A UNSW expert has looked at the role of satire in US politics, as polls begin to close and the vote count gets underway in the historic 2020 US Presidential election.
Political science expert Mark Rolfe, who is co-editing a book in which he is writing a chapter about satire and Donald Trump, says, historically, satire has been a way to express emotions like anger, contempt and fear in a safe and cathartic way. But he says a lot of political satire is โpreaching to the already convertedโ, reinforcing opinions.
โIf youโre an anti-Trump, youโll find Alec Baldwinโs impression of Trump on Saturday Night Live hilarious, and youโll see the joke,โ Dr Rolfe says.
โBut if youโre a Trump-er, you wonโt see the joke, and itโll be awful. And Trump has complained about Baldwinโs impressions of him.โ
Dr Rolfe says satire goes back thousands of years, though most recognised are its modern forms from 1720s Britain and the two-party political system, which was run by โelitesโ.
โBut there was also a very freewheeling political public sphere of discussion, and satire was central to it,โ he says.
โAnd there was a corrupt elite institution with open debate going on. So thatโs the place satire has occupied.โ
Within the US context, Dr Rolfe says satirists like Stephen Colbert have been more effective in their use of satire when comparing Trump to previous presidents like George Washington, unlike other satirists which have depicted him as evil, as a fascist, or as Hitler.
โTrump is ultimately not presidential in the line of greats that theyโve seen. So thatโs where they get high reinforcing opinions rather than converting people to the cause.โ
โAnd context is just as important to persuading an audience. And (satirists use rhetoric) to persuade by reinforcing certain ideas within the audience,โ Dr Rolfe says.
โAll of [Trumpโs] stuff is just old-fashioned Americanism, old fashioned American authoritarianism. You donโt need to invoke terms like fascism or Hitler to condemn it,โ he says.
Dr Rolfe says while some countries have held on to the idea that proper debate can only be โrational and unemotionalโ, satire can be a good way to express emotions about political issues.
โI think satire through the centuries has pointed us to the fact that it is a good way to express public emotions, and not let them resort to, or lead to, violence.โ
