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Part of
The Power of Satire
Edited by Marijke Meijer Drees and Sonja de Leeuw
[Topics in Humor Research 2] 2015
► pp. 19–32

Satire and dignity

This chapter examines satire from the target’s point of view: how to respond to satire without losing dignity? The power of satire lies in its capacity to challenge dignity, which threatens social position, political legitimacy and individual well-being. Analysing concrete examples of satire, the essay reviews the merits, risks and limitations of possible responses: laugh, joke back, argue, retaliate, show anger, or withdraw. The capacity to respond with dignity is not distributed evenly: not everyone has the resources to do so. Moreover, there is not always consensus on what counts as a dignified response. In today’s increasingly diverse and globalised societies, this makes satire increasingly contested and risky, but also an increasingly important domain for intercultural encounters and negotiations.

Published online: 22 October 2015
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/thr.2.02kui
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