A number of new satiric forms -- or emergent genres -- have exploded in popularity almost simultaneously in recent years, all markedly political, all incorporating the real into the mimetic in striking ways, and all straddling the line between satire and serious political dialogue. This dissertation focuses on three of the most prevalent: the satiric documentary, the parodic news show, and ironic activism. These emergent genres are notable for their lack of fictionalized material and impersonations, relying instead on deconstructions of real news events, improvisational pranks, and ambushes of public figures. All share a uniquely performative form of parody and satire that injects the satirist's body into the traditional political world, as he or she physically engages, interrogates, and interacts with the real. These forms have generated strong affective communities around them, capturing the interest of many in a way that organized politics has been failing to do, as viewers look to the parodists to voice their opinions within the public arena My analysis involves three components: a historical review that traces how each genre has developed out of earlier forms; a performance analysis of all aspects of the mise en scène, including the interactions between satirist and target, and the narrative framing of the subsequent text; and a discourse analysis that examines how the texts are situated within public debate, how they are framed by other media, and how they address potential spectators. The dissertation draws on the idea of "counterpublics" as a means of examining the way these satirists, to different degrees, build the feeling of community in opposition, using their work as focal points for political identification and as platforms for dialogue within the larger public sphere. Often seen as detached from the problems it critiques and from any real desire for change, political satire is rarely treated as an example of substantive political speech. Theorists of the public sphere have similarly tended to focus on 'rational' political debate, ignoring discursive engagement in other registers. This study, however, aims to examine these texts as instances of political discourse, and to take seriously their contributions to public dialogue.

Last modified

• 06/01/2018

Creator

• Amber Day

DOI

• https://doi.org/10.21985/N24D7J

Subject

• Performance Studies

Keyword

• satire
• news
• documentary
• activism
• parody
• counterpublic

Date created

• 2007-05-14

Resource type

• Dissertation

Rights statement

• In Copyright