Animation and YouTube as Alternative and Counterhegemonic Digital Public Sphere in Zimbabwe

Peace Mukwara

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ash.20230903.14

| Peer-Reviewed

Animation and YouTube as Alternative and Counterhegemonic Digital Public Sphere in Zimbabwe

Peace Mukwara

Published in Advances in Sciences and Humanities (Volume 9, Issue 3)

Received: 23 April 2023 Accepted: 17 May 2023 Published: 5 August 2023

Views: Downloads:

Download PDF

Share This Article

Twitter
Linked In
Facebook

Abstract

Zimbabwe has over the years experienced a surge in internet usage for political discourse. This has disrupted the governments’ monopolistic hold on public sphere discourses. The increase in the use of social media for political communication has necessitated the need for critical reflections on the use of new media. This paper investigates the emergence of an alternative digital public sphere (DPS) in Zimbabwe, which has subsequently proven to be counterhegemonic. It analyses how democratic forces conspire and contest official state propaganda and assert themselves as viable counter publics. The study examines animation texts, its form and its use of covert and overt aesthetics as tools that helped critique and navigate a chaotic terrain during the ‘crisis period’ in which the state censored critical or oppositional art and elite interests hijacked other forms of critical art and alternative media. The study argues that the DPS has promoted alternative discourses to those of the official public sphere. While the Subaltern counter publics have used alternative digital public spaces to question the official consensus, they have instead emerged as undemocratic platforms promoting and perpetuating the same hate and binary narratives that it accuses the state of proliferating.

Published in	Advances in Sciences and Humanities (Volume 9, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.ash.20230903.14
Page(s)	114-120
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Animation, Digital, Cartoon, Propaganda, Democracy, Media

References

[1]	Alexander, J. (2009) “Zimbabwe since 1997, Land and the language of war” in Mustapha, A., & Whitefield, L. (eds), (2009) Turning point in African democracy, Woodbridge: James Currey.
[2]	Alexander J and Tendi BM (2008) A Tale of Two Elections: Zimbabwe at the Polls in 2008. Concerned African Scholars Bulletin, 80 (Winter): 8–18.
[3]	Clark, John R (1991), The Modern Satiric Grotesque and Its Traditions, Lexington, University of Kentucky..
[4]	Chatora (2012) Encouraging Political Participation in Africa: The Potential of Social Media Platforms. https://www.issafrica.org/uploads/SitRep2012_15Mar.pdf
[5]	Chitiyo, K. and Rupiya, M., 2005. Tracking Zimbabwe’s political history: the Zimbabwe Defence Force from 1980-2005. Evolutions and Revolutions: A Contemporary History of Militaries in Southern Africa. Pretoria: Institute of Security Studies, pp. 331-363.
[6]	Curran, J. 1996. “Media Democracy: The Third Route.” In Media and Democracy, edited by M. B. Andersen, 53–75. Oslo: University of Oslo Press.
[7]	Curtice, J., & Norris, P. (2004). E-politics? The impact of the Internet in political trust and participation. In A. Park, J. Curtice, K. Thomson, C. Bromley, & M. Phillips (Eds.), British social attitudes: The 21st report (pp. 99–116). London, UK: SAGE Publications.
[8]	Elliott, R. (2004), "The nature of satire" in Encyclopædia Britannica.
[9]	Fraser, N. 1994. “Rethinking the Public Sphere: A Contribution to the Critique of Actually Existing Democracy.” Social Text 25/26: 56–80.
[10]	Fuchs, C. (2014). Social media and the public sphere. TripleC, 12 (1), 57–101.
[11]	Gambiza, G. 2020 Fake News and Social Media Regulation in Zimbabwe: A Case Study of the 2019 National #Shutdown. Unpublished MA Dissertation University of Johannesburg.
[12]	Gamson, W. A. and Wolfsfeld, G., 1993. Movements and media as interacting systems. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 528 (1), pp. 114-125.
[13]	Gukurume, S. 2015. “Livelihood Resilience in a Hyperinflationary Environment: Experiences of PeopleEngaging in Money-Burning (kubhena mari) Transactions in Harare, Zimbabwe.” Social Dynamics 41 (2): 219–34. https://doi.org/10.1080/02533952.2015.1069492 (accessed July 2020).
[14]	Hartley, J. (1988) Teleology. Studies in television. London and New York: Routledge.
[15]	Kasiyamhuru, C., 2019. Does President Mugabe’s shit stink too? An exploration of selected Mugabe memes on Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp (2015-2017).
[16]	Loader B., & Mercea, D. (2011). Networking democracy? Social media innovations and participatory politics. Information, Communication & Society, 14 (6), 757–769.
[17]	Mare, A. (2018). Politics unusual? Facebook and political campaigning during the 2013 harmonized elections in Zimbabwe. African Journalism Studies, 38 (2), 1–22.
[18]	Matsilele, T., 2019. Social media dissidence in Zimbabwe, Unpublished Doctoral dissertation, University of Johannesburg.
[19]	Mbembe, A. 1992. “The Banality of Power and the Aesthetics of Vulgarity in the Postcolony”. Public Culture 4 (2): 1–30.
[20]	Mbembe, A. (2001). On the post-colony. Berkeley: University of California Press.
[21]	McAdam, D., McCarthy, J. D., & Zald, M. N. (Eds.). (1996). Comparative perspectives on social movements. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
[22]	Mhiripiri, N. A. and Mutsvairo, B. (2013). “Social Media, New ICTs and the Challenges Facing the Zimbabwe Democratic Process.” In New Media Influence on Social and Political Change in Africa. Co-edited by Anthony A. Olorunnisola and Aziz Douai. Hershey: IGI Global, pp. 402–422.

