Satire

[poliphilo]

The new Channel More4 (or Mofo as I think they'd like us to call it) kicked off last night with a brilliant comedy drama about the Blair government. It was lotsa fun and Bernard Hill (Theoden in LOTR) was amazingly good as former Home Secretary David Blunkett.

But does satire change anything? Has a government ever been brought down by it?
Britain has a robust tradition of political satire going back to the 18th century and in all that time we haven't had a single revolution. Instead of hanging politicians from lamp posts we point the finger at them and snigger.

So satire acts as a safety valve, protecting those in power.

Comments

[jackiejj.livejournal.com]

Satire can serve as an indicator, too, of how brave the monkeys are around the Alphas.

Also, in a police state, satire isn't allowed, so it's nice to remind ourselves that we can stick out our tongues and throw bananas at the Monkey Men we elected.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Yes.

The fact that this play was broadcast, in spite of David Blunkett threatening a libel action, indicates that our liberties are still in place.