Discussion Questions for Reading #4

Tactical Media
by Rita Raley

1.
The key (it would appear) for good tactical media is just the correct amount of veiling in regards to the medium. As with Jonathan Swift's satire "A Modest Proposal," some of the audience should be fooled. While some of the audience (one would hope the majority) should be privy to the satirical nature of the piece. If all are fooled, the artist's point is lost. If none are fooled, then the artist might as well have come out and told his audience his feelings without the art at all - and if he did that, who would hear him?
So, my question becomes, how veiled should tactical media be? Does it vary by audience? Or by genre (obvious and abrupt humorous tactical media versus morose and dry serious tactical media)? And when it does vary, it the more thinly veiled or more heavily veiled more successful?

2.
A common thread throughout tactical media (that I've noticed) is it's preference towards absurdity. Hyperboles abound - perhaps in attempt to get the artist's thoughts on a particular subject across. However, I wonder if this perhaps weakens the artist's argument after the initial shock factor has worn off. Once the audience has a moment to ponder, and they suddenly realizes how distorted a perception of reality they were fed, are they then less likely to listen to the artist due the extreme bias they now recognize? Or do they instead recognize the artist's need for such exaggeration, and thereby accept it as necessary to the tactical media as a whole?