Satire, stripping away sugar coatings

I think you can still get access to the satirical video through this blogsite, with its accompanying commentary: desmog.  It seems that the oil company Suncor did NOT like the spoof done by sumofus of their promotion of the Alberta oil sands.  The original site, which I viewed just an hour ago, is now marked “page not found”.  In the blog, I encourage you to watch first the original video ad and then the spoof.

But how is this contest between the oil companies and their opponents relevant to TOK?  In this case, I’d suggest that the video provides a splendid example of satire:  it mimics the kind of voice, kind of images, and emotional appeals of Suncor’s political/economic advertising campaign. It imitates them in order to bring sharp attention to a smooth and ingratiating presentation of information — information that the satire replaces with counter-claims, even while maintaining the same smooth presentation.  Humour can often be generated from the sheer incongruity between subject matter and its presentation, and often has a very hard edge.  Mockery can strip away sugar coating to bring attention to the knowledge claims under the surface…in order to contest them.

So here’s a general knowledge question for you to think about, even while you’re laughing at funny take-offs:  In what ways can humour, and especially pointed satire, expose biases and methods of persuasion in the presentation of knowledge claims?   More broadly: can imaginative presentation conceal truth — and reveal it?