Constructing hope in hopelessness: Politics of hope and playful resistances of affective publics in TikTok’s #corecore #pinoycore

Abstract

TikTok has been a site for increasing political activities. But what exactly constitutes political activity? I analyzed #corecore, a trend in the social media platform TikTok that portrays hopelessness in our present realities, and its localization through its combination with #pinoycore. I located the affective political performances of the trend’s creators. Employing thematic analysis to 37 videos, I firstly identified the themes of playful affordances that allowed for the (re)production of #corecore #pinoycore videos. I argued that sound bites, hashtags, and weaved short clips in a single short-form video allows for the constant production and reproduction of #corecore #pinoycore. Second, I identified three affective themes – (1) affective news, (2) tragic reality of social, political, and economic conditions, and (3) recollecting the past – that allow the trend to carry intense emotions in its political performances. The playful affordances and affective intensities that exist in #corecore #pinoycore allow politics of hope and playful resistances to be performed through the trend. Such is seen through a critique of Philippines’ present realities and a reimagination of future possibilities. These affective political performances unearth the role of emotions such as hope and hopelessness in shaping the political, along with its performances and possibilities.