This episode aired in 2013; a contemporaneous review I read criticized it for being "too unrealistic" and that in real life, a candidate like Waldo would have little long term popularity once the novelty wore off.
Two years later, failed businessman turned reality show host Donald Trump entered the race for U.S. President; a year and a half after that, he was actually elected President.
And what made Waldo a popular candidate in the episode is eerily reflected by Trump in real life, which is what made this offering of Black Mirror more unnerving than any other episode.
It's easy to be cynical of institutions and establishments (like politics and government) because frequently it's justified to a certain limited degree. But there still exists a tipping point where we fall into the trappings of nihilism and destructive activity. And four years ago, we crossed that Rubicon and we have yet to return.
People insisted Trump "spoke unspoken truths," when in fact he was just throwing out whatever red meat his base wanted to hear just so that they would love him more and satisfy his narcissitic ego. People insisted Trump was "funny," even though he never graduated above trite insults like "Crooked Hillary," "Little Marco" and "Sleepy Jeb." People were so caught up in the free-wheeling anti-establishment spirit of Trump that--like Waldo--they were able to turn violent and destructive at his slightest urging.
But what bothered me most about "The Waldo Moment" was the lack of originality or thought behind the so-called humor. When I first started watching the episode, I presumed Waldo's "takes" would be witty and satirical, like one might expect from The Daily Show or John Oliver. Instead, for supposed reactionary behavior, his humor was painfully unfunny and unoriginal. And yet the general public ate it up, and insisted--against all logic--that Waldo was hilarious and biting.
Which not only describes the cultish following of Trump himself, but everything else that has followed in Trump's wake, even after he has left office.
Back when Trump was on Twitter, he would frequently retweet a Twitter account called "Catturd," which was simply a purveyor of terribly unfunny and unoriginal shitposting memes featuring a cartoon cat mocking Trump's critics on some very base level. The individual behind the "Catturd" account even went as far to self-publish a "book" (to the extent it could be called that) mocking Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that he entitled...and this is real..."The Adventures of Cowfart." Several pages of the book leaked onto Twitter, and I don't think I've ever read a more cringeworthy failure at humor in my life. It was just painful to read and think that this was being passed off as humor. I am not joking when I tell you a 10 year old could write a better book. (Which is why I'm not surprised that the author self-published the book under his "Catturd" moniker as opposed to his actual name.)
And yet countless followers of the Catturd account lauded the book as "hilarious" and "genius." Even though it was literally just one fart joke after another.
Now you have Trump supporters going around incessantly chanting "Let's Go Brandon," (a misinterpretation of chants of "Fuck Joe Biden" heard at a NASCAR race) long past the death of that particular horse, as if this is some sort of substitute for actual discourse.
And you have Rep. Paul Gosar posting some bizarre anime film on his Twitter account that depicts harm against Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and President Biden without any sort of negative consequence or outcry.
You've had Dr. Fauci--a preeminent epidemiologist who wants nothing more than to see us beat this COVID pandemic--attacked with absurd rumors that he tortures puppies. No, really. That's what they want you to believe.
By letting Trump into our system, we've allowed public cynicism of politics to fester to an absurd point where all intellectualism or any sort of goodwill against public officials is nothing but a target for cruel and unfunny mockery...just because. And it's going to continue to damage us as a whole as a result.
We've officially had a Waldo Moment of our own, and God help us where it will ultimately take us.
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