Media Studies Day 2019 The freedoms and limits of entertainment
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Tags: Christian Karch, medianetz, Media Studies Day, Entertainment, satire, Comedy, Media studies
In 1919, Kurt Tucholsky answered the question “What is satire allowed to do?” with “Everything”. On Media Studies Day, 100 years later, we once again addressed the question: Christian Karch gave a lecture on the freedoms and limits of entertainment. We also bid farewell to Professor Hans-Jürgen Bucher, who established the subject in 1998.
Christian Karch on the limits of satire and comedy
“I know our legal department’s direct dial number by heart. When you do satire, you need that.” With these words, Christian Karch, editor at SWR and funk, began his entertaining lecture on the topic ”What is entertainment allowed to do? Everything?”
Borderline balancing acts
To answer this directly: Christian Karch did not have any patent solutions – where the boundaries of entertainment lie is an individual decision that editors like him make every day. Often, these considerations are borderline. One clue is whether a person has entered the public – and, thus, whether there is public interest. Christian Karch illustrated this with the example of the presenter Stefan Raab. The original sound of Regina Zindler in Stefan Raab’s song “Maschen-Draht-Zahn” (1999) was legitimate – after all, the person concerned took her neighborhood dispute to television herself. In the case of Lisa Loch, on the other hand, a line was crossed when Raab made fun of the person just because of her name.
In addition to comedy, satire was a major topic of the lecture. Christian Karch had a whole series of satirical examples with him, be it in the form of small pictures for social networks (“Picture Posts” with a high reach) or videos. But of course, these should not only entertain, but also provide a practical insight into the daily work. The following statement on the satirical video “Save the Aryans”, which some accused of discriminating against white people, illustrates how satire has to justify itself:
The Bohemian Browser Ballet’s video clip “Save the Aryans” is **a satirical examination of the issues of xenophobia, immigration and right-wing extremism**. It is a **satirical response** to the fear circulating in some **political movements** that, one day, we Europeans will be threatened with **extinction**. Using the stylistic devices of exaggeration and the metaphor of an animal protection reserve, the editorial team illustrates these fears in the sense of a caricature.
Why do we laugh at comedy and satire?
If you looked around the room during the lecture, you would repeatedly see laughing faces – no wonder, after all, that is what entertainment is for. But why do we laugh? What is humor, and how do you recognize its different varieties? Christian Karch listed three theoretical approaches to understanding humor:
- Aggression and superiority theories, which are particularly characteristic of situations in which we feel superior to others
- Incongruity theories for situations in which comedy creates ambivalent feelings, e.g. by showing something from a new perspective
- Relaxation and venting theories, in which humor is seen as an outlet for releasing tension
However, there is another dimension to political satire that editors have to keep in mind: attention. Of course, a satirical program also draws attention to topics and parties – even if they are criticized. This could, of course, become a problem, emphasized Christian Karch – so here, too, editors must not lose sight of their responsibility.
funk: online offering for young adults
The insights into the work of funk were also interesting. The offering particularly appeals to the young audience of 14-29 year-olds, who can no longer be reached via other channels. That is why the content is distributed particularly via social media – and differentiated according to primary and secondary platforms. 10-minute videos work well on YouTube, but not on Facebook, where the focus is on viral, short clips that can achieve a high reach in a short time.
The satirical magazine “Bohemian Browser Ballett”, for which Christian Karch also works, is therefore present on all these channels – even on completely new ones, such as the browser game “Bundesfighter II”. And there, too, the line is being pushed, as in the depiction of a swastika in a special move – Gamestar has the background.
Farewell to Hans-Jürgen Bucher
Media Studies Day was, of course, the perfect occasion to bid farewell to Professor Hans-Jürgen Bucher after 30 years of academic work. Hans-Jürgen Bucher took the opportunity not only to look back on 22 years at the University of Trier and to provide those present with news from the field, but also, and in particular, to say “thank you”: to his staff, the assistants and lecturers, and of course also to the students for the productive collaboration. The students then honored him with a print magazine full of memories – including eye tracking on the cover.
We were pleased to welcome the new professor of the subject: Marion Müller, who moved from Jacobs University Bremen to Trier in February 2019. She will expand the subject, particularly in the area of visual communication. At the Media Studies Day, she briefly introduced herself and her research – there will certainly be more to hear about this.
Honoring graduates
It has become a nice tradition at the Media Studies Day to honor the alumni of the past year – whether Bachelor, Master or Magister, together with a short appreciation of the topic of the final thesis.
