Hard Rock Hallelujah! Empowering Reflexive Political Action on the Internet

Abstract

The role of the Internet is becoming increasingly significant with regard to political participation and mobilisation. The Internet is a powerful tool in gathering coalitions and organising mobilisation of any kind. However, it is also transforming political styles, forms and the organisational structuring of political activities. In this article, the authors analyse the nature of the political struggle and resistance taking place on the Internet by scrutinising the Finnish Internet protest campaigning against gossip journalism in May 2006. This campaign emerged almost entirely in the Internet environment around the emotional turmoil caused by the publications of the Eurovision Song Contest winner Lordi’s unmasked pictures. This example shows how citizens have adopted the logic of computer‐mediated communication, and how they employ information and communications technology for reflexive individualised politics.

1. Both authors have contributed equally to this article.

Notes

1. Both authors have contributed equally to this article.

2. The band was founded in 1996. Its breakthrough, however, came in 2002. The leader of the band, Tomi Putaansuu, has acted as chairman of Kiss Army Finland (the official fan club of the hard rock band Kiss). The music the band plays is a kind of hard rock/soft metal, inspired by Kiss, Alice Cooper and Twisted Sister. The speciality of the band is also redefined from their idols. The band wears masks and monster costumes on stage while they are playing (see Wikipedia 2007b). The musicians are unrecognisable behind their masks, and very few know the real personalities of the members of the band. They have been kept secret on purpose in order to guarantee the privacy of the musicians in their personal lives.

3. A Four Winds hat is part of the traditional clothing of the Lapps.

4. Arquilla and Ronfeldt (2001, p. 12) state that “[s]warming occurs when the dispersed units of a network of small (and perhaps some large) forces converge on a target from multiple directions. The overall aim is sustainable pulsing — swarm networks must be able to coalesce rapidly and stealthily on a target, then dissever and redisperse, immediately ready to recombine for a new pulse.”

5. The number of signatures is remarkable when compared to the population of Finland (5.3 million).

6. According to Wikipedia’s definition, “[t]he aim of culture jamming is to create a contrast between corporate or mass media images and the realities or perceived negative side of the corporation or media” (Wikipedia 2007a).

7. Political consumerism is often considered from a narrow point of departure that focuses on single shopping decisions. It refers to decisions of “not to buy” (boycott) or “to buy” (buycott) based on subjective judgements. The purchase choices are understood to offer a market‐based political tool that can be used to influence certain actors, such as private corporations, governments and civil society organisations, or more generally market practices. In a broader definition, political consumerism means civic activity that politicises market practices, corporate policies and market society. It displays numerous forms and manners of activity, such as performing global social justice criticism, human rights, sustainable development, animal rights, ecological lifestyles, etc. (Micheletti 2003, p. 15; Micheletti et al. 2005, pp. 258–259). Also “one‐target campaigns” highlight the politicisation of the market sphere and consumption, when a single corporation or market practice is attacked by intensive politicking. Furthermore, it should be noted that political consumerism broadly includes various alternative modes of consumption, such as the open source movement, Internet piracy, the fair trade movement, dumpster‐diving, ethical banking and environmental labels, etc.

8. Travellink (an Internet travel agency), Olvi (a drinks manufacturer) and Dressman (a clothing retail chain) suspended their advertising campaigns. Furthermore, Altia (a drinks manufacturer) did not renew its advertising contract.

9. In the Winter War (1939–40 lasting 100 days), the poorly armed and equipped Finnish army resisted the enemy’s overwhelming attacks — the Soviet Union outnumbered them by four to one in men, ten to one in tanks, and thirty to one in aircraft (Wikipedia 2008). Most men did not even get a uniform, only a tiny button to stick into their hats showing that they belonged to fighting groups. Many of the fighters also had to bring their own rifle to fight the enemy.

10. Well‐known cases include, among others, the emergence of the local struggle of the Zapatista movement as the symbol of Internet resistance (Zapatistas Discussion Group, 2006) and the publication of the email exchange between Jonah Peretti and the sports equipment manufacturer Nike. In the latter case, an individual consumer brought embarrassment to a multinational company and set the company up as a target of political criticism with the help of global publicness (Peretti 2001).