A grinning skull wearing a straw hat: Fans of the Japanese manga and anime “One Piece” instantly recognize this Jolly Roger flag as the banner of the Straw Hat Crew, an infamous group of pirates led by a young captain called Monkey D. Luffy.
The flag was raised in front the Nepalese parliament when protesters stormed the building and set it on fire in early September, and it is now used in global youth-led movements known as the .
But how exactly did the fictional pirate crew become a rallying symbol of resistance, and what does the symbol represent?
A record-setting Japanese series
“‘One Piece’ is by most measures the most successful and popular manga series of all time,” explains and anime expert Andrea Horbinski, author of an upcoming book titled “Manga’s First Century: How Creators and Fans Made Japanese Comics, 1905-1989.”
Created in 1997 by Japanese manga artist Eiichiro Oda, there are already more than 110 volumes in the ongoing series of comic books. The manga has sold more than 500 million copies, earning various Guinness publishing records. It has also spawned different films, as well as a long-running TV anime series of more than 1,000 episodes.
At the core of the manga’s complex universe, “One Piece” follows the young captain Luffy and his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, as they challenge corrupt powers, including the autocratic World Government.
“Luffy and his crew stand for freedom, individual choice, and for following your own heart,” Andrea Horbinski told DW. “Along the way in their adventures, they’ve helped oppressed groups and they’ve stood up against corrupt figures of authority. So I think those aspects are also resonating with the people taking the flag to protest.”
A symbol goes viral
While it had already been used in Indonesia during a first wave of student protests in February this year, the banner first became a widespread symbol of discontent ahead of the 80th anniversary of ‘s independence day, on August 17.
In the lead-up to the country’s anniversary, people customarily decorate their homes and vehicles with the national flag. But some citizens also displayed the “One Piece” flag next to it to express their discontent against government policies and corruption.
The silent protest went viral, and it led to a counter-campaign by the Indonesian government who urged citizens to make the national flag even more visible. Some officials suggested that displaying the “One Piece” emblem amounted to treason; raids were launched in several places in the country to remove the flags and murals, leading Amnesty International to condemn the crackdown on the symbol.
From Indonesia, the flag was then adopted during large-scale anti-corruption , which were triggered by a nationwide ban of numerous social media platforms.
The Nepalese Gen Z protests managed to have the ban on social media lifted, and their demonstrations led to the resignation of the country’s prime minister. But the authorities’ violent reaction to the protests also resulted in many casualties, with at least 72 people killed, and more than 2,100 injured.
Despite the risks, the Nepalese protesters’ gains inspired other youth-led groups to form around the world, in countries including the Philippines, Serbia, Kenya, Morocco, Paraguay, Peru and Madagascar.
“We’ve seen what happened in Nepal and honestly, it just sparked stars in our eyes,” said Virgilus Slam, a slam poetry performer who has joined the Gen Z activists in Madagascar. It feels even more empowering “to see this popular movement, led by us, the young people, emerge and grow little by little under this banner,” he told DW.
The “One Piece” symbol serves as the official logo of the Malagasy protesters’ social media accounts. They’ve even added a local flavor to the emblem, by replacing the straw hat with a satroka bucket hat, which is traditionally worn by Madagascar’s Betsileo ethnic group — and is now donned by many people throughout the country in solidarity with the youth-led movement.
Pop culture in protests: From the Anonymous mask to Winnie the Pooh
While the issues in each country vary, the “One Piece” banner is one of the elements uniting the Gen Z protests.
Gen Z, which is composed of those born roughly between 1996 and 2010, is the first generation to grow up entirely in the internet age.
For people having spent their entire life immersed in popular culture and memes, references to such images have a uniting power. And knowing that so many other young people are familiar with the “One Piece” media franchise makes it natural for protesters to latch on to the symbol as a way of communicating their ideals, says manga expert Andrea Horbinski, who adds: “There’s certainly been many other instances over the past 10-15 years where people have brought pop culture signs and symbols to protests.”
Among them, the Guy Fawkes Mask from the comic and film “V for Vendetta” allowed the “Occupy Wall Street” protesters in 2011 to express their discontent while remaining anonymous.
Similarly, references to the movie “” started appearing in protests in 2019 in countries including Chile, Beirut and Hong Kong. To express their anti-establishment views, protesters wore make-up like the film’s titular character — a psychologically unstable outsider driven to violence by societal neglect.
The three-finger salute from the “Hunger Games” series, formed by touching the three middle fingers of the left hand to the lips and then extending them outward, was a sign of rebellion against the Capitol in the fictional universe. It was adopted among others in Thailand (2014 onward), Myanmar (2021) and Hong Kong. The Thai government banned it as a subversive act.
In China, social media users and political activists have been satirically comparing the country’s leader, Xi Jinping, to Winnie-the-Pooh, which also led depictions of the beloved fictional teddy bear to be banned in the country.
Now the “One Piece” Jolly Roger is gaining traction around the world. Activist Virgilus Slam believes that this logo transmits hope: “This young Luffy, he’s a young man who fights back and always hopes to make the world a better place, to make his friends better and even to make his enemies better.”
Edited by: Brenda Haas
The post What the ‘One Piece’ pirate flag symbolizes for Gen Z protestors appeared first on Deutsche Welle.
