SERIOUSLY FRIVOLOUS: A NARRATIVE REVIEW OF THE GLOBAL EFFECTS OF POLITICAL HUMOUR ON POLITICAL SOPHISTICATION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v3.i2.2022.262Keywords:
Political Humor, Political Satire, Narrative Literature Review, Effects of Political Humour, Political Efficacy, Political Participation, Digital Political ComedyAbstract [English]
A politically conversant and sophisticated public is a major requisite for the development and functioning of a sound democracy. However, politics being an intricate subject doesn’t usually catch a fancy of an average man. This poses the demanding challenge of simplifying political discourse and making it more appealing to the larger population. Studies show that political comedy can qualify as one of its competent solutions due to the inherent power of humour to not just amuse but also facilitate attention-grabbing, information retention, and recall Fitzpatrick (2010). Also, the application of humour in serious matters like politics makes it less subject to scrutiny Feldman & Young (2008) further motivating people to express themselves freely without being intimidated by the fear of criticism. The realization of these advantages of political comedy led to an influx in research and discussions around the implications of the same. Hence, in light of the rising popularity of various formats of political humour in contemporary times, the present paper employs the technique of narrative literature review to identify various approaches through which the effects of political humour have been studied so far and explores whether or not it impacts the current political landscape. The investigation of the secondary sources yields that the recent scholarship on political humour effects is mostly centered around television satirical shows and myriad of its formats on the internet. The paper is arranged according to five central themes found by the careful examination of the available literature, which are; a) political humour as a mediator of political knowledge, b) implications on political efficacy and cynicism, c) political humour and political participation/ engagement, d) persuasive impacts of political humour, and e) factors influencing the effects of political humour.
Downloads
References
Abramson, P. R., and Aldrich, J. H. (1982). The Decline of Electoral Participation in America. American Political Science Review, 76(3), 502-521. https://doi.org/10.2307/1963728. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055400188379
Balch, G. I. (1974). Multiple Indicators in Survey Research : The Concept of “Sense of Political Efficacy". Political Methodology, 1(2), 1-43. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25791375.
Baum, M. (2002). Sex, Lies, and War : How Soft News Brings Foreign Policy to the Inattentive Public. American Political Science Review, 91-109. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3117812. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055402004252
Baum, M. (2003). Soft News and Political Knowledge : Evidence of Absence or Absence of Evidence ? Political Communication, 173-190. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584600390211181. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10584600390211181
Baum, M. (2005). Talking the Vote : Why Presidential Candidates Hit the Talkshow Circuit. American Journal of Political Science, 213-234. https://doi.org/10.2307/3647673. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0092-5853.2005.t01-1-00119.x
Baumgartner, J. C. (2007). Humour on Next Frontier : Youth, Online Political Humour and the JibJab Effect. Social Science Computer Review, 319-338. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439306295395. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439306295395
Baumgartner, J., & Morris, J. S. (2006). The Daily Show Effect : Candidate Evaluations, Efficacy, and American Youth. American Political Research, 34(3), 341-367. https://doi.org/10.1177/1532673X05280074. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1532673X05280074
Becker, A. B. (2012). Comedy Types and Political Campaigns : The Differential Influence of Other-Directed Hostile Humour and Self-Ridicule on Candidate Evaluations. Mass Communication and Society, 791-812. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1080/15205436.2011.628431. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2011.628431
Boukes, M. (2019). Agenda Setting with Satire how Political Satire Increased TTIP s Saliency on the Public Media and Political Agenda. Political Communication, 36(3), 426-451. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2018.1498816. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2018.1498816
Bromberg, N. R. (2013). Digital Activism : Passive Participation and Divergence of Ideas in Online Social Movements. Doctoral Dissertation, Auckland University of Technology. http://hdl.handle.net/10292/5328.
Campbell, A., Gurin, G., & Miller, W. E. (1954). The Voter Decides. Evanston, IL : Row, Peterson, and Company. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1955-00778-000.
