SEEMA MUNIZ researches Zelenskyy’s meteoric rise to power from an actor and comedian to superstardom in the political arena
Spanning three seasons, the 51-episode Servant of the People, a political satire, not only kicked Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s career as a comedian and actor up a notch or two, but also provided the basis for his campaign manifesto a year later when he decided to run for the office of the President of Ukraine. As one of its producers and the main protagonist, Zelenskyy, through this popular show, had openly ridiculed the dysfunctional remnants of Soviet era propagandist machinery, promising instead a simpler, efficient, and corruption-free system.
The plot of the show, Servant of the People revolved around a young high-school teacher whose spontaneous outburst against oligarchy, fossilized social and political structures and rampant red tapeism, is caught on a phone camera and released on YouTube. This candid paroxysm becomes an instant hit, throwing the young professor into the national arena and eventually to Hrushevsky Street, Kyiv, as the youngest President of Ukraine. Through this charming series, by formulating and mouthing the struggles as well as the political aspirations of the common man, Zelenskyy had already succeeded in amassing a loyal audience.
On March 31, 2018, he started his own political party naming it Servants of the People. While the series’ hopeful message helped serve as the party’s rescript of election promises, Zelenskyy’s long association with showbiz also came in handy, aiding him to build an intimate rapport with his target audience and command their attention.
The show, either consciously or inadvertently, became a precursor to reality, as Zelenskyy went on to win the elections with an overwhelming majority in 2019. His charisma and youthfulness, like that of Barack Obama, played in his favour in a world which so far had been largely dominated by ex-stalwarts of the Soviet communist era.
After his explosive foray into politics which found him at centre-stage, he soon began to follow the authoritarian footsteps of his predecessors. The candidate who had won by a 70 per cent-plus majority, sunk to a low of 25 per cent in a popularity poll in 2021.
The recent Russia-Ukraine war however, provided the President an opportunity not only to return to his legendary showmanship, but also steal the limelight at global level. In a world plagued by disillusionment and long suffering from the lacuna of visionary leadership, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has become a household name. Here is a man at last: a man of courage and principles, refusing to relinquish his nation’s sovereignty to the brutish force of its tyrant superpower neighbour.
At 44, he is 35 years younger than his American counterpart. Moreover, his rugged appeal has put him at an advantage over other politicians, contributing further to the new Zelenskyy cult. Add to his stardom looks the raw material for fanning fantasies and this too has won him admirers the world over. Want cuddly Zelenskyy? Look up his voiceover for the Paddington Bear film. Patriotic Zelenskyy? Listen to his defiant wartime speeches. Hip-shaking Zelenskyy? Check out his swanky moves on the Ukrainian version of Dancing with the Stars. And oh, if you have the hots for him, there’s even a bare-chested Zelenskyy getting the vaccine.
He may not be your Gandhi, Mandela, Sadat or Kennedy, but he sure is a showman with a well-oiled PR machine behind him. His famous “I need ammunition, not a ride” has become one of the most quotable quotes of the month. The garment industry can’t churn out enough Zelenskyy t-shirts to cope with their rising sales. And despite much resistance on its part, Netflix was forced to bring back Servant of the People, by popular demand from its consumer base in U.S. with English subtitles.
Every day, one is now confronted with heart-breaking live footage of a country at war; shelled buildings, supermarkets sporting empty shelves, frightened families hiding in the basement, more than two million people rendered refugees, now scrambling to cross over to neighbouring countries. But the ‘show‘ must go on.
“My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look at my Works ye Mighty, and despair”
Editorial note: This is a quote from Shelley’s poem, Ozymandias. The message is that political power is not destined to last.
Seema Muniz, a feature writer with the Times of India group in the nineties, is an avid reader and educationist, who homeschooled her son until tenth grade, while drifting between New York and Alaska with her family. She is also an artist, with a few solo and group shows in Albany, NY, to her credit.
Photographs courtesy from Wikipedia
“My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look at my Works ye Mighty, and despair”
What more can be said beyond these few loaded words to make a critical appreciation of the works of the kings and monarchs, (not merely of our times but also of future and the past), who carry in themselves an immense possibilities of both Peace & also The War!
No doubt Zelensky, being a wonderful actor himself has amassed a very big fan following and loyal audience in his home and across the world, but by virtue of that only he does not qualify to be a good politician in his home or as an astute diplomat in the world. Making millions of his followers refugees and burning away their homeland in the inferno of war if he has gained anything, then he has succeeded in making yet another widely watched serial of Comedy of Error. Who is to be blamed for this great tragedy? Is it Putin or is it Zelensky himself ?
No doubt, the mighty ones are watching and cheering him as much as he himself is cheering his men in despair to carry this avowed serial to its last, setting the theme of the most dreaded wold war. And it boils down to the fact that Zelensky, a New Hero on The World Stage has emerged…Wah!
“Making millions of his followers refugees and burning away their homeland in the inferno of war if he has gained anything, then he has succeeded in making yet another widely watched serial of Comedy of Error. Who is to be blamed for this great tragedy? Is it Putin or is it Zelensky himself?”
This is precisely the point I am trying to make. The unedited title of this article was: ‘The Hero the World Needs?’ Notice the question mark…it is a rhetorical question, with answer that is encapsulated in the last para and the two verses from Ozymandias. Zelenskyy, despite the global hype around him, is one of the vital cogs of the great War Machine, and a mere pawn in the hands of the powerful behind-the-curtain players, who are manoeuvring this Machine.
Seema ji, I would have liked to see the title of this blog as it was originally conceived by you and the concluding quote too so succinctly fits to the spirit of the question raised in the originally conceived title. Not merely that, if one can see through it, it also solves the riddle!
I am sure, in my comment too I have addressed it with a humanistic approach to the problem, for I could not think otherwise.
Definitely. You are always eloquent and precise in your expression. I can see why in its present form, the article could lead one to believe I am eulogizing Zelenskyy, which is far from what I had intended.