Political Satire: Its Role and Impact on Public Opinion
Politics has rarely been a subject treated with complete seriousness all the time. Throughout history, people have used humour, parody, caricature, cartoons and satire to comment upon governments, politicians and the political issues of their day. Sometimes the result has been amusing. Sometimes it has been controversial. At other times, political satire has become an important method of criticism. Political satire serves a unique purpose in a democratic society because it allows people to examine politics through humour rather than through traditional political commentary. A cartoon, comedy sketch, parody or satirical article can sometimes communicate an argument in a few seconds that might otherwise require several paragraphs or pages of explanation. But political satire also raises an important question: Does making politics funny actually influence what people think about politics? The answer is complicated. Satire can inform, entertain, criticise and encourage poli...
