church, the prohibition of child labour and pro-democracy protests in the Middle East were, arguably, all certain yet were able to be materialised in a much shorter time frame. The process of new technologies accelerating change is likely to continue further into the future as AI and advancing communications increases the possibility of revolution and social change - standing on the shoulders of previous revolutions set in motion by centuries of innovation.
Sources:
Comentários