Growing up, the prospect of a dystopian society was presented to us as an abstract warning that may or may not become relevant someday. But in our Western first-world mindset, we tended to ignore the fact that numerous countries like Russia, North Korea and Libya are living in them every day.
Nadya Tolokonnikova understands dystopias perhaps more than anyone. In 2012, she and other members of her band Pussy Riot were arrested for an anti-Vladimir Putin protest demonstration staged at the Russian Orthodox Church.
After 21 months, the members were released from prison, but their suffering was far from over. Only months later, they would be whipped in the middle of the street and attacked by men in a McDonald’s.
Since then, the members of Pussy Riot have become some of the most important figureheads in the history of women since the Amazons or Joan of Arc. Their first-hand experiences with a radically patriarchal dystopia like Russia has only solidified the importance of the women’s rights for which they fight.
Russia may seem like some exotic land the United States can never in any way resemble, but Tolokonnikova believes a Donald Trump presidency may put us to par with a Putin presidency.
In Pussy Riot’s latest music video “Make America Great Again,” released last Thursday, the band explores the possible fascist future of our country. The band also released music videos for their feminist anthem “Straight Outta Vagina” and their political protest song “Organs.”
The “Make America Great Again” video is constantly jumping from excerpts of Trump’s hate-mongering speeches to Tolokonnikova sitting in a mock-Oval Office dressed as Trump to a woman being tortured by the new government.
The soft and catchy melody of the song clashes hard against images of the woman being given forced implants, raped and branded phrases with hot metal onto her skin like “outsider,” “fat pig” and “pervert.”
“Let other people in / Listen to your women / Stop killing black children / Make America great again,” Tolokonnikova sings in the song.
While originally a Bernie Sanders supporter, Tolokonnikova uses this satirical song to promote Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
“YOU decide elections,” the video’s caption reads. “And if we get together, we could blow this shit up, take action and reverse this erosion of rights. Because fuck it.”
While “Make America Great Again” is definitely exaggerated in many ways, the video still brings up the fact that there can be some serious consequences for electing Trump. The man is racist, misogynistic and truly one of the most ruthless men to run for president since Andrew Jackson.
There’s more than enough merit for Tolokonnikova’s worries. Since the beginning of his campaign, Trump has hinted at morphing our democracy into an autocracy by endorsing evil leaders like Bashar al-Assad, Saddam Hussein, Kim Jong Un and even Putin.
Right-winged voters protested Bernie Sanders’s democratic-socialist platform, but their presidential nominee is a malicious, blood-boiling fascist.
Whether or not living conditions in the United States will become as horrific and brutal as depicted in “Make America Great Again” is up to interpretation. However, it is apparent that electing a man who knows how to hate foreigners, women and the LGBT community more than working with them is a seriously dangerous decision.
“When I see Trump, I see my prison boss. I see my prison official,” Tolokonnikova said in an interview with Rolling Stone. “I see in his face, in his gestures, in his words, that type of dude who humiliated me throughout my life, and I don’t want this kind of person to be the head of country.”
Richard Nixon insisted he wasn’t a crook, and he was right. He was merely following in the twisted and grotesque footsteps of every man seeking the American Dream. But Trump isn’t for the American Dream. He’s for the American Nightmare.
