Political protesters around the world have an unlikely new anthem in the form of a song first heard in the kids’ flick “Despicable Me 2.” Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” is now not only an Oscar-nominated Hot 100 chart topper, it’s also the song activists across the globe are using to get their messages across.
As PolicyMic, a site which specializes in serious viral news, reported, the song has been used in recent months in countries facing political conflict, with those in resistance giving the happy-go-lucky track a whole new meaning.
Videos have popped up from strife-ridden places including Tunisia’s capital, Tunis, where the Arab Spring began; Moscow, where anti-Putin protests have popped up; and the Philippines, still recovering from Typhoon Haiyan.
Perhaps the most stirring example is a video that juxtaposes “Happy” with protesters’ encampments in Kiev’s Maidan — or Independence — Square, showing activists dancing to the song and proclaiming that freedom is what would make them “happy.”
‘Happy’ from Tunis, Tunisia
‘Happy’ from Moscow
‘Happy’ from the Philippines
‘Happy’ from Kiev