Zombies and Alice in Wonderland: PN/PL youths turn to animated propaganda
Both Forum Zghazagh Laburisti (FZL) and Moviment Zghazagh Partit Nazzjonalista (MZPN), the two youth groups representing the Labour and Nationalist Party respectively, have, within these election campaigns, taken to computer animations to bring politically-infused messages across via social media.
Whilst FZL’s animations take the form of one-minute long cartoon narratives, MZPN’s animation comes in the form of an interactive online game called Money Zombies.
Money Zombies, on the link www.pilatusgang.com, is set in a dark and eerie setting, with a seemingly-haunted version of Castille as the backdrop, with an exaggeratedly large moon behind the building, and a cemetery in the vicinity. The protagonists are manipulated zombie-versions of the four individuals prominent in the Egrant Saga; Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, his wife Michelle Muscat, Chief of Staff Keith Schembri and No-Portfolio Minister Konrad Mizzi.
In Money Zombies the player takes control of a giant catapult which has Panama hats as ammunition. The ‘lives’ of the player are also counted in Panama hats. The aim of the game is to knock out the zombies by throwing the Panama hats at the right angles as the stretching of the catapult sling dominates your eardrums, along with monster-like growls emitted when a character is hit. The levels get more difficult as stones, wood and ice blocks are added to be broken through. Money is collected when each zombie is struck. As the levels progress, a ‘Pilatus Kitchen Bomb’ appears in the scene, which, when destroyed, completes the level and the user gains points.
Like the protagonists of Money Zombies, the protagonists of the two FZL animated videos are also uglified; the videos feature mainly Nationalist Party leader Simon Busuttil and blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia. However, other characters also sprinkled throughout the videos, such as ex-party member Tonio Fenech and Democratic Party leader Marlene Farrugia, amongst others.
Daphne Caruana Galizia is depicted in a monster-like demeanor, with a tongue like that of a lizard, with a growling voice. Simon Busuttil is, in one video, portrayed in front of a pink wall with crying baby sounds, crying to Daphne on the phone as he observes his ‘trust rating’ decrease. The animation attempts to use humorous elements as, following Simon Busuttil’s plea, Daphne gets an idea and gets her hands on numerous documents which are titled as ‘false documents’.
Another storyline plays on the idea of Alice in Wonderland, in which Simon Busuttil falls asleep, only to dream about a ‘Wonderland’ where the scene is illuminated by the new power station, fireworks and strobe lights. Alice appears to Simon in his dream, but she turns into a scowling Daphne Caruana Galizia as he awakes, surrounded by Marlene Farrugia and Tonio Fenech scowling at him, only to see the news regarding the gas power station being broadcasted on the television in front of him, as he sighs. The ending message reads ‘Alice in Wonderland turns into a reality’.