The world at the moment seems to be slowly moving towards more autocratic or even fascistic.

With growing trends of repressive governments all around the world, we are beginning to see this being more reflected in culture.

One of the most relevant examples that we can see today is through the policies of newly re-elected President Donald Trump. This time around, Trump has become even more outspoken in his nationalist principles of “Make America Great Again” or “America First,” to the point of even being aggressively unpredictable in both domestic and international policies. So much so that he would go out of his way to silence anyone openly protesting his administration’s policies, which most notoriously has led to the detainment of outspoken pro-Palestinian student activists going against the United States Pro-Israeli stance on the genocide of Palestinians; such as Mahmoud Khalil and Rümeysa Öztürk.

Much closer to home, Indonesia has also seen a decline in freedom of speech. The most recent and glaring example is the law revision on the role of armed forces in government (RUU TNI), which has worryingly been reminiscent of the New Order era where the government would silence and even abduct its dissenters. This worrisome climate even extends to the freedom of the press, as one of the biggest magazines in Indonesia, Tempo was sent the severed head of a pig and several beheaded rats, reportedly in an attempt to terrorize them after their less than favorable takes over the government’s latest policies. 

These examples also come after a string of similar patterns of decline in democracy around the world; such as Serbia for its corrupt government under Aleksandar Vučić, Türkiye for the arrest of the opposition party’s leader prior to presidential elections, South Korea after former President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, and so on. 

Interestingly, this has manifested in several ways in society and culture. Amid these political and economic uncertainties, it has been observed to result in the rise of conservatism among young male Gen-Zs, as politically right-wing activists would endear to them by preaching limited views on human rights and religious fundamentalism. 

This pattern even extends to the popularity of movements against “wokeness,” which is often used derogatorily against social injustice and discrimination.

As the culture signals against social progress amidst economic instability, this has even manifested in a call for tradition and simpler times. Where patterns of racism and more “traditional” values of women being subservient to men soar in popularity, the tradwife trend in TikTok has been getting viral as young women assume “more traditional” gender roles of being subservient to men akin to the 1950s American ideal of a housewife. 

Similarly in its nuances of  “putting women in their place,” Hollywood actress Rachel Zegler has received industry-wide criticisms for her support of the Palestinian people and overall politically-outspoken demeanor on social media, which many have cited as the reason why her latest movie Snow White failed to perform at the box office. While others have also cited her co-star Gal Gadot’s public associations with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) as the main reason why the movie was boycotted to failure, this hasn’t stopped executive producer Marc Platt to publicly denounce Zegler as the leading lady for her political comments that led to the movie’s financial failure.

As the world becomes more conservative and fascistic, it’s important to note that countercultures still exist and should not be ignored. There are protests all over the world against social injustices, and people are showing their frustration at their respective governments by taking it to the streets.

This is evident in several countries where nationwide protests have erupted, including the ones mentioned above such as Serbia, Türkiye, South Korea, and the United States. Even in Indonesia, where the Dark Indonesia (Indonesia Gelap) movement saw political activists and civil citizens take to the streets nationwide to voice out their concerns. Similar protests have also erupted in Hungary, taking place due to a law that bans LGBTQ+ Pride marches, allowing facial recognition surveillance to identify protestors. Protestors in Budapest have even emphasized their failed efforts to engage directly with their local leaders that have, but it seems that the times have passed for such formalities for the Hungarian people. "If we don’t stand up for the rights of minorities and our own fundamental rights, then who will when they come for us? [...] We’ve reached the point where we have to stand up and say, ‘No more.’”

When things get tough and lonely, as things tend to feel during these times, it’s important to make note that other people in this world are fighting.

To let you know that you are not alone even when you feel like it, and when the combined aspirations of the people are let known, trust that they can and will be heard.