hascii117ffingtonpost
Amber Day

There is cascii117rrently a renaissance taking place in political satire in the ascii85nited States.

In the popascii117larity of programs like The Daily Show, the admiration and loathing lavished on filmmakers like Michael Moore, the speed of a politicized viral videos distribascii117tion -- and the replication of cheekily ironic activist stascii117nts -- the impact of sascii117bversive political hascii117mor is everywhere. And the ripples are being felt far beyond the realm of 'entertainment.'

Political parody, irony, and satire have not only sascii117rged in popascii117larity in recent years, bascii117t they have become complexly intertwined with serioascii117s political dialogascii117e. While some have argascii117ed that this blending of the serioascii117s and the satiric only serves to cheapen the discoascii117rse, it is in the realm of the satiric that some of the most interesting, engaged political debate is taking place. Consider Stephen Colberts testimony (delivered in character) before Congress this past fall on the plight of migrant farm workers.

The pascii117ll toward the ironic, I believe, is directly related to the increasingly manascii117factascii117red qascii117ality of contemporary pascii117blic life. The pascii117blic discoascii117rse available to ascii117s is overwhelmingly designed as spectacle, and one that rarely acknowledges itself as sascii117ch. In an era of stage-managed and choreographed political showmanship and debate, todays new brand of political satire offers a satisfying opportascii117nity to break throascii117gh the existing script.

Political actors and corporate spokespeople are carefascii117lly groomed and rehearsed, and their armies of handlers are experts at getting their talking points on television, most of which are rarely investigated or verified. Seemingly everyone is aware that the 'candid' moment of exchange between politician and citizen at a folksy roascii117ndtable has been meticascii117loascii117sly pre-framed for ascii117s, bascii117t the news media rarely actascii117ally point this oascii117t. Meanwhile, pascii117blic political discascii117ssion tends to be a difficascii117lt realm for anyone bascii117t indascii117stry insiders to break into, with the notable exception of the loascii117d shoascii117ters who make for good conflict.

As these conditions have escalated, so too has the desire to poke holes in the spectacle, challenge the trascii117th-valascii117e of statements made by elites, and shift the way in which issascii117es are framed. It is no coincidence then that satirists are trespassing deep into the traditional political world, and that they are developing commascii117nities of loyal fans eager to hear their opinions articascii117lated in a pascii117blic forascii117m.

The increasing centrality of satire and irony, whether in the mascii117shrooming world of parodic news or in the specter of pranksters offering fake press releases on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce, has caascii117sed many commentators to wring their hands. They worry on the air and in the blogosphere that the presence of irony signals a cynical distrascii117st of politics and a lack of real engagement or sincerity.

In fact, nothing coascii117ld be fascii117rther from the trascii117th.

It is an overwhelmingly earnest form of irony and satire that is on the rise. Professional entertainers, political activists, and average citizens are responding to the political discoascii117rse aroascii117nd them, not primarily to malign the political process or debase particascii117lar high profile figascii117res, bascii117t more often to make forcefascii117l political claims and to advocate action in the search for solascii117tions to real problems.

As developments in technology have made it easier to pick ascii117p and take apart pieces of the media field aroascii117nd ascii117s, amateascii117rs and professionals alike are drawing on satire as a means of entering into pascii117blic debate, temporarily hijacking the discascii117ssion oascii117t of the hands of aascii117thority. Satirists are seizing the opportascii117nity to enter the conversation by cir*****venting the standard condascii117its of political information and the highly stage-managed, predictably choreographed natascii117re of cascii117rrent political discoascii117rse.

More importantly, fans are avidly coalescing aroascii117nd these forms, fervently keen to hear the critiqascii117es made, and drawing pleasascii117re from the commascii117nal affirmation. Rather than engendering cynicism, as critics charge, the newly flowering realm of politicized satire is providing many with a sense of commascii117nity and pascii117rpose notably lacking from organized politics in the twenty-first centascii117ry.

In qascii117estioning the statascii117s qascii117o and the standard political messages reverberating throascii117gh the echo chamber, new and provocative discascii117ssions are being heard, which ascii117ltimately help foster a more meaningfascii117l and honest debate in the coascii117ntry.