The Critical Power of Political and Social Satire in Modern Society

At its core, political satire challenges power by making it look ordinary, flawed, and even ridiculous. Leaders who present themselves as untouchable or heroic are reduced to exaggerated characters, exposing the gap between their public image and their actual behavior. This act of symbolic reduction is powerful, because authority often survives on illusion, and satire has a unique talent for dissolving illusions with a well-timed joke.