Castells, M. (2004). Informationalism, Networks, and the Network Society : A Theoretical Blueprint. The Network Society : A Cross-Cultural Perspective, 3-45. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781845421663.00010
Dekker, H., Meijerink, F., & Schyns, P. (2006). Political Cynicism Among Youth and its Explanations. In the 2006 Politicologenetmaal Conference.
Feldman, L., & Young, D. G. (2008). Late-Night Comedy as à Gateway to Traditional News : An Analysis of Time Trends in News Attention Among Late-Night Comedy Viewers During the 2004 Presidential Primaries. Political Communication, 25(4), 401-422. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584600802427013. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10584600802427013
Fitzpatrick, R. R. (2010). The Impact of Integrated Humour on Memory Retention and Recall Aspects of Adult Learning. Texas A&M University.
Freud, S. (1905/1960). Jokes and their Relation to the Unconscious. Trans. J. Strachey. New York : W. W. Norton. (Original work published 1905).
Gregorowicz, K. (2013). Demockracy Now : The Effect of Political Comedy on Knowledge and Ideological Constraint, A Model of Humour-Triggered Cognition.
Guggenheim, L., Kwak, N., & Campbell, S. W. (2011). Nontraditional News Negativity : The Relationship of Entertaining Political News Use to Political Cynicism and Mistrust. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 23, 287-314. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edr015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edr015
Hobbes, T. (1974). Leviathan : or the Matter Forme and Power of a Commonwealth Ecclesiastical and Civil. London : Collier.
Hoffman L.H. & Young D. G, (2011). Satire, Punch Lines, and the Nightly News : Untangling Media Effects on Political Participation. Communication Research Reports, 28(2), 159-168. https://doi.org/10.1080/08824096.2011.565278. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08824096.2011.565278
Hollander, B. A. (1995). The New News and the 1992 Presidential Campaign : Perceived Versus Actual Campaign Knowledge. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 72, 786–798. https://doi.org/10.1177/107769909507200403. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/107769909507200403
Hong, A., and Chang, R. (2019). The Use Motivation of Political Satire Show and the Impacts of Viewing Frequency on Voters’ Political Efficacy and Political Cynicism—Taking Mr. Brown Show as an Example. Advances in Journalism and Communication, 7, 74-93. https://doi.org10.4236/ajc.2019.73005. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4236/ajc.2019.73005
Hong, Y. H. (2009). Different Media, Different Impact ? Comparing Internet and Traditional Sources on Political Cynicism and Voting Behavior. In International Conference—Emerging Mode of Communication : Technology Enhanced Interaction. Hong Kong : Baptist University.
Katz, E. (2015). Where are Opinion Leaders Leading us ? International Journal of Communication, 9, 1023.
Kucera, E. (2015). Late Night Comedy and its Effect on the Public’s Political Opinion. The Faculty of the Journalism Department, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
Kulkarni, A. (2017). Internet Meme and Political Discourse: A Study on the Impact of Internet Memes as a Tool in Communicating Political Satire. Journal of Content, Community & Communication, 13-17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3501366
Kumar, S. (2015). Contagious Memes, Viral Videos, and Subversive Parody : The Grammer of contention on the Indian Web. The Internation Communication Gazette, 77(3), 232–247. https://doi.org/10.1177/1748048514568758. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1748048514568758
Kumar, S., & Combe, K. (2015). Political Parody and Satires Subversive Speech in the Global Digital Sphere. The International Communication Gazette, 211-214. https://doi.org/10.1177/1748048514568756. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1748048514568756
Lee, F. L. (2014). The Impact of Online User-Generated Satire on Young People’S Political Attitudes : Testing the Moderating Role of Knowledge and Discussion. Telematics and Informatics, 31(3), 397-409. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2013.08.002. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2013.08.002
Lewin, R. A. (1983). Humour in the Scientific Literature. Bio-Science, 33(4), 266-268. https://doi.org/10.2307/1309040. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1309040
McCombs, M. E., & Shaw, D. L. (1972). The Agenda-Setting Function of Mass Media. Public Opinion Quarterly, 36(2), 176-187. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2747787. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/267990
McLeod, D. M., Kosicki, G. M., & McLeod, J. M. (2009). Political Communication Effects. In Media Effects. Routledge, 244-267. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203877111-17
McLeod, J. M., Guo, Z., Daily, K., Steele, C. A., Horowitz, E., & Chen, H. (1996). The Impact of Traditional and Nontraditional Media Forms in the 1992 Presidential Election. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 73, 401–416. https://doi.org/10.1177/107769909607300211. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/107769909607300211
McLuhan, M. (2012). The Medium is the Message. Media and Cultural Studies : keyworks. 100-07.
