Divorce satire gets lease of life on Facebook [SLIDESHOW]

Unsurprisingly, the divorce debate is what kindled this sudden outburst of irreverent humour on the social networking site, but the phenomenon is not just limited to the referendum furore.

Perhaps the most striking of this crop of Facebook pages is ‘Divorzistan’, run by an anonymous, self-styled ‘mullah’ who addresses his fellow ‘mujahedin’ with mock billboards and amusing status updates lampooning the often inflated rhetoric that has characterised the campaign, all done in a mock ‘jihadist’ tone. One of the most popular items to come out of Divorzistan is the video clip ‘Hitler u r-referendum’ (give it a spin on YouTube) which subtitles a scene from the film Downfall, depicting Adolf Hitler’s histrionic breakdown after Germany’s precarious position in the war is gradually revealed to him. The clip – which has been used in a similar way by several sites in what has become an internet meme – makes a pro-divorce campaigner out of the Fuhrer, who rails against the tactics of the No campaign as well as the efforts of independent campaigners like DJ Pierre Cordina.

Refusing to reveal his true identity to MaltaToday, the leader of Divorzistan described the origins of the page.

“One morning I was driving three other mujahedin to work and we came across a huge number of ugly, very ugly billboards. We felt compelled to respond to this visual assassination and at the same time no one was bold enough to have a laugh at the absurd messages bandied around by both sides in this campaign.”

In fact, the lack of decent satire appears to be a key motivator in this sudden blossoming of online mockery, as even Matthew Bonanno, who runs the recently set up Bis-Serjetà – a blog that uses Facebook as its main promotional tool – points out how the Maltese scene would make for great comedy fodder, if only more people would step up to the plate.

“I think there is a lot of potential for satirical news in Malta. Firstly, because so many people – especially people in power – who take themselves far too seriously and second, there’s so much stuff to make fun of that it would be a shame to let it go to waste,” Bonanno said.

Divorzistan chime in with a similar sentiment.

“We receive so much fodder daily it’s impossible to keep up with the topics. My editorial staff is overworked and they are forced to stay long hours, eat junk food and drink goat milk every day because our pays are low.”

The ease with which Facebook operates – and the fact that any content can be spread for free with minimal effort – is the main reason why these initiatives have found a foothold. A faux billboard can make the rounds within minutes, as can a catchphrase or a complaint.

This happened with ‘Moviment Tindahalx’, a page run by The Malta Independent’s Deputy and Features editor Josanne Cassar. The initiative – which has since garnered over 3,200 ‘likes’ – was sparked off thanks to a simple status update on Cassar’s Facebook page.

“Seeing a photo of a poster on someone’s balcony which said “ruh wahda ghandna” (we only have one soul) with a photo of Christ, and Divorzju le on the other side really angered me. How dare anyone pass judgment on other people’s souls? As I became more exasperated and frustrated I thought of this phrase, ‘I will take care of my soul, you take care of yours’ and added “f’isem il-Moviment Tindahalx),” Cassar said.

And speaking on behalf of her fellow satirists, Cassar was hopeful about the power of humour and mockery.

“I don’t think we should under-estimate the power of humour – let us not dismiss it as mere escapism to sweep the problems of this country under the carpet.  A nation which can laugh at its own foibles or its own leaders is a strong, mature nation.”