In the era of Trump and apocalyptic change, Jackpunk is a Twitter template for posting at all costs.

By Mug Bane (@mugbanevt)

The State may not be Jackpunk, but Michael Ian Black is / MTV

In July of 2017, a Tumblr user named Alexandra Rowland was apparently fed up with there being no named opposite to the very real thing called “grimdark”. They declared this antithesis to grimdark “hopepunk”, which went completely unnoticed for a year and a half before becoming a full-fledged Twitter phenomenon. Vox.com declared that, “Depending on who you ask, hopepunk is as much a mood and a spirit as a definable literary movement, a narrative message of ‘keep fighting, no matter what.’”

Indeed, the good people at Vox would have you believe that Hopepunk is a legitimate artistic movement/subgenre and they are, of course, absolutely correct. Hopepunk is a perfectly valid term and Jon Snow is hopepunk AF. No brainer. Duh.

Hopepunk, however, was not the only subgenre that caught fire in 2018 and took Twitter and the rest of the web by storm. Surely you have noticed the meteoric rise of so-called "hot takes" aimed at no one, but that seem to upset everyone, regardless of political affiliation? Perhaps you are abreast of the concept of seeking out art you are certain you will hate, for the sole purpose of becoming enraged? Lastly, one must admit there has been a swath of posters who, against all logic, continue posting, despite monstrous consequences to their career and mental health. Perhaps you read this and find that you, yourself, check all three of these boxes. Congratulations then, friend. You are part of the Jackpunk movement

The concept of Jackpunk arose from a political mood of being baffled by others’ political moods

Like hopepunk before it, the sub-genre of Jackpunk has been around far longer than the term. There are many who see it simply as trolling, however Jackpunk is actually quite nuanced in its execution. The troll does it for the reaction, or “lolz”, while the Jackpunk artist does so because their body and soul require it. It is in their nature.

Jackpunk is, above all else, a necessity. Great artists have to paint and great writers have to write. So too must great posters post. Even still, Jackpunk is not carried out by all great posters, but the ones who are both compelled to constantly post and who are constantly on both sides of the war of being mad online.

Take, for example, hall of fame poster Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) who is as unashamed of his unlikely friendship with Meghan McCain as he is years-old twitter jokes about pedophilia. Black is unabashedly liberal, yet willing to immediately give Louis CK a second chance for seemingly no reason. This is textbook Jackpunk. Black is often mad and people are often mad at him. So goes the life of an artist.

You see, the Jackpunk poster simply says what they feel, no matter what, all the time. It is hard to blame the poster for the consequences of their words, as the poster does not wish to inflict pain upon others. This is simply an often-welcome side effect to the pain they wish to inflict on themselves.

Jackpunk is part of a wider cultural and posting trend toward self-destruction and adhesion to the poster’s burden in the face of bleak times

Poison your mind and soul by staring at this cursed image. Post. You have to.

Indeed, at the heart of the Jackpunk movement is a desire to post, no matter the cost. There are many who see this as career suicide or virtual self-harm, yet very little evidence actually supports these claims. The Jackpunk artist is truly happiest when posting, regardless of the context of their art. Posts that may seem, to the uninitiated, like incendiary, blacklistable offenses are, to the artist, a means of coping with the current nightmare that is both the United States and the world at large.

Make no mistake, this isn’t a sort of “I’m going to hell and you’re all coming with me” dragging down of others into the fiery pit of sorrow. This is a wallowing. A contentness with the hellish landscape. That others are upset by the art is merely a bonus.

Jackpunk combines the aesthetics of choosing to post with the messy politics of destroying one’s own career

Jack Allison and Cait Raft hosting their morning show, the decidedly Jackpunk "JackAM".

We come now to the movement's namesake, Jack Allison (@JackAllisonLOL), who has dedicated most of his life to Jackpunk. Allison, a comedy writer (Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Funny Or Die), often brings up the poster’s burden or the idea that a true poster must post. The movement surely grew out of this idea, however it has become much more. In an attempt to learn more about the movement, Maneium went to Allison’s wife, artist and host of JackAM Cait Raft (@caitraft), for this exclusive interview.

MANEIUM: As an artist, do you feel that Jackpunk is a valid artistic movement?

CR: I do consider it a valid artistic movement, because art is anything and everything.

M: Being that you are married to perhaps the most prolific of all Jackpunk artists, is it easy for you to recognize when others are creating in the Jackpunk style?

CR: I do think I can tell when people are engaging in Jackpunk, just because I’ve seen it so much.

M: There are many who see creating true Jackpunk art as career suicide. Do you feel this is the case?

CR: Yeah totally. But I think the real career suicide comes from within. I think jackpunk, at [its] core, is about actrively not wanting a career. Which I think my husband embodies! And I support that.

M: What is something you would like to see come out of the Jackpunk movement in 2019?

CR: I’d like to see the movement die. And I’d like Jack to not post! [Raft trails off, in a fit of maniacal laughter]

2018 has seen Jackpunk come into its own

Whether you accept it as art or not, there is no denying that Jackpunk is very real, and permeates across Twitter and the web at large. Next time you see a questionable take or question whether or not a poster should fire their publicist, remember that you may not be dealing with a lowly troll or a celebrity on a bender. You may, in fact, be looking at a modern masterpiece.

EDIT (12:31:00pm): The following interview with Leslie Lee III (@leslieleeiii), Allison's friend and co-host of the successful leftist podcast Struggle Session, was conducted shortly after publishing. This is yet another Maneium exclusive.

Maneium: As a cohost of a popular lefitst podcast with the movement's namesake, Jack Allison, do you think that Struggle Session itself is a part of the Jackpunk movement?

LLIII: No. Unlike my junior co-host, age and wisdom have brought me to a posting style that is just as evocative but more refined and less rough around the edges. It's called Lesliegaze and it is the primary posting style that influences the show. JackAM, of course, is Jackpunk. You can tell by all the singing and funny voices he does on there.

M: Do you see the movement as a choice or as somethign that the poster/artist is incapable of holding in?

LLIII: You're either born a poster or you're not. I can't explain it. I can't contain it. Sure, there will be fake post boys that come along and copy mine or Jack's or JDB's [the third co-host of Struggle Session] styles, but they fizzle out once the fame and glory [are] gone. True posters never log off, and jack is a true poster.