Styles of Communication (Jun 2017)
A Practical Joke in Public Sphere – a Polish Case Study
Abstract
The aim of the paper is to show multiple layers of discourse and the consequences of a particular practical joke that has been played at a local public event and has become a theme for media coverage nationwide. Students in one of Polish high schools brought a goat as a present to their headmaster and handed it in during their commencement ceremony. Some event participants reported it to the Animal Welfare Society claiming that the goat was mistreated. It seemed that it was not eager to be led on a leash and it urinated, which was interpreted as a sign of discomfort and stress. The story became a headline first in the local and then in the national press and television, and was accompanied by heated discussions on social media. Photos were posted on the official school website. Multiple comments were very aggressive towards the school, its students and teachers alike. Some students used the opportunity to create a goat fan page – a good source of rapidly appearing jokes. The discussions evoked by the incident, lead to the questions about political correctness and about the possibilities and consequences of making practical jokes in the contemporary public sphere. The analysis of the case makes it possible to create the communication model showing the reverberations caused by the incident in the public sphere. The perspectives of the participants involved in different communication roles are highlighted in the model, altogether with the links marking the relations between particular parties involved.
