Hasan Piker rallies a generation of change
The streamer spoke with Tara McPherson in a Q&A at Bovard Auditorium.
By AUBRIE COLE
Monday night, an eclectic miscellany of students of varying political opinions made a pilgrimage to Bovard Auditorium, the temporary platform of a controversial political figure. Given this description, one might expect a polarizing, campaigning candidate. The reality: Hasan Piker — also known as HasanAbi on Twitch — is a streamer, gamer and figurehead of left-wing politics for young people.
“Capitalism is Voluntary: An Evening with Hasan Piker,” an event hosted by Visions and Voices and spearheaded by The Reclaim Project with professor of cinema and media studies Tara McPherson, welcomed hundreds of students for an intimate discussion about careers, capitalism and the manosphere.
“In our fragmented media landscape, streamers expand the reach of media in powerful and direct ways, speaking especially to young people,” McPherson said. “Not all of what streamers tell us is necessarily good, but some of it is really brilliant, giving insight into realities that the mainstream media continues to neglect.”
Piker has been a bellwether of change in Gen Z politics and education. Streaming a whopping 50 to 60 hours a week, the political commentator and entertainer spends his time on air doing anything from discussing politics and current events to playing video games.
He caters his streams to any type of chatter — whether a weathered leftist, a curious centrist or even a red-pilled gamer, Piker aims to curate a palatable yet no-nonsense approach to political commentary.
“I saw the gaming space and the culture surrounding gaming and I thought that all of the political commentary that surrounds the space was heavily influenced by right-wing or far-right elements. I knew for a fact [that] gamers were much more diverse than the neck-bearded weirdos that you still see prop up everywhere,” Piker said. “I knew that there was definitely an environment where I could directly tackle the subject matter in a relatively hostile environment.”
Hasan Piker is a streamer centering his content on Twitch around political commentary and contemporary entertainment. (Henry Kofman / Daily Trojan)
Many of Piker’s fans and viewers — HasanAbi Heads, as he calls them — have watched him for years, citing him as a key influence on their political opinions and journey. Nicole Nelson, a sophomore majoring in cinema and media studies, has watched Piker’s streams for a few years and believes his content exposed them to new points of view.
“I grew up with a family that was relatively conservative, and so being exposed to a more left-wing perspective — or even a perspective that was more left-wing than your ‘average liberal’ — was pretty different for me. It was interesting to finally get a very nuanced, more left-wing perspective,” Nelson said.
A key topic of the evening revolved around masculinity online and the manosphere and how many young men are sucked in by red-pill content. Piker spoke on how deradicalization is one of the goals of his content, leading these young people away from the dangers of Western chauvinism, American militarism and American individualism. He offered advice on how to steer friends and family away from this mindset.
“You have to tackle the issue. It’s different for every single person, but there’s usually a vector of vulnerability that causes a lot of people to seek out this sense of community in these far-right spaces,” Piker said. “Helping them through this journey of bettering themselves could allow them to develop more confidence within themselves.”
Piker also spoke on the essential responsibility of political streamers as conduits of news and many people’s sole source of commentary on current events. As someone who drives the opinions of thousands of viewers, this responsibility weighs heavily on Piker’s shoulders.
“I hope that everyone that is engaged in political commentary has some level of responsibility to the truth and to, at the very least, communicate what their personal background is and what their personal biases may be,” Piker said. “I think that that would foster a better discussion around these subjects.”
Change, whether local, national or global, is a key goal of Piker’s work. The streamer rallies his young audience to fight for change through protests, advocacy and voting. However, his methods are sometimes a little different than typical campaign marketing, to appeal and relate to young voters.
“You just gotta keep pushing. You gotta keep protesting. You gotta keep joining your local organizations and engage with your community, and definitely vote,” Piker said. “One common misconception is that I don’t tell people to go out and vote. No, I do. I even played ‘Among Us’ with [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] to [get people to vote].”
The war in Gaza was continuously mentioned throughout the conversation, as Piker has been a dominant advocate for a ceasefire and a crucial voice speaking about the “horrifying atrocities” being committed in Palestine. Visiting university encampments, both Piker and McPherson feel they witnessed the next generation of voices for liberation, education and change.
“[The protesters] were already building that [better] world,” McPherson said. “It was a profoundly powerful commitment to change. I have been teaching for over 30 years, and I have never been as moved by my students as I am with the students I have right now. I absolutely believe y’all will bring this to a better world.”
