Abstract
The safety valve metaphor is ubiquitous in scholarship on satire and usually implies that, although the genre seems intent on upsetting the political order, it really has unintended conservative effects which maintain the status quo. Although there is previous criticism of the safety valve theory, which focuses on the inadequacy of its empirical predictions or the flawed theoretical foundations of the associated relief theory of humor, the metaphor remains in common use – and continues to obscure our understanding of satire’s political effects. What remains overlooked in humor studies is the fundamental mistakenness of the metaphor itself. We argue that comparing satire to a safety valve always implies a reasoning about the genre which is mistaken because the mechanistic function of a safety valve cannot be informatively mapped onto the political effects of satire. As a result, the safety valve metaphor is problematically opaque (because its actual meaning is unclear) and elastic (because it means whatever anyone wants it to mean). The metaphor fails to elucidate how satire works even in authoritarian political contexts, like Egypt, which should, in principle, act as a fertile ground for its purported function as a safety valve.
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to Olly Double for valuable feedback.
References
Al-Bernameg [The Program]. 2013. Al-Layla ma‘ Morsi. YouTube video, 23 minutes. The Night with Morsi [season 2, episode 18]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd_ye80X2I0&t=866s.Suche in Google Scholar
Al-Shaikh, Abdul-Rahim. 2007. Historiographies of laughter: Poetics of deformation in Palestinian political cartoon. Third Text 1. 65–78.10.1080/09528820601138626Suche in Google Scholar
Anagondahalli, Deepa & Sahar Khamis. 2014. Mubarak framed! Humor and political activism before and during the Egyptian revolution. Arab Media & Society 19. https://www.arabmediasociety.com/?article=846.Suche in Google Scholar
Armbrust, Walter. 2008. Bravely stating the obvious: Egyptian humor and the anti-American consensus. Arab Media & Society. Available at: https://www.arabmediasociety.com/bravely-stating-the-obvious-egyptian-humor-and-the-anti-american-consensus/.Suche in Google Scholar
Banerjee-Dube, Ishita. 2015. A history of modern India. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9781107588387Suche in Google Scholar
Becker, Henk A. 2014. Social impact assessment: Method and experience in Europe, North America and the developing world. London: Routledge.10.4324/9781315072432Suche in Google Scholar
Brandes, Stanley H. 1977. Peaceful protest: Spanish political humor in a time of crisis. Western Folklore 36(4). 331–346. https://doi.org/10.2307/1499197.Suche in Google Scholar
Burke, Peter. 1978. Popular culture in early modern Europe. Farnham: Ashgate.Suche in Google Scholar
Bushman, Brad J. 2002. Does venting anger feed or extinguish the flame? Catharsis, rumination, distraction, anger, and aggressive responding. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 28(6). 724–731. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167202289002.Suche in Google Scholar
Carswell, Douglas. 2017. Leaving the EU is the start of a liberal insurgency. The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/05/leaving-eu-liberal-insurgency-brexit-not-trump-britains-safety-valve-angry-populism.Suche in Google Scholar
Chapman, Anthony J. 2007. Humor and laughter: Theory, research, and applications. London: Wiley.Suche in Google Scholar
Chen, Dan. 2016. Review essay: The safety valve analogy in Chinese politics. Journal of East Asian Studies 16. 281–294. https://doi.org/10.1017/jea.2016.4.Suche in Google Scholar
Day, Amber. 2011. Satire and dissent. Interventions in contemporary political debate. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.10.2307/j.ctv34wmmdhSuche in Google Scholar
Davies, Christie. 1984. Commentary on Anton C. Zijderveld’s trend report on “The sociology of humour and laughter”. Current Sociology 32(1). 142–157. https://doi.org/10.1177/001139284032001010.Suche in Google Scholar
Davies, Christie. 2007. Humour and protest: Jokes under communism. International Review of Social History 52(S15). 291–305. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0020859007003252.Suche in Google Scholar
Davis, Nathalie Z. 1975. Society and culture in early modern France. Stanford: Stanford University Press.10.1515/9781503621183Suche in Google Scholar
Dentith, Simon. 1995. Bakhtinian thought: An introductory reader. London: Routledge.Suche in Google Scholar
Double, Oliver. 2020. Alternative comedy: 1979 and the reinvention of British stand-up. London: Bloomsbury.10.5040/9781350052833Suche in Google Scholar
Douglass, Frederick. 1849. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave. Boston: The Anti-Slavery Office.Suche in Google Scholar
