Political satire

Through literature, film, journalism, and other forms of art and entertainment, satire seeks to reveal the hypocrisy and corruption of social, cultural, and political institutions as well as that of the leaders who wield power. Though there exists a certain degree of overlap among different types of satire, political satire targets governmental hierarchies, politicians and political figureheads, and the organizations that lobby for political sway.

Some satirists seek political upheaval; however, most hope simply to keep politicians in check or raise awareness about political issues among the general populace. Political satire has evolved from a fringe and covert form of dissent to a mainstream and ubiquitous comedic tactic in the Internet age. Whether in modern or ancient times, the aim of satire remains essentially the same: to engender reform by exposing prejudice, hypocrisy, and narrow-mindedness.

Background

Political satire has a long lineage in Western history, likely originating with Athenian playwright Aristophanes, who was active in the fourth and fifth centuries BCE. Though less than half of his plays have survived, several are regarded as seminal examples of social, religious, and political satire. His play Nephelai (423 BCE), translated into English as The Clouds (1708), lampoons the philosopher Socrates. Many of Aristophanes other plays lambaste Cleon, an Athenian statesman and advocate for the Peloponnesian War. Aristophanes portrays him as a corrupt political official out to profit from the war with Sparta.

Perhaps the most influential Roman satirist, Juvenal is known for his vitriolic and overt form of political satire. Writing in the second century, Juvenal excoriated the sycophants of the imperial court, an act for which he was exiled to Egypt by Emperor Domitian. Upon his return, he published Saturae (100–27 CE; Satires, 1693), which continued to savage the political extravagance of the Domitian regime (though the emperor had died). Juvenal’s satires tended to unmask the vices and extravagancies of the aristocracy but were nonetheless all-encompassing in their critique of Roman society and political life.

Juvenal’s form of political satire has among its descendants the work of Irish writer Jonathan Swift, whose masterpiece Gulliver’s Travels (1726) is often considered the archetype of modern satire. The novel takes a misanthropic view of the social and political hypocrisies of several fictitious cultures that resemble those of Swift’s contemporary world. In Gulliver’s Travels, Swift’s critique of sixteenth and seventeenth century British religious quarrels, manifest in political and monarchical upheaval, is evident in his description of the disagreement between the Lilliputians about whether an egg should be cracked from the big end, as they have been traditionally, or the little end, a practice implemented relatively recently.

Born in Ireland but of English descent, Swift straddles the line between the two cultures, a distinct characteristic of many satirists, who often speak from the fringe of society, which enables them to highlight paradoxical aspects of society that those at the center are unable to see. Furthermore, political satire has a strong tradition in Irish society, and Swift was likely aware of the heritage within which he was working.

Overview

Political satire is at the heart of numerous great works of art and literature in Western history, and artists and writers have traditionally trod a fine line between revering and critiquing political power structures, primarily because those in power—whether they were aristocrats, popes, or monarchs—were often the patrons upon which artists and writers relied for professional commissions. For example, Don Quixote (1605) contains political and religious satire, the nature of which might not have been inherently recognizable to the Catholic religious establishment or the Hapsburg political dynasty in power during the time Cervantes wrote the novel. Because of the possible repercussions, Cervantes’s political satire is covert, setting a precedent for many satirists who followed in his wake. William Shakespeare’s mockery of political power is evident in many of his plays, perhaps most notably in Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2 (1598, 1600) and Henry V (1600); however, the most direct target of his lampooning in these plays is the character of Falstaff, and his political satire is somewhat diminished by Henry’s political and personal redemption.

In the era before the literary works of Shakespeare and Cervantes appeared, the Protestant leader Martin Luther was perhaps the first to use satirical cartoons to reach a mostly illiterate peasantry, hoping to gain favor from both the merchant and peasant classes in an attempt to diminish the religious and political control of the Catholic Church. It must be noted that during this time there was little to no separation between church and state, and therefore religious and political satire were essentially the same. Luther created posters that caricatured representatives of the Catholic Church, depicting them as the enemies of the lower and middle classes.

The cartoon as a form of political satire was used by Benjamin Franklin and has become an indelible aspect of American satire, widely popularized by Thomas Nast in the mid- to late 1800s. Though the literacy rate was rising within the country, the political cartoon was a medium understood and appreciated whether or not one could read. Nast’s humorous but pointed depiction of Tammany Hall political leader Boss Tweed was intended to clue the common man into the political corruption at work in New York City.

