By Joanna Zienkiewicz, University of Groningen - winner of the 2021 IASPM Popular Music Thesis Prize [MA]
‘Populism is on the rise’: the media proclaimed in the last decade. With Poland’s Law and Justice and Hungary’s Fidesz (to name a few) seeing widespread support, the successes of parties labeled populist are undeniable. Yet, these successes do not come from politics alone. Populist discourse – the polarizing rhetoric that divides society into the camps of ‘the good people’ and ‘the corrupt elites’ – becomes even more powerful when communicated through culture. From campaign tunes to protest songs, music can mobilize people and make politics feel personal. What is more, following a Bourdieusian line of thinking, we see that judgments of ‘good taste’ are connected to power and class.
What is the role of music in a populist world? In Poland, under the right-wing populist Law and Justice (PiS), certain musical practices become a political battlefield. I examined three such practices in my MA thesis to understand how music can maintain or challenge the populists’ claims of rescuing ‘the people’ from ‘the elites’.
First, there’s disco polo: a Polish music genre that emerged in the 1990s. Commercially successful, within Poland, disco polo is both popular and scorned. Its often crude lyrics, monotonous rhythms, and kitschy visuals make it into a symbol of “bad taste”. The unspoken norm was always to see disco polo as primitive, tied to lack of education, and negative depictions of rural Poland. But under Law and Justice, this position of the genre shifted. In just a few years, disco polo became a genre of ‘the people’ who the party claimed to represent. Many of its members endorsed it; furthermore, disco polo was widely promoted on Polish Television (now managed by party member Jacek Kurski), with festivals, jubilees, films, and documentaries about it sponsored by the broadcaster. In the party’s discourse, shaming disco polo is one of many examples of ‘pseudoelite’s’ contempt for the ordinary Poles, which PiS is (supposedly) against.
Second, there’s the radio. In 2016, Law and Justice established control over the Polish public media by creating a new, party-member-led organ that makes decisions on Polish public media management – the National Media Council (RMN). Under its control, the Polish public radio channels too faced leadership changes. The most criticized of them occurred on public radio channel three, Trójka, known for its eclectic style and a largely educated, liberal, loyal audience. The radio’s sociopolitical profile ultimately led to RMN implementing staff changes (and instances of censorship) that drew this audience away. PiS-aligned RMN members claimed that these changes were necessary for the spirit of ‘public mission’. Under populism, illiberal infringements on media were then justified – as long as they were seen as chasing away ‘elites’.
Third, there is protest. In response to PiS’s rule, much protest music emerged, which often tries to reverse the discourse and present the party as an authoritarian power rather than a voice of ‘the people’. Do these attempts succeed or reproduce the divide? To answer this question, I continue my work with a PhD.
As a part of my MA thesis, I conducted interviews with PiS’s opponents and supporters to find out what these music-related cases meant to them. What I found is a profound connection between cultural discourses and authenticating or upsetting populist beliefs. Pre-existing music hierarchies could make populism seem like an organic, natural, and even necessary response to the snobbery of ‘elites’. On the other hand, censoring music and controlling media could highlight the party’s authoritarianism and power, directly contradicting its claims of not being a part of ‘the establishment’.
Concluding, I offer you an interview quote, from a supporter of Law and Justice.
“There has always been a kind of slavery here. Economic exploitation. And the low masses suffer the most from it. And this music [disco polo] was also treated in the same way. Like it's nothing.”
When music becomes a symbol of social hierarchy akin to economic status, we must understand the cultural sides of the ‘people-elite’ divide.
Joanna Zienkiewicz
Joanna Zienkiewicz is a PhD candidate at the University of Groningen and the current secretary of IASPM Benelux. Interested in researching popular music and politics, she has been a speaker at international conferences and an author of (two) peer-reviewed journal articles. She is currently working on her NWO-funded doctoral thesis, “Transcending the Divide: Contesting Authoritarian Populism in Protest Music” (2022-2026).
Contact: j.z.zienkiewicz@rug.nl
Twitter: @ZienkiewiczJo