Political satire is no joke
I remember the feeling of dread as election day drew nearer, not knowing (or really caring about) who to vote for. Yet every time this guilty, nagging feeling in the back of my head would hang over me: you should know who to vote for. You shouldn’t take democracy for granted, people die for this right in other countries, after all.
I would tell myself that I would do some research or that I would listen to the news, but every time without fail, election day would arrive and I would be none the wiser. The truth of the matter is, I really struggle to find interest in politics! It’s dreary, dull and dry, and I can’t pull myself to sit through the mind-numbing drone of Australian politics.
It made me wonder if my apathy towards voting and disinterest for political communication reflected the ‘crisis’ that journalism is said to be in. That was until I discovered political satire.
Alternate forms of political media such as satire are helping to increase citizen engagement and interest in politics. Its many forms include Chaser’s War on Everything, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, The Shovel and The Betoota Advocate, YouTube channels like Friendly Jordies and the election of Donald Trump. I find these satirical formats much more welcoming than traditional forms of political media. Their comedic and entertaining content humanises politicians and breaks down complex political issues into everyday language that is more engaging and interesting to consume.
Aside from its entertainment value, political satire plays a powerful role in shaping the public’s perception of politics and the world around them. There is power in parody where political actor’s authority is interrogated, critiqued and criticised. Important political topics are recontextualised to shed light on our government in ways that are not hindered by formal journalistic values and standards that traditional institutions uphold (like objectivity and balance). Political satire can say what the news cannot and thus functions as a strong pillar of democracy. In powerful instances satire can even incite calls for political action.
Some have argued that the traditional values of journalism (among other things) put the industry in a state of crisis. Journalism should function as the fourth estate, where values such as objectivity, neutrality and balance guide their mission to increase knowledge and participation in the political public sphere. Although well intentioned, these guiding principles can limit journalism’s ability to hold governing institutions to account and scrutiny. They are limited by their professional structures, while satire is liberated from attachments to such values. I think this shows how satire is refuting the argument that journalism is in crisis and rather shows how journalism is evolving and expanding to new formats and genres. Satire can thus be seen as an extension of political journalism.
This makes me feel a whole lot better about watching satire to inform my political opinions- it’s legit!
I’m not the only one saying this. Blumler explains how we are in the third age of political communication, an age of journalistic opportunity where more channels and genres of political expression are available to the public with their niche interests and identities. This, of course, includes political satire. Johnathan Gray describes how traditional presentation of political media, with its alienating nature, foreign language and power dynamics, does not appeal to everyone, certainly not me. This is why the expansion of journalism to now include political satire has played such a vital role in increasing citizen’s political interest and engagement.
But don’t just take mine and Blumer’s word for it, the results speaks for themselves.
HBO’s popular satirical program, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, influenced tens of thousands of Americans to take political action against The Federal Communication Commission’s (FFC) 2014 notion for net neutrality. Oliver’s humor and heated critique of the net neutrality proposal influenced 45,000 Americans to send public comments to the FFC detailing their disapproval. The FFC website crashed soon after the program aired when it could not handle the large masses of traffic thronging to the site for comment. Even more impressive came the FFC’s vote against the adoption of net neutrality laws months later, winning Oliver the term ‘The John Oliver effect’ for the real world action that his political satire can incite.
Satire’s ability to positively influence political engagement is not only seen in the real world examples of John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight segments, but also in primary research.
A recent 2018 study that examined the relationship between political participation and watching political satire found strong evidence to suggest that satire consumption promotes political participation in young Americans. Subjects were surveyed on their viewership of multiple media sources (including satire) and their engagement in politics, online activism and voting attendance. The links drawn found that consumption of political satire was conductive towards increased political engagement and participation.
This shows that satire should be seen as an important source of political information as it is free from the professional structures of journalism, yet still practices some of journalism’s key values with its interrogation and scrutiny of political power. Satire makes politics entertaining and humorous, yet informative, ultimately motivating citizens like me to engage more in the political public sphere.