Dozio, Cristina. 2016. Egyptian sense of humour: Characters, strategies, and context, Unpublished PhD thesis. In The Novels Of Mustajāb, Shalabī, and Abū Julayyil (1982-2008). Milan, Italy: University of Milan. Available at: https://air.unimi.it/retrieve/handle/2434/485601/807585/phd_unimi_R10628.pdf.Suche in Google Scholar
Dryden, John. (1693) 1926. In William P. Ker (ed.). Essays. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Suche in Google Scholar
Ellis-Petersen, Hannah. 2016. “It makes you Recoil”: Trumpageddon at the Edinburgh Fringe. The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/09/taking-donald-trump-edinburgh-fringe.Suche in Google Scholar
Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2018. In George Henry Evans (ed.), Encyclopædia Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Henry-Evans.Suche in Google Scholar
Evans, Dylan. 2003. Emotion: A very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.10.1093/actrade/9780192804617.001.0001Suche in Google Scholar
Farjami, Mahmud. 2017. Iranian political satirists: Experience and motivation in the contemporary era. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.10.1075/thr.5Suche in Google Scholar
Freedman, Leonard. 2008. The offensive art: Political satire and its censorship around the world. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.10.5040/9798400692765Suche in Google Scholar
Freud, Sigmund. 1974/1905. Jokes and their relation to the unconscious [Der Witz und seine Beziehung zum Unbewußten], James Strachey (Tr.). New York: Penguin.Suche in Google Scholar
Freud, Sigmund. 1962/1900. The interpretation of dreams. (Part one). James Strachey (Tr.). London: Hogarth Press and the Institute of Psycho-analysis.Suche in Google Scholar
Gini, Al & Abraham Singer. 2020. The sanity of satire. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield.Suche in Google Scholar
Griffin, Dustin. 1990. Venting spleen. Essays in Criticism 40(2). 124–135. https://doi.org/10.1093/eic/xxxx.2.124.Suche in Google Scholar
Groskop, Viv. 2017. A new satire must emerge – One that breaks out of the liberal bubble. The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/feb/13/mccarthys-sean-spicer-is-fab-but-satire-must-target-left-and-right.Suche in Google Scholar
Gordon, Joel & Heba Arafa. 2014. “Stuck with him”: Bassem Youssef and the Egyptian revolution’s last laugh. Review of Middle East Studies 48(1/2). 34–43. https://doi.org/10.1017/s2151348100056809.Suche in Google Scholar
Haugerud, Angelique. 2013. No billionaire left behind: Satirical activism in America. Stanford: Stanford University Press.10.1515/9780804786317Suche in Google Scholar
Hawes, James. 2017. Praise Philip, the Prince of Misrule. The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/may/06/philip-prince-of-misrule-said-what-we-darent.Suche in Google Scholar
Helmy, Mohamed M. & Sabine Frerichs. 2013. Stripping the boss: The powerful role of humor in the Egyptian revolution 2011. Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science 47(4). 450–481. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-013-9239-x.Suche in Google Scholar
Humphrey, Chris. 2001. The politics of carnival: Festive misrule in medieval England. Manchester: Manchester University Press.Suche in Google Scholar
Ibrahim, Amal & Nahed Eltantawy. 2017. Egypt’s Jon Stewart: Humorous political satire and serious culture jamming. International Journal of Communication 11. 2806–2824.Suche in Google Scholar
Karpf, Anne. 2016. Satire won’t rid us of trump, but it will make us feel better. The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/26/satire-donald-trump-bigotry-prejudice-humour-escapism.Suche in Google Scholar
Kazarian, Shahe S. 2011. Humor in the collectivist Arab Middle East: The case of Lebanon. HUMOR. International Journal of Humor Research 24(3). 329–348. https://doi.org/10.1515/humr.2011.020.Suche in Google Scholar
Keane, Catherine. 2015. Juvenal and the satiric emotions. Oxford: Oxford University Press.10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199981892.001.0001Suche in Google Scholar
Kennedy-Moore, Eileen & Jeanne C. Watson. 2011. Expressing emotion: Myths, realities and therapeutic strategies. New York: The Guildford Press.Suche in Google Scholar
Koestler, Arthur. 1964. The act of creation. London: Hutchinson.Suche in Google Scholar
Lakoff, George & Mark Johnson. 1999. Philosophy in the flesh. New York: Basic Books.Suche in Google Scholar
Larsen, Egon. 1980. Wit as a weapon. London: Frederick Muller Limited.Suche in Google Scholar
Link, Perry & Qiang Xiao. 2013. From “Fart people” to citizens. Journal of Democracy 24(1). 79–85. https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2013.0014.Suche in Google Scholar
