Brenda’s Group Discussion Piece

Satire as Counter-Hegemonic Critique

While satire and parody permeate present-day techno-cultural production, they are not merely contemporary phenomena. Both have been utilized throughout history and across cultures to offer polemical critique of literature, music, media, and politics through imitation, exaggeration, sarcasm, irony, and humor. Modern usage of these terms can often be vague and imprecise. By definition, parody is a cultural practice that imitates the characteristic style of another cultural practice or piece for comic effect or ridicule. Satire is also a humorous cultural practice, but ultimately, it uses sarcastic wit to critically attack oppositional ideologies and narratives to expose the weaknesses of those in power. What characterizes satire best is its quality of irony or sarcasm, as it often professes to approve of that which it intends to deconstruct. The Colbert Report exemplifies well contemporary American satire in that it ridicules celebrity pundit shows such as The O’Reilly Factor. The show ultimately reveals conservative media’s hypocrisies by taking their assumptions to the extreme through the portrayal of Stephen Colbert as an exaggerated conservative political pundit. Another good example of satire is the following video that parodies Obama's Yes We Can video.



Political satire has become widely popular due to the shared frustrations and perceptions that news media is failing democracy. It has become a powerful weapon of the weak that can be wielded by the average citizen to expose the contradictions and lies of politicians. Due to the fact that satirical representations are so powerful, combining anger with humor, they can be disturbing to those who misunderstand their intent or aren’t “in on the joke.” An example of this occurred in 2008 when the July cover of the New Yorker magazine portrayed Barack and Michelle Obama as militant Islamic terrorists. The editor David Remnick explained that the illustration was a satirical response to ungrounded suspicion about Obama’s religious background, but nevertheless many, including the Democratic Party, denounced the cover as tasteless. Another example of misconceptions surrounding contemporary satire is the negative feedback received by the fake news publication The Onion. Sometimes, disgruntled readers write angry letters to the editors if they poke fun at issues that are too close to home, despite the fact that they understand the satirical undercurrent. Editor Chet Clem describes this phenomena in an interview with Wikinews. Despite the occasional heat they feel, satirists can often get away with speaking the unspeakable simply because of their status as comedians and jesters.

Tactical Media and Satire: Expressive Activism

Graham Meikle’s chapter Whacking Bush, which refers to the mash-up video that decontextualizes George W's words, highlights themes central to both satirical media and tactical media, and draws connections between the two practices. Meikle argues that, “While not every tactical media project could be best described as satirical, satire is almost always an element.” (Ibid. 375) Certainly, the two practices seek to accomplish many of the same goals, such as intervening in dominant discourse, exploring mechanisms of symbolic power, exposing unequal power relations, and disrupting the status quo. Further, some of the most heralded tactical media projects have used satire as part of their intervention. Just as satire is a slippery term, tactical media tends to escape definition. However, Meikle pins down four components of tactical media: 1) convergence of new and old technologies; 2) remixing of found texts; 3) satire; and 4) temporariness and mobility. He uses identifies these four components in “Revolution: USA,” a tactical media project that offered up video and music clips to the public preceding the 2004 presidential campaign. One of the pieces that came out of that project was "World of Evil" by TV Sheriff, which aired on MTV.



Meikle suggests that tactical media interventions are productive as expressive activism because they communicate ideas to the wider public, draw attention to issues and raise important questions. They create space for community, generate public debate, and challenge complacency. In this way, they are artistic and revolutionary, borrowing from strategies of Situationist détourner. Détourner or detournement is a politics of subversive quotation, of turning familiar signs into question marks. These interventions repurpose texts and work to subvert found material, sampling media from one context and embedding them in a new one. Their objective is to cease to view these texts through a hegemonic lens and, instead, to situate the individual at the center. Jon Stewart describes this process of “reversal of perspective” when he talks about representing the center, the subjective experience. He says his comedy comes from “the distracted center” where individuals feel displaced from society because they are not in charge. He gives voice to this disenfranchised center. (Ibid. 389) In essence, tactical media are productive because they target the public, not the policymakers, government, or corporations.

