2010-10-01
Explanation
This comic is titled "How Controversy Works" and lays out a six-step cycle satirizing how political media controversies are manufactured and sustained. Step 1: A fringe person says something outrageous (e.g., "My political opponents are all Bonapartists!"). Step 2: A media personality treats the fringe view as representative of a larger group, asking mainstream politicians to respond to it. Step 3: Associated politicians refuse to give up the free publicity and engage with the controversy rather than dismissing it.
Step 4: The fact that a non-issue became an issue itself becomes a news story, generating meta-coverage. Step 5: Election results install the politicians who best exploited the controversy, while people fail to connect the outcome to its trivial origin. Step 6: The media eventually gets bored and moves on -- unless the original provocateur says something new and crazy, restarting the cycle. The comic is a sharp critique of the symbiotic relationship between sensationalist media and attention-seeking political figures, illustrating how trivial provocations can cascade into real political consequences through a self-reinforcing feedback loop.