Cite This Article

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Peace Mukwara. (2023). Animation and YouTube as Alternative and Counterhegemonic Digital Public Sphere in Zimbabwe. Advances in Sciences and Humanities, 9(3), 114-120. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20230903.14

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Peace Mukwara. Animation and YouTube as Alternative and Counterhegemonic Digital Public Sphere in Zimbabwe. Adv. Sci. Humanit. 2023, 9(3), 114-120. doi: 10.11648/j.ash.20230903.14

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Peace Mukwara. Animation and YouTube as Alternative and Counterhegemonic Digital Public Sphere in Zimbabwe. Adv Sci Humanit. 2023;9(3):114-120. doi: 10.11648/j.ash.20230903.14

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ash.20230903.14,
  author = {Peace Mukwara},
  title = {Animation and YouTube as Alternative and Counterhegemonic Digital Public Sphere in Zimbabwe},
  journal = {Advances in Sciences and Humanities},
  volume = {9},
  number = {3},
  pages = {114-120},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ash.20230903.14},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20230903.14},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ash.20230903.14},
  abstract = {Zimbabwe has over the years experienced a surge in internet usage for political discourse. This has disrupted the governments’ monopolistic hold on public sphere discourses. The increase in the use of social media for political communication has necessitated the need for critical reflections on the use of new media. This paper investigates the emergence of an alternative digital public sphere (DPS) in Zimbabwe, which has subsequently proven to be counterhegemonic. It analyses how democratic forces conspire and contest official state propaganda and assert themselves as viable counter publics. The study examines animation texts, its form and its use of covert and overt aesthetics as tools that helped critique and navigate a chaotic terrain during the ‘crisis period’ in which the state censored critical or oppositional art and elite interests hijacked other forms of critical art and alternative media. The study argues that the DPS has promoted alternative discourses to those of the official public sphere. While the Subaltern counter publics have used alternative digital public spaces to question the official consensus, they have instead emerged as undemocratic platforms promoting and perpetuating the same hate and binary narratives that it accuses the state of proliferating.},
 year = {2023}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Animation and YouTube as Alternative and Counterhegemonic Digital Public Sphere in Zimbabwe
AU  - Peace Mukwara
Y1  - 2023/08/05
PY  - 2023
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20230903.14
DO  - 10.11648/j.ash.20230903.14
T2  - Advances in Sciences and Humanities
JF  - Advances in Sciences and Humanities
JO  - Advances in Sciences and Humanities
SP  - 114
EP  - 120
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2472-0984
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20230903.14
AB  - Zimbabwe has over the years experienced a surge in internet usage for political discourse. This has disrupted the governments’ monopolistic hold on public sphere discourses. The increase in the use of social media for political communication has necessitated the need for critical reflections on the use of new media. This paper investigates the emergence of an alternative digital public sphere (DPS) in Zimbabwe, which has subsequently proven to be counterhegemonic. It analyses how democratic forces conspire and contest official state propaganda and assert themselves as viable counter publics. The study examines animation texts, its form and its use of covert and overt aesthetics as tools that helped critique and navigate a chaotic terrain during the ‘crisis period’ in which the state censored critical or oppositional art and elite interests hijacked other forms of critical art and alternative media. The study argues that the DPS has promoted alternative discourses to those of the official public sphere. While the Subaltern counter publics have used alternative digital public spaces to question the official consensus, they have instead emerged as undemocratic platforms promoting and perpetuating the same hate and binary narratives that it accuses the state of proliferating.
VL  - 9
IS  - 3
ER  -

