I have a new article out in Communication Quarterly on the Onion News Network: “Crafting Hyperreal Spaces for Comic Insights: The Onion News Network’s Ironic Iconicity.” I’ve been an admirer of ONN’s humor for quite a while, but also believe the inundation of comic discourses that have emerged in American political communication since the 1990s has been relatively undertheorized.
In other words, we need a better vocabulary for teasing out the operations and functions of these evolving comic formats, which I argue give us a great deal of insight into contemporary public discourse in the larger mediascape—and tell us about what forms of communication
are most amenable to democratic possibilities in the future. This article describes an innovative hyperreal, socio-political technique called “ironic iconicity,” which differentiates the communication strategies of ONN from other formats such as The Daily Show. Here’s one of my favorite, classic ONN clips, which is unpacked in the article:
Comments 4
Kenneth M. Kambara — October 15, 2011
I'm glad you posted this & I look forward to reading the article. It's not in ProQuest yet.
Do you have a typology or dimensions that go along with ironic iconicity? Love that term, BTW. I recently blogged about the return of Beavis & Butthead, musing how it would be great if Mike Judge went more political. I'm not holding my breath, but the intertextuality/intermediality of the 1990s segments involving commenting on the music videos always struck me as a key source of humor. Colbert does the same, where a character's lens channels the funny in a context of hyperreal intertextuality/intermediality. I feel communications are ever evolving to the point where we're in a decentralized Inception-like "apparatus" of floating signifiers, but I still believe there are things that tether texts to prevent an all out anarchy of the sign. Or, am I deluded?
At any rate, I'm looking forward to reading your article.
Don Waisanen — October 19, 2011
Hey Ken--I just sent you a copy of the article (I'd be happy to forward to others as well). One of the first sections is on ironic iconicity, and subsequent three are a typology of its functions.
Mike Judge did try to go more political with Idiocracy--have you seen it? From what I understand, however, the movie got too satirical about corporate sponsors, and much of the funding was (ahem) dropped halfway through filming. You can pretty much see a nosedive at about that point in the movie. I still show clips from the first half in classes, as the satire about current and future dangers of anti-intellectualism speaks loudly.
Let me know if you have any thoughts about ONN, the "tethered" dimension you're describing seems to be key to the form they created. Even if they're tethering their humor in simulacra, somehow what emerges ends up being more authentic and morally real (at a minimum, in presenting alternative "facts") than the hyperreal landscape they're surveying. It's hyperlinked, indirect advocacy with a point.
Kenneth M. Kambara — October 20, 2011
Hi Don,
I'm enjoying a full-body latte as I read this! I did get the article and look forward to reading it. So, more later.
On another note, I'm in town (Westchester) I'm hoping we can meet up and maybe do a post(s) on/from OWS.
Food Freak Frank — December 15, 2011
This is awesome! I love the onion news, and one my favorites is the situation in nigeria one as well. Good choice. I also love the ninja parade one. You should check that one out if you haven't seen it yet.