During the pandemic it was a different kind of fever that hit public servant Gerard de Ruyter – it was that ‘70s pandemic, Saturday Night Fever.
Gerard, also known as Super Freak, is the instigator of Canberra’s Civil Discobedience, a regular disco-dance protest in Civic that highlights climate change and promotes environmental activism.
Just as “civil disobedience” is passive resistance, Civil Discobedience is the same, only groovier.
“The first lockdown decimated the tidal wave of support for environment activism,” Gerard says. “The pandemic hit and we retreated to our homes. During lockdown, on the internet I saw a request from [global environmental movement] Extinction Rebellion for people to video themselves doing discobedience to the Stayin’ Alive steps. I thought, that gives me something to do.“
Super Freak was born. Gerard donned his flares and recruited some fellow funky retired public servants, a retired English teacher, a local author, and this journalist to the dance floor.
Unlike Melbourne, which held a one-off Civil Discobedience event, Super Freak wanted a monthly action. The Bee Gees are the ‘70s soundtrack to his environmental message. But listen carefully – the lyrics have been changed to suit the temperature.
Stayin’ Alive is what the planet is trying to do in the face of climate change; Night Fever becomes Heat Fever; You Should Be Dancing becomes You Should Be Marching, and Disco Inferno becomes Planet Inferno.
The Stayin’ Alive choreography is just as Barry Gibb would have wanted it and the Saturday Night Fever steps are a tribute to John Travolta.
“We never do violent protests or damage things,” Gerard says. “The stage name and persona I try to propagate is Super Freak, I say “I’m Super Freak and I’ve shimmied my way here from the ‘70s because you haven’t yet got the message that we need real action to save the environment and the climate, so me and the discolettes have made our way here to take the message to you again’. You’ve got to ham it up a bit, it pays to do that.”
Gerard now needs more discolettes – no experience needed, just a desire to raise environmental awareness – and get your freak on.
“It’s trying to come at the issue in various ways like a serious protest but also entertainment with a message,” Gerard says.
“Different things will appeal to different people and that’s what we try and do. We’re not being particularly disobedient, we’re not actually breaking any laws. The point is to keep the message in the public space.
“None of us think we’re going to save the world … but, if nothing else, it makes us feel like we’re doing something. Trying to get people to remember the issues of climate change. It’s always in the background, it flares up every time there’s a catastrophe and then it recedes again. We’re just trying to keep the message out there.”
Discobedience Canberra is on Facebook