Malcolm, Jeremy. 2012. Online freedom of expression: Edge cases and safety valves. In Wolfgang Kleinwächter (ed.), Human rights and Internet governance, 42–45. Berlin: Internet Society and Collaboratory e.V.Suche in Google Scholar
Marcus, Leah S. 1989. The politics of mirth: Jonson, Herrick, Milton, Marvell, and the Defense of Old Holiday Pastimes. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Suche in Google Scholar
Marsot, Afaf Lutfi Al-Sayyid. 1971. The cartoon in Egypt. Comparative Studies in Society and History 13(1). 2–15. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0010417500006083.Suche in Google Scholar
Marsot, Afaf Lutfi Al-Sayyid 1980. Humor: The two-edged sword. Middle East Studies Association Bulletin 14(1). 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0026318400007963.Suche in Google Scholar
Martin, Rod A. 2007. The psychology of humor. An integrative approach. Burlington: Elsevier.Suche in Google Scholar
Martin, Ryan C., Kelsey R. Coyier, Leah M. VanSistine & Kelly L. Schroeder. 2013. Anger on the Internet: The perceived value of rant-sites. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 16(2). 119–122. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2012.0130.Suche in Google Scholar
McReynolds, Paul. (1990). Motives and metaphors: A study in scientific creativity. In David Leary (ed.), Metaphors in the history of psychology, 133–172. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Suche in Google Scholar
Morreall, John. 1983. Taking laughter seriously. Albany, NY: State University of New York.Suche in Google Scholar
Morreall, John. 2009. Comic relief: A comprehensive philosophy of humor. Malden: Wiley-Blackwell.10.1002/9781444307795Suche in Google Scholar
Nokes, David. 1987. Raillery and rage: A study of eighteenth century satire. Hemel Hempstead. Harvester Press.Suche in Google Scholar
Oldani, John. 1988. Is the Pope Catholic? A content analysis of American Jokelore about the catholic clergy. In Chris Powell & George E. C. Paton (eds.), Humour in society: Resistance and control, 67–82. London: Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-19193-2_4.Suche in Google Scholar
Piersen, William D. 1976. Puttin’ down Ole Massa: African satire in the new world. Research in African Literatures 7(2). 166–180.Suche in Google Scholar
Quirk, Sophie. 2015. Why stand-up matters. How comedians manipulate and influence. London: Bloomsbury Methuen.10.5040/9781472578969Suche in Google Scholar
Rhodes, Carl. 2002. Politics and popular culture: Organizational carnival in the Springfield nuclear power plant. In Stewart R. Clegg (eds.), Management and organization paradoxes, 119–138. Amsterdam: Benjamins. p. 135–136. https://doi.org/10.1075/aios.9.08rho.Suche in Google Scholar
Rodrigues, Suzana B. & David L. Collinson. 1995. “Having fun?”: Humour as resistance in Brazil. Organization Studies 16(5). 739–768. https://doi.org/10.1177/017084069501600501.Suche in Google Scholar
Scott, James C. 1990. Domination and the arts of resistance. Hidden transcripts. New Haven: Yale University Press.Suche in Google Scholar
Seery, Mark, Roxane Cohen Silver, E. Alison Holman, Whitney A. Ence & Thia Q. Chu. 2008. Expressing thoughts and feelings following a collective trauma: Immediate responses to 9/11 predict negative outcomes in a national sample. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 76(4). 657–667. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006x.76.4.657.Suche in Google Scholar
Shannon, Fred A. 1954. A post mortem on the labor-safety valve theory. Agricultural History 19(1). 31–37.Suche in Google Scholar
Shehata, Samer S. 1992. The politics of laughter: Nasser, Sadat, and Mubarek in Egyptian political jokes. Folklore 103. 75–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/0015587x.1992.9715831.Suche in Google Scholar
Snodgrass, Mary E. (ed.). 1996. Encyclopedia of satirical literature. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.Suche in Google Scholar
Speier, Hans. 1998. Wit and politics: An essay on laughter and power. American Journal of Sociology 103(5). 1352–1401. https://doi.org/10.1086/231355.Suche in Google Scholar
Spencer, Herbert. 1911. On the physiology of laughter. In Essays on education, etc. London: Dent.Suche in Google Scholar
Spencer, Paul. 1986. Interpretations of the dance in anthropology. In Paul Spencer (ed.), Society and the dance: The social anthropology of process and performance, 1–46. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Suche in Google Scholar
Stallybrass, Peter & AllonWhite. 1986. The politics and poetics of transgression. London: Methuen.Suche in Google Scholar
Sutherland, James. 1958. English satire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Suche in Google Scholar
Taylor Allen, Ann. 2015. Satire and society in Wilhelmine Germany: Kladderadatsch and Simplicissimus, 1890–1914. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky.Suche in Google Scholar
