No Laughing Matter

Now, where were we before I was distracted by switching The Sleaze over to its new format? I was probably ranting about the current state of satire - it has become something of an obsession of mine lately. I was reminded of it the other day when I found myself agreeing with something written by Martin Kettle in The Guardian. Well, I suppose that even patronising, faux-liberal, closet Tory, middle class journalists have to be right some of the time. Anyway, he was on about the fact that what passes for satire in the public mind - Have I Got News For You and Private Eye - inevitably has a corrosive effect on political culture. Their relentless cynicism and portrayal of all politicians as venal, corrupt and/or stupid, ultimately undermines public confidence in the political system and discourages anyone with noble intentions from engaging in politics at any level. Whilst Kettle might be attributing more influence to these 'satire' outlets than their viewing figures and circulation, respectively, would indicate. Nevertheless, they are seen as the 'satire' institutions which set the agenda for the wider satire and political humour community.

That's certainly true as far the UK's online 'satire' 'community' goes - the subject matter, the tone, everything about their stories is clearly inspired by Have I Got News For You and Private Eye. Which is depressing. As Kettle points out in his article, the focus of those two 'institutions' is very narrow: corrupt, stupid politicians. It's getting tiresome, not to mentioned tired out. Even when they do foray into areas outside of politics the formula is the same: corrupt, stupid sportsmen/celebrities/journalists/fat people/poor people etc (delete as applicable). Consequently, there are whole areas of public life and current affairs which they simply aren't addressing properly. But, as I've argued before, we shouldn't be surprised as the dominant form of 'satire' these days is effectively 'establishment satire', behind its pretence of 'balance' and political impartiality' lurks a deeply conservative agenda. Which, again, shouldn't surprise us, as its main purveyors are middle class, privately educated men - part of the establishment, in other words.