A Satirist's Right to Criticise : Satire in "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia": A Genre and Audience Reception Analysis

Abstract: This thesis explores the utilisation of satire within the television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Employing Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding model as a theoretical framework, this study delves into the complexities of how satire is constructed, received, and interpreted by viewers. Hall’s model will be paired with a genre studies and audience receptions studies. The research employs two methods; a text analysis of a specific episode (“A Woman’s Right to Chop”); and interviews. The issues displayed in the episode are: gender roles, women’s rights, abortion and adoption. These issues are portrayed in a satirical manner by the use of humour, exaggeration, irony, critique, stereotypes and symbolism. The majority of the interviewees were found to understand and engage with the satire. Parts of the interviewees understood some of the underlying meanings. Few of the interviewees did not understand or misunderstood the material completely. Apart from satire, the additional interpretations stemmed from viewers fixating on minor details, misconstruing the portrayed messages, taking a literal approach, and harbouring dismissive sentiments towards the episode's content.