THE INFLUENCE OF SATIRE ON POLITICS
SATIRE is literally using humour when making commentary or criticism. Its influence on politics these days has developed hugely especially with the coming of social media and the harsh reality is that the influence will only get bigger and bigger.
We now live in an era where people love entertainment so much that even politicians have realised that for them to get the voter’s attention they ought to be humourous.
It is strongly believed that satire’s influence on politics started over two thousand years ago and the ancient Greek dramatist, Aristophanes, is considered to be the one who satirised politics because of the way he criticised Anthenian leaders and their conduct of the Peloponnesian War.
Today’s politics have been satirised world over and that is the reason why more people have come to love politics and their participation has increased.
Politics is now no longer about just serious policy debates but also about humour and politicians who are too serious are sadly often considered “boring” and “bitter.”
The late Michael Sata is considered the “greatest Zambian politician” not because he had the best policies and ideologies but because he had the greatest sense of humour.
Sata’s humour made people pay more attention to him compared to his rivals. He was so gifted that he would effortlessly put across a valid point while at the same time make people laugh. If Sata was a politician of the “social media era” of today, he would have had thousands of followers on Facebook. As a matter of fact, he would have had the largest following because his posts would have been the most liked and shared. Sata practiced satirical politics and even though we didn’t have Facebook then, he still was the most trending politician. Newspapers sold like hot cakes when Sata was on the front page and his political interviews were the most watched and listened to. Today, we have politicians like Sean Tembo of the Patriots For Economic Progress (PeP) whose satirical politics are often mistaken for “dis respectfulness .”
Many people wrongly think that he is a frustrated politician because he got zeros in the last election but the truth is that he got zeros because he didn’t practice satirical politics then but now that he is, he will never get zeros again because he has captured the voters’ attention.
Sean Tembo’s numbers on Facebook have immensely increased due to his new adopted style of satirical politics and many people don’t realise this.
His social media posts are arguably the most screenshotted and shared. Sean Tembo has now mastered the art of offering checks and balances to the ruling party while at the same time offering entertainment to his followers.
The way Sean Tembo is using social media to offer checks and balances to the Government is not much different to how President Hakainde Hichilema aka “Bally”’ used it while in opposition.
Before “Bally” evolved to satirical politics, he was often accused of being too serious and technical. His opponents capitalised on this and called him names like “calculator boy” and later on “bitter” but things miraculously changed when he added humour to his politics.
The politician many called boring became the coolest and the most trending.
What I fail to understand is that the people attacking Sean Tembo today for his satirical politics are the ones that loved “Bally’s” satirical politics a few months ago.
I remember how “Bally” while in opposition would make satirised political comments and we all loved his new found sense of humour. He would at times sarcastically attack the former Head of State but it did not mean that he was a frustrated politician or he had personal hatred against the former Head of State.
He was just after our attention and he got it, it is the same case with Sean Tembo.
Satirical politics, hate or love them, are very important to democracy because they influence political participation. A recent research conducted at Stanford University has shown that an exposure to satirical politics evokes mixed emotions which consequently mobilises participation.
Actor and writer Peter Sagal once said “satirical politics help people to deal with the reality of politics and they keep them from being depressed and anxious. Some people approach me and tell me that the jokes I make help them cope with politicians’ lies and incompetentness.”
I believe that without political satire, many people would be depressed because politics by their nature can be depressing.
The most important thing about satirical politics is that it raises awareness about the current state of affairs and it helps us confront the unpleasant reality and improve it.
This type of politics has a unique effective way of impacting voters, especially the undecided ones.
Satirical politics are here to stay because they are now part of the game. Therefore, we don’t have to hate the player, rather we should maybe hate the game.