The Politics of Deadpan in Australasian Satire

Abstract

The deadpan style of humour, which is primarily characterised by emotionless comic delivery, is a common feature of Australasian comedy. This is particularly notable in relation to satirical humour, with a number of popular and successful Australasian satirists adopting a deadpan aesthetic. Drawing on media examples from both sides of the Tasman—including John Safran of Australia, Taika Waititi of Aotearoa New Zealand and the binational comedy of John Clarke—this chapter argues that a consideration of the deadpan comic mode can productively complicate conceptions of satire as a political mode, particularly in relation to the attribution of political intention, and even aggression, to satirical humour. This analysis takes as its basis Lauren Berlant’s work on critical affect and “public feelings” in order to characterise deadpan as more than just a matter of facial expression. Instead, deadpan is better understood as a mode of comic aesthetics characterised by a flattening of comic affect. This broader definition of the deadpan aesthetic is illustrated with reference to three satiric examples as a means to interpret the cultural and political work of deadpan in the contemporary media context. An appreciation of the role of deadpan aesthetics challenges the interpretation of satire as a political form, especially with regard to the celebration of popular satire as a form of dissent. Given the prevalence of the deadpan mode in Australasian satire, such an analysis calls for a reappraisal of the perceived politics of Australasian humour.