Cheeky referendum videos a hit in B.C.
Irreverent pro-PR mashups viewed 900,000 times
Homemade videos by a Vancouver filmmaker featuring scenes of his toddler’s escapades and shots of a friend’s Pomeranian named Nacho are fast becoming the indie hit of British Columbia’s electoral reform referendum.
Joel McCarthy said his four videos in support of proportional representation have already been viewed up to 900,000 times, giving him a huge sense of satisfaction that he may be playing a part in changing the province’s voting system.
Prof. David Black, who teaches communications theory at Royal Roads University, has viewed the 28-year-old filmmaker’s videos and said he believes McCarthy has produced a hit with young voters.
Millennial voters are more interested in understanding how issues blend together as opposed to older voters who look to draw lines between opinion and facts, said Black.
“What we’re seeing in these videos is not so different than what we see in the Trevor Noah or Stephen Colbert shows,” he said. “Ironic, mocking, kind of post-modern mash-up style, audio dubbing and breaking down traditional barriers between information and entertainment, between opinion and straight news.”
B.C. voters need to mail in their ballots for the Nov. 30 deadline, choosing to either support a form of proportional representation for the next election in 2021 or keeping the first-past-the-post system. A majority of 50 per cent plus one is needed to change the system.
McCarthy said he decided to make his own videos in favour of change after the No side started the referendum campaign branding proportional representation as a potential breeding ground for extremist political parties.
He said the official Yes side initially ignored his offers to help, but it now shares his videos.
McCarthy said he felt that if he didn’t deliver a positive message about proportional representation then no one would.
“The first video I did I just went into my bedroom, put up my camera and made a rant basically kind of exposing the tactic that the No side was using and why I was going to vote Yes.”
In his 10-minute video, “Figuring Out Question Two,” McCarthy outlines the pros and cons of the three versions of proportional representation voters have the opportunity to rank. He explains dual member, mixed member and rural-urban proportional, interspersed with scenes of his son banging into a table or falling out of a cupboard and photos of Nacho wearing a crown and a sombrero.
“I hope you are still awake, but please do some more research,” McCarthy says in the video, where he explains his support for rural-urban proportional representation because he says there are no safe seats and independents stand a greater chance of being elected.
Others on both sides of the question have created videos and posted them on social media, generating thousands of views. Elections B.C., the province’s non-partisan office overseeing the referendum, has also posted videos explaining the choices available to voters.