The democratic roles of satirists

Abstract

In the high-choice media landscape, satire has the potential to help news and politics break through information apathy barriers and reinvigorate democratic debate. While scholarly attention to the genre of satire has increased, interest in satirists themselves has been sparse. Using a theory of non-deliberative forms of public discourse and the idea of role conceptions, this study presents an analysis of interviews with Swedish satirists working in broadcasting media. Results showed that being Eye-openers and Questioners -meaning providing alternative perspectives and problematizing societal norms -were the primary contributions of satire, according to satirists. There were differing roles to take on when it came to social bonding and solidarity: Unifier, where the aim was to be bridge-building in a polarized debate, and Divider, where the main focus was to inspire critical thinking and foster independence from consensus. The role elements Reporter, Explainer and Solver were also introduced and discussed.

Political Humor in KVN (1986–1999)

“…Numerous television programs, being part of "politainment" (Grosheva, 2022), reach numerous age groups with "social, cultural, and political perspectives and beliefs, which are often very different or even conflicting" (Fedorov, Levitskaya 2020: 238). Humor programs might cheerfully inform their viewers about domestic and international events, influence electorate participation, create positive or negative image of political actors (Arkhangelskaya, 2021;Baumgartner, Lockerbie, 2018;Baumgartner et al, 2019;Baumgartner, 2021;Cao, 2008;Gulevich, Kalashnik, 2023;Ödmark, Harvard, 2021). Joking on current affairs in entertainment programs, comedians share their normative views on society and politics with audiences (Lichtenstein et al, 2021).…”

KVN: Students’ View on the Game

“…Valuable sources from which one can get the information about the project's first years, creative processes, internal conflicts, and problems are books written by KVN's founders, who shared their memories and vision of the game's future (Akselrod et al, 1974;Masliakov, 2017), and former editors and players, who tried to explain the program's concept and present a classification of its main humor devices (Marfin, Chivourin, 2008;Hotnog, 2015). Those publications are of interest to KVN fans as well as academicians who examine the Soviet and Russian laugh culture.…”

“…It turned out to be a long-lasting project and is still on the air at prime time. For several decades its participants were not professional actors, but amateur young men who presented collective, social reactions to the main drive" and "action" in the game (McLuhan, 1994).…”

Stand-up in the age of outrage

“…Additionally, studies on comedians' roles are scarce and focus predominantly on celebrated television news satire shows (e.g., Borden & Tew, 2007;, and only a small part of this body of research focuses on the experience of comedians themselves by, for example, incorporating interviews (e.g. Koivukoski & Ödmark, 2021;Ödmark & Harvard, 2021).…”