Benjamin Herrera
Group Fuschia
An Analysis of Supreme Leader Greene and the Country of Fuschia
One of the major characters in our mini series is the dictator, “Supreme Leader Greene”, who represents the figurehead leader and cause of civil unrest in a society. Supreme Leader Greene is an antagonist in the mini series based on real world dictators and autocratic leaders. Like many dictators in history, Greene’s authoritarian grip over the country (police cracking down on dissent, mass censorship of freedom of speech and expression, ban on religion other than Greene worship, centralized control over the economy, lack of womens’ rights, restriction on emigration and immigration, etc.) fostered resentment and civil unrest. In our fictional country of Fuschia, there is a very wide gap in wealth and living standards between that of the small elite and the masses. Supreme Leader Greene is a very emotive and passionate speaker and uses his skills as a demagogue to rile up people by spouting uber-Fuschian nationalism and deeming foreign nations as being threats to the security of Fuschia, enemies of the Fuschian state, and inferior nations to Fuschia. This tactic of othering foreign peoples is actually a common one in the real world by autocratic governments and it is an effective psychological tool that can be used to garner support from the masses. According to an article written in Psychology today by Ph.D. psychologist Bobby Azarian, Terror Management Theory helps explain support for Trump’s immigration comments. Terror Management Theory, as Azarian describes it, is “Terror Management Theory predicts that when people are reminded of their own mortality, which happens with fear mongering, they will more strongly defend those who share their worldviews and national or ethnic identity, and act out more aggressively towards those who do not.” Greene uses this same tactic, fearmongering about the “evil” people who live in other nations and want to destroy Fuschia.
Additionally, it is important to note that Supreme Leader Greene is somewhat of a political puppet for the oligarchial elites of Fuschia. Although not completely powerless, Greene plays his role of advocating and advancing the policies that would most benefit the elite at the expense of the impoverished masses. He uses his skill as a talanted orator to convince many in the public that policies that are actually detrimental to them are good for them. As a result of Greene’s strong political presence and his tactics as a dictator over the country of Fuschia, there is a large political division between those who support him and those who oppose him. This is despite the fact that the ideas are pushing are not his own and actually pertain to the elite class. This is often the case in the real world with dictators with strong personalitites and political presence. In the real world, one can see that civil unrest can amplify in response to a figurehead at which the unsatisfied masses can direct their frustration and supporters can base their beliefs. Some examples of this occurence in history are with dictators with strong cults of personalities such as Fidel Castro, Josef Stalin, Adolf Hitler, etc. who all ruled over politically repressive states with a politically divided population. This tactic is believed to be effective by these leaders because they believe it iseasier to rule over a divided nation with a strong base of supporters compared to a unified nation of resistance.
The environment this mini series takes place in is based on the current political polarization happening in the U.S (however taken to the extreme), along with drawing inspiration from several repressive regimes from the twentieth century. One example of the ways in which it does is that it takes the polarized issue of immigration and takes it to the extreme to where no one can leave or enter the country except under very specific circumstances. The people are monitored at all times possible by the government which is what many governments in the world do on their citizens. Additionally, the phenomenon of the rise of revolutionary extremist movements in the series meant to resist Greene and his extreme views is a phenomenon that can also be observed in the real world. Revolutionary movements from the other side of the political spectrum can emerge under the iron fist of oppressive regimes such as that of Fidel Castro’s resistance to the Batista dictatorship in Cuba. Using the U.S as an example, one can see that since the election of President Trump, (who has advocated for a number of extremist right wing policies such as the banning of all muslims from entering the U.S) farther left ideas ,which were not prominent in political discussion, are becoming more popular. For example, Bernie Sanders’ left wing ideas of universal healthcare, universal higher education, more progressive tax rates, etc. have been gaining traction in the polls among Democrats. This can be seen by looking at a poll done by Gallup in which they tracked Bernie Sanders’ favorable rating from March 2015 to September 2018. While in March 2015, Bernie Sanders only had a favorable rating of 12% of Americans, in September 2018 he has gone all the way up to a 53% favorable rating. It can be inferred that the reason Bernie Sanders and his farther left ideas have gained more popularity is because they view these ideas as a way to fight back against Trump. In conclusion, one of the main selling points of our mini series is that it incorporates real life phenomenon into the story. It portrays a possible dystopia which could become a reality if problems in our society were taken to the extreme.