The political cartoon was perhaps the earliest form of satire in the United States, paving the way for new forms of subversive art, and it remains part of the fabric of political satire in the country, as exemplified by Garry Trudeau’s caustic strip Doonesbury. However, in the mid-twentieth century, political satire became somewhat of an institution, so much so that some of the most respected twenty-first-century political critics are also satirists.

In the 1950s, standup comedy became a popular medium through which political satire was conveyed. Comedians such as Mort Sahl, whose act relied heavily on his critique of the government, and Lenny Bruce, who became an icon of the counterculture, elevated the art of comedy to a critique of the entire American enterprise leading up to and during a period of political upheaval.

Laugh In, a comedy variety show of the 1960s that dabbled in political commentary, paved the way for such shows as Saturday Night Live debuted in 1975 and features “Weekend Update,” a news segment that skewers contemporary political leaders. By the late 1990s and into the 2000s, as Americans became increasingly disillusioned with the political process, political satire entered the mainstream through sources such as The Oniona satirical newspaper that garnered a large following onlineand Comedy Central’s twin bill of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart and the Colbert Report, hosted by Stephen Colbert.

Colbert’s show is a parody of conservative talk shows, and the strength of his satire lies in his ability to capture the ironies of the conservative agenda. Both Stewart and Colbert have parlayed their comedic sensibilities into significant roles as political commentators, and they have helped educate a generation of voters. A 2007 Pew Research Center poll indicated 54 percent of their combined audience possesses a “high knowledge level” of current eventsthe 54 percent was higher than that of the audiences of National Public Radio, CNN, and Fox News. Though its roots are deep in Western society, perhaps now more than ever political satire is a vehicle for enhancing awareness and fostering change.

In 2024, SNL celebrated its fiftieth anniversary season. In the preceding half-century, SNL had epitomized American political satire. A regular occurrence on SNL had been for cast members to caricaturize leading political figures, primarily those from the United States. This practice began in 1975 as actor Chevy Chase impersonated a bumbling President Gerald Ford. In the decades that followed, some of the most notable SNL cast members achieved lasting notoriety in the manner they portrayed political figures. These included comedian Phil Harman as President Ronald Regan and Bill Clinton, Tina Fey as Vice-President candidate Sarah Palin, Will Farrell as President George W. Bush, and Alex Baldwin as President Donald Trump. In 2017 cast member Beck Bennett appeared shirtless on SNL in mocking Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attempts at creating a media persona of himself as a rugged outdoors individual.  

Bibliography

Freedman, Leonard. The Offensive Art: Political Satire and Its Censorship around the World from Beerbohm to Borat. Westport, Praeger, 2009.

Giorgis, Hannah. "Forget SNL. The Best Election Satire Is on TikTok." The Atlantic, 13 Nov. 2020, www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2020/11/forget-snl-best-election-satire-tiktok/617101. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.

Hmielowski, Jay D., et al. “Predicting the Consumption of Political TV Satire: Affinity for Political Humor, The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report.” Communication Monographs, vol. 78, no.1, 2011, pp. 96–114.

Holbert, R. Lance, et al. “Young Voter Perceptions of Political Satire as Persuasion: A Focus on Perceived Influence, Persuasive Intent, and Message Strength.” Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, vol. 57, no. 2, 2013, pp. 170-86.

Jones, Jeffrey P. Entertaining Politics: Satiric Television and Political Engagement. 2nd ed. Littlefield, 2010.

Itzkoff, Dave. "‘Saturday Night Live’: 11 Defining Political Sketches." New York Times, 3 Oct. 2024, www.nytimes.com/2024/10/03/arts/television/saturday-night-live-politics.html. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.

Knowles, Ronald. Gulliver’s Travels: The Politics of Satire. Twayne, 1996.

Mankoff Robert. “How Does Satire Influence Politics?” Moment Magazine, 1 Nov. 2012, momentmag.com/how-does-satire-influence-politics. 14 Oct. 2013.

Poremba, Sue Marquette. “Probing Question: How Old Is Political Satire?” Pennsylvania State University, 20 June 2008, www.psu.edu/news/research/story/probing-question-how-old-political-satire. Accessed 14 Oct. 2013.

"Sunday Reading: The Power of Political Satire." The New Yorker, 19 May 2019, www.newyorker.com/books/double-take/sunday-reading-the-power-of-political-satire. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.

Tower, Samuel A. Cartoons and Lampoons. Messner, 1982.

Wakeman, Gregory. "The Real Story behind ‘Saturday Night,’ the Movie about the Television Show That Changed Comedy Forever." Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Oct. 2024, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-real-story-behind-saturday-night-the-movie-about-the-television-show-that-changed-comedy-forever-180985236. Accessed 21 Oct. 2024.