Cover not available

Article published In: Journal of Asian Pacific Communication: Online-First Articles

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload EPUB
authorization required

“No Demons on the train”

Discursive contestation in the responses to a humorous Philippine government facebook post

ORCiD logo with link | Ateneo de Manila University
Published online: 27 March 2026
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/japc.25078.env
Abstract
This study examined audience responses to a Philippine Department of Transportation Facebook post that depicted characters from Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba as part of a public information announcement. Analysis of 1,030 comments revealed two opposing discourses. Supportive commenters interpreted the post as humorous, creative, and appropriate for online communication, while oppositional commenters evaluated it as unprofessional, mistimed, or disconnected from the lived realities of public transportation. These divergent evaluations illustrate how humor and popular culture in institutional messaging do not carry fixed meanings but are interpreted through competing understandings of authority, cultural competence, and everyday experience. The findings show that audience responses are shaped by historically and socially grounded expectations of government communication, demonstrating how digital platforms make visible the broader contexts through which institutional humor is legitimized or challenged.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Underpinnings in academic literature
    • 2.1Government communication
    • 2.2Discourse and discursive contestation
    • 2.3The metapragmatics of humor
  • 3.Methodology
    • 3.1Data gathering
    • 3.2Data analysis
    • 3.3Ethical considerations
  • 4.Findings
    • 4.1Supportive discourse
    • 4.2Oppositional discourse
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • References
References (55)
References
Asian Development Bank. (2012). Philippines: Transport sector assessment, strategy, and road map. Asian Development Bank.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Blommaert, J. (2005). Discourse. Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bonsón, E., Royo, S., & Ratkai, M. (2015). Citizens’ engagement on local governments’ Facebook sites. Public Administration Review, 75(3), 1–11.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Canel, M. J., & Sanders, K. (2013). Government communication: Cases and challenges. Bloomsbury.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
De Vera, B. O. (2018). Aging MRT 3 set for rehab as PH, Japan move to sign loan terms. Philippine Daily Inquirer. [URL]
Dryzek, J. (2006). Deliberative global politics. Polity.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Duranti, A., & Goodwin, C. (1992). Rethinking context: Language as an interactive phenomenon. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. (2013). Transport and communications bulletin for Asia and the Pacific (No. 82). United Nations ESCAP.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Enverga, M. III. (2021). Discursive contestation in Facebook comments responding to EU–Philippines relations. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 17(3), 225–236.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. (2025). “EU got that rizz”: Discursive contestation in comments about the European Commission’s use of memes for government communication. European Journal of Humor Research, 13(3), 308–320. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fairclough, N. (1992). Discourse and social change. Polity Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fiske, J. (1992). The cultural economy of fandom. In L. A. Lewis (Ed.), The adoring audience: Fan culture and popular media (pp. 30–49). Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Flowerdew, J. (2017). The discourse of critical discourse analysis. Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Foucault, M. (1972). The archaeology of knowledge (A. M. Sheridan Smith, Trans.). Pantheon Books.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1977). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison (A. M. Sheridan Smith, Trans.). Pantheon Books.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Franzke, A. S., Bechmann, A., Ess, C. M., & Zimmer, M. (Eds.) (2020). Internet Research: Ethical Guidelines 3.0. AoIR (The International Association of Internet Researchers). [URL]
Frith, H., & Gleeson, K. (2004). Clothing and embodiment: Men managing body image and appearance. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 5(1), 40–48. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Graham, M. W. (2014). Government communication in the digital age: Social media and public engagement. Public Relations Inquiry, 3(3), 361–376. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hajer, M., & Versteeg, W. (2005). A decade of discourse analysis in environmental politics. Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning, 7(3), 175–184. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Haraway, D. J. (1991). Simians, cyborgs, and women: The reinvention of nature. Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Harrison, T. M., & Johnson, P. (2019). The challenges of digital government communication. Information Polity, 24(3), 233–245.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hemphill, L., Kocurec, C. A., & Rao, X. (2017). Approaches to understanding identity: Gamers, fans, and research methods. In M. A. Click & S. Scott (Eds.), The Routledge companion to media fandom (pp. 45–54). Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hobson, D. (1989). Soap operas at work. In E. Seiter, H. Borchers, G. Kreutzner & E.