An interesting point raise in this week’s readings is that “satire has been one of the mediums most underused forms of political discourse” (Jonathan et al., 2009).

Initially I disagreed with as the genre is very popular. The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Last Week Tonight, all of these shows are mega successful satirical news show institutions that all follow very similar formats. They have been around for a long time and their hosts and their work even longer, plus they have been part of some historical cultural moments like John Stewart’s appearance, and subsequent cancellation of Crossfire or Bill O’Reilly saying to John Stewart “You’ve got stoned slackers watching your dopey show”. So to say that satire is an underutilized form of political discourse doesn’t really seem to be the case for me.

However, upon further reflection O’Reilly is correct… to a certain degree. He doesn’t literally mean there are stoned slackers exclusively watching The Daily Show, although I’m sure some are, he is saying that a certain type of person is Stewart’s demographic. The article states that “[The] news—television’s privileged discourse on public life—most often posits politics as something to learn, satire not only offers
meaningful political critiques but also encourages viewers to play with politics, to examine it, test it, and question it rather than simply consume it as information or “truth” from authoritative sources” (Jonathan et al., 2009). However Stewart’s audience of ‘stoned slackers’ are already likely to do that. The demographic of political satire shows seem to be quite educated however very small when compared to the demographic of the news (granted, it is THE NEWS). But if a show like The Daily Show was to be given the same time prime time slot as the news, the general public would be more informed and critical.

The news is draining and often depressing until it starkly shifts focus onto a litter of puppers that are up for adoption to distract the audience from the feeling of being small and defeated against a large authority. In terms of ‘The Matrix’ it’s is similar to the blue pill, remaining in ignorant bliss.

Where as satire forces its audience to be more engaged. By playing with and lampooning politics (the authority) it makes the audience more critical and challenges the power, like the red pill.

When thinking about the statement like, I guess satire is underused.

JONATHAN, G., JEFFREY, P. J. & ETHAN, T. 2009. The State of Satire, the Satire of State. NYU Press.