Decoding the Alt-Right Messaging in Hannah Gadsby’s “Nanette”

Now that we have some distance from the launch of Hannah Gadsby’s groundbreaking special Nanette, I decided it’s time to mine for deeper meaning of the tragicomedy. And hey, this Media Studies minor from Arizona State Online isn’t going to flex itself.

I was stunned to learn after consultation with my annoyed British roommate that comedian Hannah Gadsby is not actually British but “Australian.” Astute viewers may already be able to distinguish the accent, but this revelation was quite troubling to me. You know who else is Australian? AC/DC. A band known for their songs ‘Big Balls’ and ‘Shoot to Thrill’- popular anthems of the alt-right, probably.

Gadsby devotes a significant amount of her set discussing Pablo Picasso- the artist who pioneered cubism, which is the school of art that replaces realistic reproduction of images with interpretive geometric shapes. Want an example? Here you go:

That is not a realistic image of a frog, but a geometric interpretation of a frog. A frog that symbolizes the alt-right in a perfect example of cubism. Hmm.

Later in this bit, Gadsby utters a bizarre phrase, “Make Art Great Again.” This echoes something I heard in the distant past. By reading historical accounts of the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, I was shocked to find how similar this was to candidate Donald Trump’s long-forgotten slogan, “Make America Great Again.” Coincidence? Doubt it.

And what about her backdrop? Gadsby performed in front of a few shadowy images of trees:

Yep, those shadowy images of trees behind Gadsby definitely reference black metal shithead Burzum’s album Hliðskjálf:

Burzum, aka Varg Vikernes, is known most infamously for creating a racist Dungeons & Dragons knockoff. I think he also did some weird shit in the 90’s. I dunno, google it. But these are simply too many occurrences to be pure happenstance.

As an investigative journalist I believe in waiting to report on something until I have multiple pieces of evidence. So far I found two. That’s multiple, right? Boycott Hannah Gadsby!