Political satire is usually distinguished from political protest or political dissent, as it does not necessarily carry an agenda nor seek to influence the political process. While occasionally it may, it more commonly aims simply to provide entertainment. By its very nature, it rarely offers a constructive view in itself; when it is used as part of protest or dissent, it tends to simply establish the error of matters rather than provide solutions.[1] Because of the exaggerated[2] manner of these parodies, satirical news shows can more effectively sway their audiences to believe specific ideas by overemphasizing the flaws of the critiqued subject.[3] This can be very harmful to the reputation of public figures or organizations since the satire frames them in a comical way.[4]
Origins and genres[edit]
Satire can be traced back throughout history; wherever organized government, or social categories have existed, so has satire.[5]
The oldest example that has survived till today is Aristophanes. In his time, satire targeted top politicians, like Cleon,[6] and religion, at the time headed by Zeus. "Satire and derision progressively attacked even the fundamental and most sacred facts of faith," leading to an increased doubt towards religion by the general population.[7] The Roman period, for example, gives us the satirical poems and epigrams of Martial. Cynic philosophers often engaged in political satire.
Due to the lack of political freedom of speech in many ancient civilizations, covert satire is more common than overt satire in ancient literature of political liberalism. Historically, public opinion in the Athenian democracy was remarkably influenced by the political satire performed by the comic poets at the theatres.[8] Watching or reading satire has since ancient times been considered one of the best ways to understand a culture and a society.[9][10][11]
During the 20th and 21st Centuries, satire was found in an increasing number of media (in cartoons such as political cartoons with heavy caricature and exaggeration and political magazines) and the parallel exposure of political scandals to performances (including television shows). Examples include musicians such as Tom Lehrer incorporating lyrics which targeted the army and the church,[12] live performance groups like the Capitol Steps and the Montana Logging and Ballet Co., and public television and live performer Mark Russell who made satirist comments to both democrats and republicans alike.[13] Additional subgenres include such literary classics as Gulliver's Travels and Animal Farm, and more recently, internet Ezine and website sources such as The Onion.
Well-known examples of political satire[edit]
An early and well-known piece of political satire is a poem by Dante Alighieri called Divine Comedy (c. 1308–1320). In this piece, Dante suggests that politicians of that time in Florence should travel to hell. Another well-known form of political satire through theater is William Shakespeare's play Richard II, which criticized politics and authority figures of the time.
19th and 20th centuries[edit]
France[edit]
One example is Maurice Joly's 1864 pamphlet entitled The Dialogue in Hell Between Machiavelli and Montesquieu (Dialogue aux enfers entre Machiavel et Montesquieu), which attacks the political ambitions of Napoleon III. It was first published in Brussels in 1864. The piece used the literary device of a dialogue between two diabolical plotters in Hell, the historical characters of Machiavelli and Montesquieu, to cover up a direct, and illegal, attack on Napoleon's rule. The noble baron Montesquieu made the case for liberalism; the Florentine political writer Machiavelli presented the case for cynical despotism. In this manner, Joly communicated the secret ways in which liberalism might spawn a despot like Napoleon III.[14]
The literacy rate in France was roughly 30 percent in the 19th century making it virtually impossible for people of lower classes to engage in political satire. However, visual arts could be interpreted by anyone, and a man named Charles Philipon took advantage creating two weekly magazines, La Caricature and Le Charivari – the cheaper of the two. Philipon used his papers, which had become more and more popular across France, as a threat to the King, Louis-Philippe, as the papers used satire and humor to criticize the government and King. Several attempts to suppress the two magazines were made by the monarchy which would only make the articles more critical. Philipon was eventually taken to court and sentenced to 13 months in prison following several more arrests.[15]
The drawings that originally sent Philipon to court were drawings that turned the King into a pear over the course of the drawings. The people of France began to recognize that King Louis-Philippe really did look like a pear and could not separate the two. People began to sarcastically state that pears should be banned in the country as cutting one would be a threat towards the King, Louis-Philippe.[15]
Influence in politics[edit]
Contributions[edit]
According to the findings of the 2004 Pew Survey, both younger and older audiences are turning to late-night comedy shows as not only a source of entertainment, but also for an opportunity to gain political awareness.[35] For this reason, Geoffrey Baym suggests that shows that make use of political satire, such as The Daily Show, should be considered as a form of alternative journalism.[35] Utilizing satire has shown to be an attractive feature in news programming, drawing in the audiences of less politically engaged demographic cohorts. Moreover, satire news programming can be considered alternative because satire plays an important role in dissecting and critiquing power.[35]
In his article The Daily Show: Discursive Integration and the Reinvention of Political Journalism, Baym detailed how The Daily Show, then hosted by Jon Stewart, presented news stories. For the satire news show, presenting information in a comprehensive manner was used to give viewers a greater perspective of a situation.[35] Often, Stewart studded his segments with additional background information, or reminders of relevant and past details.[35] For example, The Daily Show displayed the full video of Bush's comments regarding Tenet's resignation in 2004.[35] This was a deliberate choice by the show in attempt to give a more sincere representation of the event.[35] Moreover, it can be seen as a challenge and critique of what more traditional news shows failed to include.[35] In this way, satire news can be seen as more informative than other news sources. Notably, research findings released by National Annenberg Election Survey (NAES) concede that followers of satire news are more knowledgeable and consume more news than the general population.[35]
Meanwhile, Joseph Faina has considered the satire used in news shows as a facilitator in developing a public journalism practice.[36] Faina explains in his article that the nature of satire encourages viewers to become politically engaged, and a civic participant, in which the humor exercised by hosts elicit responses in viewers.[36] However, Faina has acknowledged that this model is somewhat idealistic.[36] Nevertheless, Faina argues that the potential still exists.[36] Not to mention, with the rise in technology and the growing ubiquity of cellular phones, it can be argued that civic participation is all the more easy to accomplish.[37]