Taylor, DavidJ. 2003. The Joke’s on Them. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/jan/31/britishidentity.pressandpublishing.Suche in Google Scholar
Test, GeorgeA. 1991. Satire: Spirit and art. Gainesville: University Press of Florida.Suche in Google Scholar
’t Hart, Marjolein. 2007. Humour and social protest: An introduction. International Review of Social History 52(S15). 1–20.10.1017/S0020859007003094Suche in Google Scholar
Thompson, Steven. 2000. Tom Lehrer. The A.V. Club, May 24. http://www.avclub.com/article/tom-lehrer-13660.Suche in Google Scholar
Wedderburn, William. 2002/1912. In Edward C. Moulton (ed.), Allan Octavian Hume: Father of the Indian National Congress, 1829–1912. Oxford: Oxford University Press A Biography.Suche in Google Scholar
Wedeen, Lisa. 2013. Ideology and humor in dark times: Notes from Syria. Critical Inquiry 39(4). 841–873. https://doi.org/10.1086/671358.Suche in Google Scholar
Williams, Zoe. 2016. Is satire dead? Armando Iannucci and others on why there are so few laughs these days. The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/oct/18/is-satire-dead-politicians-held-in-contempt-armando-iannucci-few-laughs.Suche in Google Scholar
Wroe, Jonathan. 2009. Laughing matters. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2009/apr/11/interview-john-lloyd-comedy-producer.Suche in Google Scholar
Youssef, Bassem. 2017. Revolution for dummies. New York: HarperCollins.Suche in Google Scholar
Young, Danagal, LanceHolbert & Kathleen H.Jamieson. 2014. Successful practices for the strategic use of political parody and satire. American Behavioral Scientist 58(9). 1111–1130. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764213506213.Suche in Google Scholar
Zack, Liesbeth. 2012. “Leave, I want to have a shower!” The use of humour on the signs and banners seen during the demonstrations in Tahrir Square. In René Genis, Eric de Haard, Janneke Kalsbeek, Evelien Keizer & Jenny Stelleman (eds.), Between West and East: Festschrift for Wim Honselaar on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday, 711–729. Amsterdam: Pegasus.Suche in Google Scholar
Zijderveld, AntonC. 1968. Jokes and their relation to social reality. Social Research 2(35). 286–311.Suche in Google Scholar
© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Full Length Articles
- Humor and A1C: the interaction between humor and diabetes control
- Humor styles influence the perception of depression-related internet memes in depression
- Self-deprecating humor and task persistence: the moderating role of self-defeating humor style
- Psychometric properties of the Comic Style Markers – Portuguese version: applying bifactor and hierarchical approaches to studying broad versus narrow styles of humor
- Are more humorous children more intelligent? A case from Turkish culture
- The variable of gender and its interplay with mother tongue in the humor and laughter of bilingual couples
- Failed humor in conversation: disalignment and (dis)affiliation as a type of interactional failure
- Satire as safety valve: moving beyond a mistaken metaphor
- ‘Do Mormons think The Book of Mormon is funny?’
- Identities are no joke (or are they?): humor and identity in Vivek Mahbubani’s stand-up
- Book Reviews
- Waterlow, Jonathan: It’s Only a Joke, Comrade! Humour, Trust and Everyday Life under Stalin
- William V. Costanzo: When the World Laughs: Film Comedy East and West
- Claire Schmidt: If You Don’t Laugh You’ll Cry: The Occupational Humor of White Wisconsin Prison Workers
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Full Length Articles
- Humor and A1C: the interaction between humor and diabetes control
- Humor styles influence the perception of depression-related internet memes in depression
- Self-deprecating humor and task persistence: the moderating role of self-defeating humor style
- Psychometric properties of the Comic Style Markers – Portuguese version: applying bifactor and hierarchical approaches to studying broad versus narrow styles of humor
- Are more humorous children more intelligent? A case from Turkish culture
- The variable of gender and its interplay with mother tongue in the humor and laughter of bilingual couples
- Failed humor in conversation: disalignment and (dis)affiliation as a type of interactional failure
- Satire as safety valve: moving beyond a mistaken metaphor
- ‘Do Mormons think The Book of Mormon is funny?’
- Identities are no joke (or are they?): humor and identity in Vivek Mahbubani’s stand-up
- Book Reviews
- Waterlow, Jonathan: It’s Only a Joke, Comrade! Humour, Trust and Everyday Life under Stalin
- William V. Costanzo: When the World Laughs: Film Comedy East and West
- Claire Schmidt: If You Don’t Laugh You’ll Cry: The Occupational Humor of White Wisconsin Prison Workers