<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>In May 2010, the Best Party won the municipal elections in Reykjavik, and the party’s leading figure, comedian Jón Gnarr, was appointed Mayor of Reykjavik. During the election campaign, the party ‘performed democracy’ by playing with irrational, satirical discourses that challenged traditional discourses within political public spheres. Soon after his inauguration, Gnarr began a Facebook page called ‘The Mayor’s Diary’ on which he wrote openly about the challenges faced by a newcomer to politics. Approximately 10% of the Icelandic population follows his profile. This article presents an analysis of the communication conducted on the Mayor’s Diary, particularly of how Facebook as a media environment conditions the Mayor’s performative manoeuvres and, correspondingly, how the subversive discourses galvanised in the election campaign can begin ricocheting back when discussions move from cultural public spheres to political public spheres.</p>
</abstract>

In May 2010, the Best Party won the municipal elections in Reykjavik, and the party’s leading figure, comedian Jón Gnarr, was appointed Mayor of Reykjavik. During the election campaign, the party ‘performed democracy’ by playing with irrational, satirical discourses that challenged traditional discourses within political public spheres. Soon after his inauguration, Gnarr began a Facebook page called ‘The Mayor’s Diary’ on which he wrote openly about the challenges faced by a newcomer to politics. Approximately 10% of the Icelandic population follows his profile. This article presents an analysis of the communication conducted on the Mayor’s Diary, particularly of how Facebook as a media environment conditions the Mayor’s performative manoeuvres and, correspondingly, how the subversive discourses galvanised in the election campaign can begin ricocheting back when discussions move from cultural public spheres to political public spheres.

After the Performance

Modern Culture – Department of Arts and Cultural Studies

Nordicom Review

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"subtitle":"A Mayor\u2019s Diary on Facebook","article-title":"After the Performance"}

In May 2010, the Best Party won the municipal elections in Reykjavik, and the party’s leading figure, comedian Jón Gnarr, was appointed Mayor of Reykjavik....

After the Performance

Published Online: Oct 29, 2015

Page range: 51 - 64

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/nor-2015-0016

Keywords
democracy, Facebook, public sphere, networked publics, Reykjavik, Best Party

© 2015 Bjarki Valtysson, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

After the Performance

Published Online: Oct 29, 2015

Page range: 51 - 64

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/nor-2015-0016

Keywordsdemocracy, Facebook, public sphere, networked publics, Reykjavik, Best Party

© 2015 Bjarki Valtysson, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
democracy, Facebook, public sphere, networked publics, Reykjavik, Best Party