“Truthiness”

Parody offers a lens through which to see the world that is often much less clouded by bias than mainstream media. Boler and Turpin’s chapter on Jon Stewart argues that parody such as The Daily Show offers a critique that is “much more in line with the experience of many Americans” than mainstream media (Ibid. 383) Their analysis of Jon Stewart as “court-jester” is an elaboration of Sutton-Smith’s concept of play as frivolous in that Stewart enacts playful protest against the established order. He is the archetypal trickster who “speaks truth to power” by using the words of those in power against them and revealing truth by reformulating their statements. (Ibid. 391). The Daily Show is also an example of play as identity in that it is a cultural text that allows for bonding and community formation, and reaffirms the solidarity and power of the audience. It is a vehicle that sustains a community’s ideology. While the show may not “work” in that it may not effect direct social change, it does however “play,” meeting many of the objectives of expressive activism. It is a creative collaboration between the audience and the producers that uses humor as a powerful tactic to address issues and raise questions.



Mainstream media has begun to morph with its burgeoning acceptance of alternative and satirical media perspectives. Jon Stewart’s famous appearance on Crossfire and Stephen Colbert’s keynote at the White House Press Correspondent’s Dinner in 2006 are examples of such media interventions within the dominant media sphere. Tim O'Reilly even came face to face with his alter ego, Stephen Colbert, on his own show (seen in the clip above). This media convergence blurs the boundaries between satire, spectacle, and mainstream news. It also fulfils the public’s desire for truthfulness and accountability by allowing for “an ambiguity of meaning that resonates with our lived experience of hypercontradiction.” (Ibid. 391). Furthermore, the fact that events such as these were viewed online as much as they were on television and that extensive online discussion ensued around them points to the formation of counterpublics. The popularity of satirists is sustained to a large extent by these online communities. It is through participatory media culture that the public seeks out truth. Ironically, it is satire that has effectively brought to light the constructed and biased nature of all media narratives, demonstrating perhaps that all the world’s a stage.

Discussion Questions:

It’s been argued that a good tactic is one that people enjoy. Does the entertainment value of satire make it a good tactic? What can satire as a tactic accomplish that other tactics cannot? This satirical music video (mentioned above) is enjoyable, but what does it ultimately accomplish? View

Megan Boler suggests that the premise of the news “telling the truth” has lost all credibility given the complex and contradictory discourses of truths and lies. What can we make then of the increasing appeal of “fake news” and political satire? Should comedians be expected to take on the work of serious journalists? Can the truth sometimes only be spoken and heard through comedy? Where is journalism headed when comedians are given press passes, as highlighted in this video. View

More and more, our culture is experiencing a convergence of new and old media, and "straight" and satirical journalism. Is there danger in satirical media converging with MSM? What are the consequences of poaching? This clip shows the ways in which satire can be co-opted by the mainstream and manipulated to meet another agenda. View

Meikle describes the Situationists’ aim of undermining the “spectacle,” the integrated, commercialized cultural space where lived realities move away into representation. Do tactical media perpetuate the spectacle by focusing on symbolic representation? Do they displace energy that could be better used for grassroots organization? Another one of Revolution: USA's projects was "Where Is My Mind?" Even though it is tactical, is it merely a spectacle? View

Meikle mentions that social movement scholars differentiate between instrumental and expressive activism. The former works to achieve tangible goals, while the latter values the creative process in and of itself. Is one strategy more effective than the other, or are they most effective when they work in tandem? Can satire ever be considered true activism? The following piece about the Battle in Seattle is both instrumental (it was action effected in the real world) and expressive (through music and imagery it communicates a particular subcultural ideology), but perhaps there is no room left for humor in real world activism? View

In what ways do Brian Sutton-Smith's discourses of play open up possibilities for considering tactical media and their impact? What are some examples of play as progress, play as power, or play as identity? The original Coldcut project used clips from the UK 2002 election to allow participants to communicate their own creative message. Is the following piece, constructed from that project, an example of play as progress in that it educates the public using hands-on media tools? Is this artistic revolution? View

Meikle affirms that satire is inherently subversive and undermines the power of the status quo. If this is true, is a conservative satire even possible? On the flip side, now that previously fringe social movements are becoming part of the mainstream, as demonstrated through the Obama campaign, what will liberal satirists poke fun at now? In what ways could Obama be funny? Will he ever be as funny as Bush? This piece from The Onion meets all of Meikle's requirements for tactical media (old/new media, remix, satire, and novelty). But how does it play? View