We’re laughing in an echo chamber: it’s time to rethink satire
Satire has found a comfortable home in Australian publishing and broadcast media. But is it doing more harm than good? Katrina Spadaro searches for answers in this crossposting from The Conversation.
In 2017 the BBC asked a timely question: are we living in a golden age of satire? The evidence suggests we might be. From the revitalisation of America’s late night comedy scene to Australian shows such as Shaun Micallef’s Mad as Hell and Tom Ballard’s Tonightly, our appetite for satire appears stronger than ever.
Australian satirists, such as The Chaser and those producing the comedic newspaper The Betoota Advocate, are buoyed by material ranging from humdrum policy issues like tax cuts to the rich comic potential of Barnaby Joyce’s private life. American satire, so often gravitating towards issues of violence and race, provides a sobering comparison.
I remember seeing an interview the Trey & Matt of South Park fame when they were asked about the role of satirists to fight the good fight and they pointedly (and rightly) indicated that you shouldn’t overestimate the role of satire. Its entertaining and carthartic to satirise the worst behaviour of positions of power, but its actually up to people to do more than laugh at what’s on the telly.
Satire is a good way to publicise dissent because its a more sympathetic portrayal of resistance than rioting (Protest should always have satire in it if you don’t want a lazy journalist to just interview some pimply 18 year old chanting embarrassing slogans).
However I suspect it may be less effective that we thought. You can definitely build a public perception that something or someone in power is ridiculous, but if enough people vote for them anyway (because a percentage of voters identify either despite or *because* they are being ridiculed) then enough people vote for them anyway. One Nation is a good example, they have been lampooned since the 90s. Most folks see it as a joke. A tiny percentage doesn’t but that’s enough to get a couple of reps to parliament every cycle.
So yeah, it takes more than laughing at someone to change the status quo.
Great article! Certainly a conversation worth having. However the penultimate suggestion of holding satirists accountable in promoting social reform is missing the point and I’m liking it to ‘shooting the messenger’. The recent rise in popularity of political satire is quite indicative: poor solace, but it makes sense to unpick a world that doesn’t make sense through a comedic lens. N.B. satirists fill a void in the past held by artists/musicians tackling fringe issues and flying the flag for social justice/reform.
It’s wider society that should be held to higher standards. Once reformed satirists might comfortably retire back to a less-pressing comedic enclave.