What we’ve all missed and can learn from Donald Trump, Julius Malema and Gayton McKenzie

What do craft beer, vinyl records and street food have to do with Donald Trump, Julius Malema and Gayton McKenzie? 

The answer highlights a significant contemporary problem for politicians and leaders across the political divide. 

But before I get to the answer, let me dwell for a moment on what the answer isn’t. Put another way, we need to dispense with the less relevant, albeit more often articulated, comparisons between the three. All three are controversial populists, brash, polarising figures who reject political correctness. And all three have been labelled authoritarians and bullies. 

Julius Malema and his EFF’s beret and red overalls have long been the undisputed local kings of South African political chaos. Gayton McKenzie, the colourful ex-convict, is a more recent addition to the Caustic Club.

But neither come close to Donald Trump. The recent US presidential campaign was an all-you-can-eat buffet of insults, invective and controversy. 

Many people find the words and actions of these men offensive and alienating. Pushed into a corner, even (rational) die-hard supporters of all three would find it difficult to defend some of these. (But they don’t have to). 

I’ll come back to the craft beer, vinyl records and street food, but first I want to talk about a gorilla. 

There is a famous psychology experiment called the “Invisible Gorilla Test” that demonstrates something called “inattentional blindness”. Experiment subjects watched a quick video of two groups of people (wearing different coloured T-shirts) passing a basketball around. They were told to count the passes made by one of the teams. During this exercise, in the video, a person walks through the scene in a gorilla suit. After watching the video, subjects are asked whether they noticed anything out of the ordinary. Most did not report seeing the gorilla.

Too many people are so obsessed by and focused on our three politicians’ invective, that they also fail to see the gorilla.

Which brings us back to craft beer, vinyl records and street food. 

In certain retail markets, consumers are moving away from bland, mass-marketed beers that offer consistency but little personality. Craft beer lets people connect with local artisans and celebrate creativity through unique, small-batch brews that offer complex flavours and new experiences.

Digital music has made access to almost any song instantaneous, but the experience can feel fleeting and impersonal. Vinyl, though, offers a tactile, slower, and more intentional experience where listeners immerse themselves in the experience of turning records and enjoying the warmth and depth (and crackles) of sound. 

What the rise of craft beer, vinyl records, and street food reflects is a shift towards experiences that prioritise personal connection, individuality and creativity over mass-produced uniformity. These trends offer an alternative to the sterile, commodified offerings of larger industries. In a word, they offer authenticity. 

Authenticity is the gorilla