The paradox of political satire: navigating critique in culture industry and neoliberal media

This article examines the dual role of satire as both a vehicle for political critique and a product of neoliberalism and culture industry, focusing on Arjen Lubach’s De Avondshow met Arjen Lubach. Analyzing episodes from seasons four and five, the study explores Lubach’s use of satire to address populism, nationalism, and far-right politics in the Netherlands. While Lubach’s satire effectively exposes aberrations and digressions in established power dynamics, it ultimately fails to envision an alternative political reality. This limitation stems largely from its operation within the constraints of neoliberalism and culture industry, which curtail its transformative potential. The analysis reveals that while satire can expose political contradictions and stimulate discourse, it also risk reinforcing existing biases and the status quo. The culture industry’s role in commodifying satire may dilute its impact as a tool for change, as critiques often uphold the neoliberal ideology by focusing on deviations from its idealized form. Drawing on the analysis of Lubach’s work, the paper proposes two context-sensitive strategies to reclaim the political edge of satire: decoupling satire from the ideologies it critiques and fostering self-reflexivity to critically engage with the satirists’ and the outlet’s own positionalities, interests, and biases. This study underscores the complexity of satire as a means of political transformation amid rising populism and far-right extremism. By examining Lubach’s approach, the article contributes to our understanding of the paradox of the political consequences of satire, highlighting the contexts in which it unfolds and the strategies that could be employed for its reclamation.