ABSTRACT
This chapter examines reality-based films and videos that use pranks, hoaxes, and other forms of deceit for social and political satire. In their most straightforward form, what I term “comedies of deception” enable an easy alignment for the viewer between knowledge and pleasure: Aware of the ruse, the viewer is positioned to laugh at the dupes who serve as the films’ political targets. This type of intervention is embodied by the work of activist filmmaker-performers The Yes Men, whose stunts are documented in The Yes Men (Chris Smith, Sarah Price, Dan Ollman, 2003) and its sequel, The Yes Men Fix the World (Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno, Kurt Engfehr, 2009). Other comedies of deception involve less straightforward configurations of knowledge and affect among the positions of filmmaker-performer, 1 social actor, and viewer. These more complicated examples include the film and television work of performer Sacha Baron Cohen (Da Ali G Show [2000, 2003–2004] and the films Borat [Larry Charles, 2006] and Brüno [Larry Charles, 2009]), as well as Casey Affleck’s elaborate hoax film I’m Still Here (2010), which satirizes celebrity culture by purporting to document the dramatic implosion of Hollywood star Joaquin Phoenix’s acting career.
