Thesis (M.A.)--University of Delaware, 2006. / Principal faculty advisor: J. Ritchie Garrison, Winterthur Program in Early American Culture. Includes bibliographical references.

In North America, race and racialization can be seen as products of domination that are (re)produced and perpetuated through the mechanisms of racial interpellation. This concept refers to the fact that identity and subjectivity are imposed on racialized subjects through institutions and practices such as racial profiling. In this sense, literature on race, racialization, and resistance in North America reveals that racial profiling is a key issue in the region even if a façade of post-racialism trumps the existence of ongoing injustices, inequalities, and limitations of freedom faced by racialized minorities. In this respect, this research emphasizes that language, representations and practices are at the core of this issue as components of dynamics of racial interpellation. This research also acknowledges the existence of endless struggles for respect among racialized minorities, specifically Arabs and Muslims in North America. These struggles seek to allow racialized subjects to be seen as members of a society in which race and differences are not the underlying concern. Since humour (satire) has historically been recognized as a tool of disruption of dominant discourses, in this research we ask: how do comedians issued from racialized minorities face these struggles? With ongoing atrocities faced by racialized minorities, in this paper, I seek to reflect on how the intersection of race and comedy can be used to negotiate (accept, tolerate, and resist) the reproduction of racialized subjects. I focus on the way political satire faces Althusserian ideological interpellation (later translated to racial interpellation by Frantz Fanon). Can the latter be resisted or challenged through humour? This thesis argues that when race and comedy intersect it allows comedians to voice challenges often faced by racialized communities in order to resist an existing reality and create new meanings. As Frantz Fanon once mentioned: “Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it”. Is the fight against racialization part of the mission that popular comedians of minority communities have given to themselves?

Aristophanes to Fo is a study of the principal comedic conventions of Aristophanes' political satire and their relationship to contemporary political satire. A template of these principal conventions is tabulated. This is then compared to, and contrasted with, conventions used in subsequent plays in the genre of political satire, including one written as the practice component of this exegesis. This process determines the influence of Aristophanic conventions on political satire from 4th century BCE Greece to the modern era. There is an analytical emphasis on three 20th century plays as case studies and on my play, Soft Murder, which is case study number four. At the core of the research is the hypothesis that Aristophanic comedic conventions are still relevant to the genre of political satire in contemporary theatre. To retain relevance the genre should be a discourse on a situation or event that has social as well as political meaning to its audience and its presentation should have entertainment value for the culture of the time. Soft Murder is a fundamental part of this process and is written concurrently with the research component.

Thesis (M.J.) - Carleton University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 190-209). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2009. / Title from title page (Digital Archive@GSU, viewed July 6, 2010) M. Lane Bruner, committee chair; Alessandra Raengo, Jeffrey Bennett, committee members. Includes bibliographical references (p. 161-180).

Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2006. / Michael Bruner, committee chair; Ted Friedman, Greg Smith, committee members. Electronic text (105 p.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed July 17, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 96-105).

xi, 112 p. : ill. A print copy of this title is available through the UO Libraries under the call number: KNIGHT PN6149.P64 V36 2000 / This thesis examines the performance of political pranks by contemporary radical activists and anarchists. Pranks, used symbolically to subvert authority and collapse hierarchy, have become important tools for grassroots political movements. Activists utilize pranks as a form of "culture jamming" to undermine, humiliate, and educate. This thesis documents political pranks pulled by Earth First!, the Yippies, the Biotic Baking Brigade, and the Eugene Anarchists for Torrey (EAT) Campaign to show how pranks are performed and narrated within anarchist subcultures. Drawing on cultural and performance studies, as well as on anarchist theories, this thesis demonstrates how pranks can become performances of resistance and criticism that disrupt the status quo. / Committee in charge: Dr. Daniel N. Wojcik, Chair; Dr. Suzanne Clark; Dr. Carol Silverman