-M. Warth (Eds.), Remote control: Television audiences and cultural power (pp. 150–167). Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hofmann, S., Beverungen, D., Räckers, M., & Becker, J. (2013). What makes local governments’ online communications successful? Government Information Quarterly, 301, 387–396. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Johansson, B., & Raunio, T. (2019). Political communication in the public sector. Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kavanaugh, A. L., Fox, E. A., Sheetz, S., Yang, S., Li, L., Shoemaker, D., & Xie, L. (2012). Social media use by government. Government Information Quarterly, 29(4), 480–491. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ken Research. (2026, January). Philippines anime movies TV shows market report size share growth drivers trends opportunities & forecast 2025–2030. [URL]
Laclau, E., & Mouffe, C. (1985). Hegemony and socialist strategy: Towards a radical democratic politics. Verso.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Laursen, B., & Valentini, C. (2013). Public relations in the European Union. Journal of Communication Management, 17(4), 308–323.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Litchfield, C., Kavanagh, E., Osborne, J., & Jones, I. (2018). Social media and the politics of identity. European Journal of Sport and Society, 15(2), 154–170. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lynch, K. S. (2022). Fans as transcultural gatekeepers: The hierarchy of BTS’ Anglophone Reddit fandom and the digital East–West media flow. New Media & Society, 24(1), 105–121. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Matwick, K., & Matwick, K. (2022). Humorous visuals in government communication. Visual Communication, 21(2), 257–274.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Meijer, A., & Torenvlied, R. (2014). Social media and the new organization of government communications: An empirical analysis of Twitter usage by the Dutch police. American Review of Public Administration, 44(4), 414–431.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mergel, I. (2017). Digital service teams. Government Information Quarterly, 34(4), 779–784.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Navarro, A. M., & Latigar, J. S. (2022). Road and rail transport infrastructure in the Philippines: Current state, issues, and challenges (PIDS Discussion Paper Series No. 2022–34). Philippine Institute for Development Studies.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Oh, C. (2019). Political economy of international policy on the transfer of environmentally sound technologies in the global climate change regime. New Political Economy, 24(1), 22–36. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2020). Discursive contestation on technological innovation and the institutional design of the UNFCCC in the new climate change regime. New Political Economy, 25(4), 660–674. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Parrot Analytics. (2021, October 18). Growing global demand for anime. [URL]
Pasquier, M. (2012). The image of government. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 78(1), 64–80.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Plante, C. N., Reysen, S., Chadborn, D., Roberts, S. E., & Gerbasi, K. C. (2020). “Get out of my fandom, newbie”: A cross-fandom study of elitism and gatekeeping in fans. Journal of Fandom Studies, 8(2), 123–146. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sabbi, M. (2024). Humor in institutional communication. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 48(1), 52–68.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Seiter, E., Borchers, H., Kreutzner, G., & Warth, E.-M. (1989). “Don’t treat us like we’re so stupid and naïve”: Toward an ethnography of soap opera viewers. In E. Seiter, H. Borchers, G. Kreutzner & E.-M. Warth (Eds.), Remote control: Television audiences and cultural power (pp. 233–247). Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sinkeviciute, V. (2019). Discourse approaches to humor evaluation. Humor, 32(2), 175–199.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Stjernholm, E. (2022). Government public relations, audiovisual communication, and the informalisation of Sweden. Critical Studies in Television: The International Journal of Television Studies, 18(4), 441–459. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2023). Informalization in government visual communication. Journal of Visual Literacy, 42(1), 45–62.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sumitomo Corporation. (2019, January 7). Order received from the Philippines for rehabilitation and maintenance of Manila MRT-3. [URL]
Tsakona, V. (2020). Institutional humor. Journal of Pragmatics, 1701, 5–16.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
van Dijk, T. A. (2001). Multidisciplinary CDA: A plea for diversity. In R. Wodak & M. Meyer (Eds.), Methods of critical discourse analysis (pp. 95–120). Sage.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2005). Contextual knowledge management in discourse production: A CDA perspective. In R. Wodak & P. Chilton (Eds.), A new agenda in (critical) discourse analysis (pp. 71–100). Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2008). Discourse and power. Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wodak, R. (2009). The discourse of politics in action. Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wodak, R., & Reisigl, M. (2001). Discourse and discrimination: Rhetorics of racism and antisemitism. Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
World Population Review. (2026). Anime popularity by country. [URL]
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue