Abstract

Political protest music has long been a topic of inquiry for rhetorical scholars, with most concluding that such music serves primarily to strengthen in-group identity. Little critical attention has been given, however, to one particular category of protest music -- humorous political satire. In this essay, the author discusses audience responses to a humorous political protest song he wrote and performed from 2003 through 2008. Applying the theories of Kenneth Burke and Chantal Mouffe to the song and those audience responses, the author argues that humorous political satire serves to shift the frame through which people consider political controversy.