Parkin, M., Bos, A., & Doorn, B. (2003). Laughing, learning and liking : The Effects of Entertainment-Based Media on American Politics. Paper Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago.
Paul, S. (2017). A New Public Sphere ? English-Language Stand-Up Comedy In India. Contemporary South Asia, 121-135. https://doi.org/10.1080/09584935.2017.1321618. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09584935.2017.1321618
Penney, J. (2020). ‘It’s So Hard Not to be Funny in This Situation’ : Memes and Humor in U.S. Youth Online Political Expression. Television & New Media, 21(8), 791–806. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476419886068. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476419886068
Pollio, H. (2002). Humour and College Teaching. In S. F. Davis, & W. Buskist, The Teaching of Psycology : Essays in Hunour of Wilbert J. McKeachie and Charles L. Brewer. Mahwah, New Jersey : Lawrence Erlbaum, 69-80.
Priest, R. (1966). Election Jokes : The Effects of Reference Group Membership. Psychological Reports, 18(2), 600-602. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1966.18.2.600. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1966.18.2.600
Prior, M. (2003). Any Good News in Soft News ? The Impact of Soft News Preference on Political Knowledge. Political Communication, 20, 149–171. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584600390211172. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10584600390211172
Punathambekar, A. (2015). Satire, Elections, and Democratic Politics in Digital. Television and New Media, 16(4), 394-400. https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476415573953. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476415573953
Sambrani, T., Mani, S., Almeida, M., & Jakubovski, E. (2014). The Effect of Learning in an Educational Setting. International Journal of Education and Psycological Research, 52-55.
Schutz, C. E, (1977). Political Humour : From Aristophanes to Sam Ervin. Rutherford : Farleigh Dickinson University Press.
Shifman, L. (2014). The Cultural Logic of Photo-Based Meme Genres. Journal of Visual Culture, 13(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/1470412914546577. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1470412914546577
Tsfati, Y., Tukachinsky, R., & Peri, Y. (2009). Exposure to News, Political Comedy, and Entertainment Talkshows : Concern about Security and Political Mistrust. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 21, 399-423. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edp015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edp015
Vissers, S. & Stolle, D. (2014). The Internet and New Modes of Political Participation : Online Versus Offline Participation. Information, Communication & Society, 17(8), 937-955. 17. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2013.867356. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2013.867356
Wolff, H. A., Smith, C. E., & Murray, H. A. (1934). The Psychology of Humour, I : A Study of Response to Race-Disparagement Jokes. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 345-365. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/h0074853. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/h0075400
Xenos, M. A., & Becker, A. B. (2009). Moments of Zen : Effects of the Daily Show on Information Seeking and Political Learning. Political Communication, 26(3), 317-332. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584600903053569. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10584600903053569
Young, D.G. (2004). Late-Night Comedy in Election 2000 : Its Influence on Candidate Trait Ratings and the Moderating Effects of Political Knowledge and Partisanship. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 48(1), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15506878jobem4801_1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1207/s15506878jobem4801_1
Zillmann, D., & Cantor, J. R. (1976). A Disposition Theory of Humour and Mirth. In A. Chapman, & H. C. Foot, Humour and Laughter : Theory, Research, and Applications. London : Wiley.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Pratibha Rani, Dr. Sudarshan Yadav
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
With the licence CC-BY, authors retain the copyright, allowing anyone to download, reuse, re-print, modify, distribute, and/or copy their contribution. The work must be properly attributed to its author.
It is not necessary to ask for further permission from the author or journal board.
This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.
