Irreverence. Contempt. Scorn. Sarcasm. Nothing deters the umpteen number of ‘trollers’ from critically updating on numerous topics minute by minute on social media. Hence, an innocuous comment by a politician’s wife to a television reporter about her husband’s ascension as a Union Minister or a young woman leader who attempted an authoritative speech on frivolous topics or a political leader accompanying the Prime Minister on a metro rail coach can explode into the most viral content of the year invoking various kinds of humour. The year witnessed the emergence of several ‘troll groups’, including those with the support of prominent political parties to conquer opponents.
Hence, ‘meme’ - captioned photos, often from films - has attained the status of a public debate in the state.
Accompanied by videos and verbal expressions and virally-transmitted as a cultural symbol or a social idea, it acts as a means to publicly ridicule human behaviour. It is no wonder then that this form of satire gained popularity in Kerala, a state bequeathed with a splendid legacy of humour and gifted with cartoonists of repute.
If ‘Why Kattappa killed Bahubali’ was trending in the early months, those on ‘Odiyan’ - the forthcoming Mohanlal film - gained momentum in the later stages. As if to make hay while the sun shines, the makers of the film ‘Aadu-2’ have announced a contest for trolls based on the film.
Hilarious trolls on the state’s B Tech holders shed light on the other side of their academic degree too. The ‘Kunjava’ trolls, on uncles looking after young nieces and nephews, is a take on those B Tech graduates who have nothing else to do.
Troll groups from various districts and cities are the latest trend as, apart from jokes, these groups act as a platform for intervention in civic issues too. Many television channels have started endorsing the troll method for certain programmes on political lampooning. To ordinary citizens, trolls offer a new sky for criticising the ‘holy cows’ such as political leaders, caste and religious heads, media groups and anchors by merely sharing it on the walls of their social media platforms.
However, the limits of criticism and freedom of expression are highly debatable as a popular troll group had to face the ire for a troll on the expansion of ‘darshan timings’ of a temple while a government officer was suspended for sharing a troll on the Chief Minister.