| |
|
Sure. A satire becomes less an in-joke and more an effective polkitical expression in direct proportion to (a) the public profile of the persons being satirized, and (b) the public profile of the satire itself. Mass media has given satire unprecendented power to affect real change.
Thomas Nast's cartoons are generally credited with helping destroy Tammany Hall, the New York City political machine run by William "Boss" Tweed. This they did by swaying public opinion, true--but Tweed himself is repouted to have railed furiously about "them damned pictures."
And George Bush (the elder) reportedly holds a long-standing personal emnity for Gary Trudeau, over his treatment in the comic strip Doonesbury--and has no love lost, either, for Dana Carvey, who portrayed him on Saturday Night Live.
Is this the sort of impact you're talkking about? |
|
|