The focus of this thesis is Pieter-Dirk Uys's use of the rhetorical trope chiasmus as a satirical tool, an aspect of his work that has, to date, received little attention. The multiple nuances of 'chiasmus' are examined, pointing to the performer/persona relationship in terms of ‘ “1" create Image; Image makes "I" , (Breytenbach, 1985) and the related 'semiotic richness of stage sign-vehicles' (Elam, 1980). The primarily semiotic analyses of chiastic configurations are supported by close textual analyses throughout. Pieter-Dirk Uys's chiastic admix of his satirical pleasure/pain principle (entertainment! censure) is analysed in one newspaper article, one prose work and two revues. Uys's satire is contextualised against the background of the development of satire. The inherently chiastic mode of satire and various techniques and writing styles are explored. Contemporary society lacks definitive moral, social and political norms, and the study attempts to show how Uys entertains by decoding 'the absurdities of contemporary reality' (Fletcher, 1987:ix) as a response to the amorphous experience of living in South African society from the early 1980s until 2001. Uys's use of female characters to articulate his dissatisfaction with South Africa's socio¬political climate during the last quarter of the twentieth century is explored in a selection of three plays, four prose works and ten revues. The focus falls on his creation of female personae, particularly the sustained portrayal of his popular persona, Evita Bezuidenhout. Uys's use of 'real' and 'false disguise' (Baker, 1994) is discussed. The transvestite persona's roles of both an 'intervener' who challenges thestatus quo and alerts the public to 'cultural, social or aesthetic dissonance' and an 'interventor' or 'enabling fantasy' (Garber, 1992:6) are considered. The focus then shifts to Uys's deployment of various non-verbal sign-vehicles in his dramatic productions. Non-verbal and verbal signs are jointly responsible for the production of meaning in the theatre. Because 'theatrical signs ... acquire qualities ... that they do not have in real life' (Bogatyrev, 1938:35-6), audiences must utilise 'theatrical competence' (Elam, 1980: 87). A study of electronic recordings of eight revues reveals that Uys's non-verbal signs are as chiastic as his verbal ones. Uys's perpetuation of the Evita 'myth' as/or 'legend' is traced from her beginnings as a newspaper 'voice', to popular theatre and television personality, to the recipient of prestigious awards. Evita's current and possible future roles are considered. Uys's fabrication of Evita's family and her 'biography' is also examined as contributory to the legend, exploring Evita's metamorphosis from a housewife to a political figurehead who conflates fictional and real life exploits with South African politicians - a strategy through which Uys appears to align himself with current feminist issues. The slippage between fact and fiction has interesting consequences for Uys's level of control over his Evita persona, who seems occasionally to control him. This thesis concludes with a review of the aims and rationale of the study, providing a broad synopsis of the main findings and looking at its limitations. Finally, it suggests possible areas for further research. / Thesis (DLitt (English))--University of Pretoria, 2001. / Modern European Languages / unrestricted

Background: In the age of Millennials, when traditional advertising no longer holds the same power as before, an interesting trend has developed. Controversial politicians are on the rise and for-profit companies are starting to realize the opportunity to reach the hearts of Millennials with the use of political satire in advertising. Problem: Political satire in advertising has not yet been properly conceptualized and the related studies focus rather on its effectiveness in terms of virality. However, this controversial format of advertising needs to be studied in terms of consumer attitudes and several studies here provide mixed results depending on other considerations. Purpose: This thesis aims to explore attitudes of Millennials towards political satire in advertising used by for-profit companies together with related considerations and so to answer the question whether this format could be effective among the generation of Millennials. Method: The research takes exploratory qualitative design and combines two data streams. Data in the form of Facebook comments at the page Zomri where the satirical ads were posted were reinforced by data from three focus groups. Thematic analysis was then used to analyze them and compare them with the developed theoretical model. Given the controversial topic, ethical considerations were emphasized. Results: The findings confirm the need for a more complex perspective on political satire in advertising and validate the developed theoretical model. This format of advertising is capable to  induce positive attitudes towards the ads, but more considerations play the role in attitudes towards the brands owned by for-profit companies. These include credibility of the company, message-specific factors and consumer-specific factors.

The relationship between mainland China and Hong Kong has not been smooth since the 1997 handover. The relationship has deteriorated further in the past decade, and at the same time the Chinese government has been tightening its grip on Hong Kong with a series of national policies. With this backdrop, some among Hong Kong's media have adopted video political satire as their way of reporting, thereby pushing video political satire into the limelight. Political satire in Hong Kong has a long history, but it did not receive much attention until the emergence of video political satire in the digital age. Hong Kong media that supports both the pan-democratic and pro-establishment camps utilise political satire as a political weapon to criticise and delegitimise the opposing camp. This study has modified Hallin's sphere as its theoretical foundation, and the sphere of legitimate controversy is understood as the battlefield between the pro-establishment and pan-democratic camps. Political satire is used as a weapon to jam the discourse of the opposing camp in the sphere of legitimate controversy. This study investigated the influence of online video political satire in post-handover Hong Kong, in light of the increasingly intense relationship between mainland China and Hong Kong. Six long-held ideological struggles have been used as analytical tools to identify the embedded packages. This study has achieved three research objectives: it has identified the changing face of political satire in the digital age, namely, the shift from political cartoon to video political satire; it has displayed the difference in production synergies from individual-based producers to institutional-based producers; and it has challenged the assumption that political satire is subversive in nature by uncovering the ideological packages of different political camps. This thesis has chosen four policy cases as case studies. These policies are highly related to China and are controversial. This study employed quantitative content analysis, qualitative content analysis and interviews with relevant stakeholders. Results showed that video political satire has room to include more varied information than the political cartoon, including the effect on audio and visual elements. Video political satire also has higher spreadability as it is distributed online, whereas the political cartoon is dissembled via newspaper. The different production synergies (from individual-based to institutional-based) are constituted by individual freedom and the self-positioning as a journalist. This study could link video political satire study in Hong Kong to a wider scope of foreign political satire research, which mostly focuses on individually-produced political satire works. This study also revisits the concept of culture jamming, and has developed an advanced concept called discourse jamming. Unlike cultural jamming, discourse jamming neither assumes that political satire is subversive nor that it is an "eye-opener" which jams mainstream culture. Discourse jamming is a more flexible concept, indicating that political satire can be used by both the pan-democratic and pro-establishment camps.