Cancel culture: new methods, same principles

In an age where opinions often outweigh reason and public sentiment can shift in an instant, being a polarising figure can have severe consequences, like a bullet whizzing past your ear. But every day on social media, merely having an unpopular opinion can lead to being cancelled. The execution may vary but the underlying principle is the same.

There’s a history magazine that I’ve grown quite fond of in the last year called Lapham’s Quarterly. The fact that this brilliantly written and well-researched publication is currently on a printing hiatus is somewhat of a sad insight into the general state of the print media industry, but fortunately for us all, they’re still publishing articles online. Perhaps one of my favourite parts of Lapham’s Quarterly is a column called Déjà Vu. This is where modern day news headlines are juxtaposed with similar stories from history, creating the eerie yet amusing sensation that history is continuously repeating itself.

If this sounds like the kind of thing you’d like to explore, you can access the Déjà Vu section of Lapham’s Quarterly here.

One could argue that reading these kinds of modern/historical juxtapositions has trained my brain to be able to spot and appreciate similar occurrences in daily life. With that context now put into place, just imagine my delight (at the composition, not the event) when I saw this photo all over the recent news cycle –

and immediately thought of this –

Before I go further, I should make it clear that my delight did not stem from the fact that someone had tried to assassinate Donald Trump. While I won’t make my personal stance on politics known in this article, I can assure you that I don’t take joy from reading about attempted murder, regardless of who the victim may be. I also won’t be delving into disputes about whether or not the attempted assassination was staged. For the purposes of this article, let’s move forward under the assumption that the events captured were real.

The delight I’m describing came from that pattern-recognising, history-repeating-itself sensation that keeps me going back to the Lapham’s Quarterly blog.

The similarity between the two images is what appealed to me initially – the double raised fists, the surreal blue backdrop of sky, the looks of determination and the flag waving above all. But then I went down another rabbit hole, wondering if there was as much contextual similarity between the images as the visuals suggested. The Delacroix painting, widely believed to be his magnum opus, depicts an allegory of the July Revolution of 1830 (note – not the French Revolution, which happened a few decades earlier) which toppled the French King Charles X. The woman in the centre of the picture is not a real woman, but rather the ideal of Liberty, striding ahead to lead the people of France through revolution and into the future.

The figure at the centre of the other image is a flesh-and-blood human being, although with memorable statements like “Make America Great Again” and “Never Surrender”, he may be on his way to becoming somewhat of an allegory himself.

1830/2024

Drawing parallels between the recent assassination attempt on Donald Trump and the less-than-graceful exit of Charles X during the French Revolution of 1830 requires that we consider the themes of political upheaval and the extremes to which political conflict can escalate. 

Is history repeating itself verbatim? Not exactly. Nevertheless, there are some key points of comparison worth noting as we consider major events nearly 200 years apart:

Political tension and unrest

1830: This revolution occurred due to widespread dissatisfaction with the monarchy of King Charles X, who was seen as failing to address the needs of the people and being too conservative.

2024: The attempt on Trump’s life reflects deep political divisions and unrest in the US. While the situation is different in scale and context, it highlights extreme reactions driven by political polarisation and dissatisfaction.

Challenges to authority:

1830: The revolutionaries aimed to challenge and replace the existing authority, reflecting a push against perceived tyranny and corruption.

2024: An assassination attempt is an extreme form of challenging authority, reflecting intense opposition and frustration with the current political leadership.

Public sentiment and radical actions:

1830: The public sentiment was driven by radical changes and dissatisfaction with the ruling elite. The revolution was marked by significant public demonstrations and clashes.

2024: The attempt on Trump’s life, while an isolated event, reflects the heightened level of radical sentiment and extreme actions taken by some individuals or groups in response to political circumstances.

Impact on political landscape:

1830: The revolution led to a shift in the French monarchy and a temporary change in the political landscape, shaping France’s future political direction.

2024: The attempt (and no doubt that rousing photograph) led to a brief spike in popularity for Trump, but as of today he is back to trailing Biden.

Cancel culture, or assassination-lite?

Over the past few years, cancel culture has really become a powerful social force. This is when individuals or entities are publicly shamed and ostracised for actions or statements that society finds unacceptable. This modern form of social censure has some striking similarities to the radical actions and public sentiment seen during the French Revolution of 1830 and the recent political upheavals in the US.

Think about J.K. Rowling, the famous author of the Harry Potter series. She faced massive backlash and boycotts after making comments about transgender issues, a hill that she is prepared to die on – probably figuratively. Then there’s Gina Carano, who was fired from her role in “The Mandalorian” after posting controversial opinions on social media. These examples show how people today can be “cancelled” by society and their employers who are scared of what society might do, leading to serious professional and personal fallout.

Now, while an assassination attempt is a violent and extreme act, both it and cancel culture are ways people try to control and enforce societal norms. The attempt on Trump’s life was an extreme reaction to political dissatisfaction, and cancel culture can be seen as an extreme reaction to perceived social or moral missteps. And of course, defining those missteps is a matter of where the power lies.

So, is cancel culture like a metaphorical assassination? In some ways, yes. Both involve a form of public judgement and punishment. Cancel culture just deals with social and professional consequences rather than physical violence. It’s a way society regulates behaviour, leading to quick shifts in public perception and actions.

Whether it’s the violent upheavals of the past or the social shaming of today, the patterns of challenging authority, expressing dissatisfaction, and pushing for ideological conformity persist through history. The context and methods may differ, but the underlying human impulses remain surprisingly similar.

We’ve just moved from guillotines to guns and public battles on X.

About the author: Dominique Olivier

Dominique Olivier is the founder of human.writer, where she uses her love of storytelling and ideation to help brands solve problems.

She is a weekly columnist in Ghost Mail and collaborates with The Finance Ghost on Ghost Mail Weekender, a Sunday publication designed to help you be more interesting.

Dominique can be reached on LinkedIn here.