Copy | Download

Author Information

Peace Mukwara

Faculty of Arts and Humanities Department of Media, Communication, Film and Theatre Arts, Midlands State University, Gweru, Zimbabwe

Download PDF

Sections

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Peace Mukwara. (2023). Animation and YouTube as Alternative and Counterhegemonic Digital Public Sphere in Zimbabwe. Advances in Sciences and Humanities, 9(3), 114-120. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20230903.14

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Peace Mukwara. Animation and YouTube as Alternative and Counterhegemonic Digital Public Sphere in Zimbabwe. Adv. Sci. Humanit. 2023, 9(3), 114-120. doi: 10.11648/j.ash.20230903.14

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Peace Mukwara. Animation and YouTube as Alternative and Counterhegemonic Digital Public Sphere in Zimbabwe. Adv Sci Humanit. 2023;9(3):114-120. doi: 10.11648/j.ash.20230903.14

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ash.20230903.14,
  author = {Peace Mukwara},
  title = {Animation and YouTube as Alternative and Counterhegemonic Digital Public Sphere in Zimbabwe},
  journal = {Advances in Sciences and Humanities},
  volume = {9},
  number = {3},
  pages = {114-120},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ash.20230903.14},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20230903.14},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ash.20230903.14},
  abstract = {Zimbabwe has over the years experienced a surge in internet usage for political discourse. This has disrupted the governments’ monopolistic hold on public sphere discourses. The increase in the use of social media for political communication has necessitated the need for critical reflections on the use of new media. This paper investigates the emergence of an alternative digital public sphere (DPS) in Zimbabwe, which has subsequently proven to be counterhegemonic. It analyses how democratic forces conspire and contest official state propaganda and assert themselves as viable counter publics. The study examines animation texts, its form and its use of covert and overt aesthetics as tools that helped critique and navigate a chaotic terrain during the ‘crisis period’ in which the state censored critical or oppositional art and elite interests hijacked other forms of critical art and alternative media. The study argues that the DPS has promoted alternative discourses to those of the official public sphere. While the Subaltern counter publics have used alternative digital public spaces to question the official consensus, they have instead emerged as undemocratic platforms promoting and perpetuating the same hate and binary narratives that it accuses the state of proliferating.},
 year = {2023}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Animation and YouTube as Alternative and Counterhegemonic Digital Public Sphere in Zimbabwe
AU  - Peace Mukwara
Y1  - 2023/08/05
PY  - 2023
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20230903.14
DO  - 10.11648/j.ash.20230903.14
T2  - Advances in Sciences and Humanities
JF  - Advances in Sciences and Humanities
JO  - Advances in Sciences and Humanities
SP  - 114
EP  - 120
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2472-0984
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20230903.14
AB  - Zimbabwe has over the years experienced a surge in internet usage for political discourse. This has disrupted the governments’ monopolistic hold on public sphere discourses. The increase in the use of social media for political communication has necessitated the need for critical reflections on the use of new media. This paper investigates the emergence of an alternative digital public sphere (DPS) in Zimbabwe, which has subsequently proven to be counterhegemonic. It analyses how democratic forces conspire and contest official state propaganda and assert themselves as viable counter publics. The study examines animation texts, its form and its use of covert and overt aesthetics as tools that helped critique and navigate a chaotic terrain during the ‘crisis period’ in which the state censored critical or oppositional art and elite interests hijacked other forms of critical art and alternative media. The study argues that the DPS has promoted alternative discourses to those of the official public sphere. While the Subaltern counter publics have used alternative digital public spaces to question the official consensus, they have instead emerged as undemocratic platforms promoting and perpetuating the same hate and binary narratives that it accuses the state of proliferating.
VL  - 9
IS  - 3
ER  -

Copy | Download