After his previous statement at the World Economic Forum on ASEAN, which included pop culture references to the blockbuster movie The Avengers, President Jokowi again drew his mark with a reference to popular TV series Game of Thrones (GoT).

The storyline follows the journey of three kingdoms named House of Stark, House of Targaryen and House of Lannister. These kingdoms compete to rule Westeros and sit on the Iron Throne.

However, these kingdoms do not realize there is a much greater threat from the Whitewalker and a long-lasting winter.

Therefore, GoT acts as a strong reference to depict the current global order, which involves major states fighting for dominance without realizing external threats from, among other things, climate change, technological disruption, terrorism and financial market uncertainty.

It is interesting to see pop culture adopted as one of many ways to communicate with an audience, even in such a formal forum as the IMF-World Bank meetings.

Political communication has advanced in a manner that it needs to pique the interest of many groups, not only political or economic practitioners but also a mainstream and general audience.

Political practitioners need to find a method to see their messages captivate a greater market, thus making pop culture references and analogies a wise choice.

Through analogy, people can express a complex idea about a subject or problem by comparing it with something more familiar and clearly understood. 

The scholars Elliot Zashin and Philip Chapman explain that analogy can offer a ready-made conceptual organization for something unfamiliar or
problematic.

They do this by suggesting that the object of concern is “isometric” or parallel with or similar to something else that is familiar, well-understood, mainstream-friendly and uncontroversial.

In this case, GoT as a mainstream popular culture reference serves as a comparison to the current international global order, which most in the mainstream audience view as dull and rigid.

GoT offers similarities to current real-world global issues over the course of eight seasons, with interesting characters, storyline, dragons and wars that appeal to most audiences, more so than conventional news or stories on TV.

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Leaders need to encourage more constructive arguments and provide real solutions in their statements

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However, the use of a GoT analogy in political communication raises several questions. The first concern is the appropriateness of the reference at the IMF-WB forum. Although GoT is a well-known series, most of its fans are young adults and adults. It is hard to see that most fiscal and monetary policymakers would have the time to watch the series and understand the message.

Second is the target audience of the message. Given that most GoT fans are young adults and adults, the question about whether Jokowi used this platform to enhance his electability in the upcoming election among the younger audiences is justified.

The third and final concern is the substance of the analogy and the speech itself. Zashin and Chapman argue that while analogy is a fine political communication tool for persuasion, when an analogy is offered it is rarely supported by extensive argument. It is offered to be accepted on authority by the consumers.

Analogy makes an unfamiliar message familiar, therefore it does not need an extensive argument or solution to be presented along with the message. It is evident in his speech that Jokowi did not include any notable solutions to counter climate change or tariff wars other than asking all leaders to work together.

An important note to highlight, Jokowi has several times used this analogy technique in his speeches. He has already made references to The Avengers, House of Cards, Descendant of the Suns and Stranger Things.

Not to forget, his challenger in the upcoming presidential election Sandiaga Uno also uses the same technique, comparing ATM cards with tempeh and chicken rice in Indonesia and Singapore. While analogy is effective in expressing the foundation of an argument, it lacks the critical substance of the message and solution to address the issue.

For a nation, especially Indonesia, to progress in a better democratic manner, leaders need to encourage more constructive arguments and provide real solutions in their statements. No information should be clouded by a political agenda if we want to advance as a better nation.

In conclusion, the inclusion of pop culture in a political agenda is a great tool to deliver certain messages to the audience.

However, the implementation of analogy and other tools in political communication needs revision of its substance so that it addresses real issues and delivers a notable solution.  

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The writer, a graduate of international relations and communications from Monash University, Australia, works as a research intern at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Jakarta.