Performing Resistance — Political Activism and Digital Theatre on Social Media Platforms

Abstract

Social media platforms have become stages for a new kind of political theatre—one where performance, activism, and digital spectatorship converge in real time. This paper examines how TikTok, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter) function as sites of performative resistance, transforming users into actor-activists whose bodies, voices, and creative labour constitute a distributed form of political theatre. Drawing on performance studies, digital activism scholarship, and the emerging concept of "expressive citizenship," the study analyses three modes of platform-native political performance: viral protest choreography on TikTok, Instagram-carousel activism-as-dramaturgy, and hashtag-driven narrative campaigns that function as participatory theatre without walls. Case studies include the 2024 student-led protest performances following the Gaza solidarity encampments, the Indian farmers' protest digital theatre ecosystem (2020–2021 and ongoing), and climate activism performances orchestrated through TikTok. The paper argues that platform-specific affordances—duet stitching, algorithmic visibility, ephemeral story formats, and remix culture—do not merely disseminate political content but fundamentally shape the dramaturgy of contemporary resistance. The study also interrogates the tensions inherent in this mode: the risk of performative slacktivism, algorithmic suppression of dissenting voices, and the uneasy relationship between authentic political commitment and the attention economy's demand for constant performance. In theorizing social media as a theatrical infrastructure for political resistance, the paper contributes to interdisciplinary conversations spanning performance studies, media theory, and the study of digital social movements.

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