1887
  1. Home
  2. e-Journals
  3. Journal of Asian Pacific Communication
  4. Online First Articles
  5. Online First Article
image of “No Demons on the train”
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

This study examined audience responses to a Philippine Department of Transportation Facebook post that depicted characters from 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.

© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/japc.25078.env
2026-03-27
2026-04-21

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/10.1075/japc.25078.env
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Asian Development Bank
    Asian Development Bank (2012) Philippines: Transport sector assessment, strategy, and road map. Asian Development Bank.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Blommaert, J.
    (2005) Discourse. Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9780511610295
     https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511610295 [Google Scholar]
  3. Bonsón, E., Royo, S., & Ratkai, M.
    (2015) Citizens’ engagement on local governments’ Facebook sites. Public Administration Review, (), –.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Braun, V., & Clarke, V.
    (2006) Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, (), –. 10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
     https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa [Google Scholar]
  5. Canel, M. J., & Sanders, K.
    (2013) Government communication: Cases and challenges. Bloomsbury.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. De Vera, B. O.
    (2018) Aging MRT 3 set for rehab as PH, Japan move to sign loan terms. Philippine Daily Inquirer. https://business.inquirer.net/257201/aging-mrt-3-set-rehab-ph-japan-move-sign-loan-terms
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Dryzek, J.
    (2006) Deliberative global politics. Polity.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Duranti, A., & Goodwin, C.
    (1992) Rethinking context: Language as an interactive phenomenon. Cambridge University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
    Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (2013) Transport and communications bulletin for Asia and the Pacific (No.). United Nations ESCAP.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Enverga, M. III
    (2021) Discursive contestation in Facebook comments responding to EU–Philippines relations. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, (), –.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. (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, (), –. 10.7592/EJHR.2025.13.2.1036
     https://doi.org/10.7592/EJHR.2025.13.2.1036 [Google Scholar]
  12. Fairclough, N.
    (1992) Discourse and social change. Polity Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Fiske, J.
    (1992) The cultural economy of fandom. InL. A. Lewis (Ed.), The adoring audience: Fan culture and popular media (pp.–). Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Flowerdew, J.
    (2017) The discourse of critical discourse analysis. Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Foucault, M.
    (1972) The archaeology of knowledge (A. M. Sheridan Smith, Trans.). Pantheon Books.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. (1977) Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison (A. M. Sheridan Smith, Trans.). Pantheon Books.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. 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). https://aoir.org/reports/ethics3.pdf
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Frith, H., & Gleeson, K.
    (2004) Clothing and embodiment: Men managing body image and appearance. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, (), –. 10.1037/1524‑9220.5.1.40
     https://doi.org/10.1037/1524-9220.5.1.40 [Google Scholar]
  19. Graham, M. W.
    (2014) Government communication in the digital age: Social media and public engagement. Public Relations Inquiry, (), –. 10.1177/2046147X14545371
     https://doi.org/10.1177/2046147X14545371 [Google Scholar]
  20. Hajer, M., & Versteeg, W.
    (2005) A decade of discourse analysis in environmental politics. Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning, (), –. 10.1080/15239080500339646
     https://doi.org/10.1080/15239080500339646 [Google Scholar]
  21. Haraway, D. J.
    (1991) Simians, cyborgs, and women: The reinvention of nature. Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Harrison, T. M., & Johnson, P.
    (2019) The challenges of digital government communication. Information Polity, (), –.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Hemphill, L., Kocurec, C. A., & Rao, X.
    (2017) Approaches to understanding identity: Gamers, fans, and research methods. InM. A. Click & S. Scott (Eds.), The Routledge companion to media fandom (pp.–). Routledge. 10.4324/9781315637518‑7
     https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315637518-7 [Google Scholar]
  24. Hobson, D.
    (1989) Soap operas at work. InE. Seiter, H. Borchers, G. Kreutzner & E.-M. Warth (Eds.), Remote control: Television audiences and cultural power (pp.–). Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Hofmann, S., Beverungen, D., Räckers, M., & Becker, J.
    (2013) What makes local governments’ online communications successful?Government Information Quarterly, , –. 10.1016/j.giq.2013.05.013
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2013.05.013 [Google Scholar]
  26. Johansson, B., & Raunio, T.
    (2019) Political communication in the public sector. Palgrave Macmillan.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. 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, (), –. 10.1016/j.giq.2012.06.002
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2012.06.002 [Google Scholar]
  28. Ken Research
    Ken Research (2026, January). Philippines anime movies TV shows market report size share growth drivers trends opportunities & forecast 2025–2030. https://www.kenresearch.com/philippines-anime-movies-tv-shows-market
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Laclau, E., & Mouffe, C.
    (1985) Hegemony and socialist strategy: Towards a radical democratic politics. Verso.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Laursen, B., & Valentini, C.
    (2013) Public relations in the European Union. Journal of Communication Management, (), –.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Litchfield, C., Kavanagh, E., Osborne, J., & Jones, I.
    (2018) Social media and the politics of identity. European Journal of Sport and Society, (), –. 10.1080/16138171.2018.1452870
     https://doi.org/10.1080/16138171.2018.1452870 [Google Scholar]
  32. 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, (), –. 10.1177/1461444820962109
     https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444820962109 [Google Scholar]
  33. Matwick, K., & Matwick, K.
    (2022) Humorous visuals in government communication. Visual Communication, (), –.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. 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, (), –.
     [Google Scholar]
  35. Mergel, I.
    (2017) Digital service teams. Government Information Quarterly, (), –.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. 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]
  37. Oh, C.
    (2019) Political economy of international policy on the transfer of environmentally sound technologies in the global climate change regime. New Political Economy, (), –. 10.1080/13563467.2017.1417361
     https://doi.org/10.1080/13563467.2017.1417361 [Google Scholar]
  38. (2020) Discursive contestation on technological innovation and the institutional design of the UNFCCC in the new climate change regime. New Political Economy, (), –. 10.1080/13563467.2019.1639147
     https://doi.org/10.1080/13563467.2019.1639147 [Google Scholar]
  39. Parrot Analytics
    Parrot Analytics (2021, October18). Growing global demand for anime. https://www.parrotanalytics.com/insights/growing-global-demand-for-anime-aug-2021
     [Google Scholar]
  40. Pasquier, M.
    (2012) The image of government. International Review of Administrative Sciences, (), –.
     [Google Scholar]
  41. 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, (), –. 10.1386/jfs_00013_1
     https://doi.org/10.1386/jfs_00013_1 [Google Scholar]
  42. Ruiz-Gurillo, L.
    (2016) Metapragmatics of humor: Variability and consistency. John Benjamins. 10.1075/ivitra.14
     https://doi.org/10.1075/ivitra.14 [Google Scholar]
  43. Sabbi, M.
    (2024) Humor in institutional communication. Journal of Communication Inquiry, (), –.
     [Google Scholar]
  44. 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. InE. Seiter, H. Borchers, G. Kreutzner & E.-M. Warth (Eds.), Remote control: Television audiences and cultural power (pp.–). Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  45. Sinkeviciute, V.
    (2019) Discourse approaches to humor evaluation. Humor, (), –.
     [Google Scholar]
  46. Stjernholm, E.
    (2022) Government public relations, audiovisual communication, and the informalisation of Sweden. Critical Studies in Television: The International Journal of Television Studies, (), –. 10.1177/17496020221146067
     https://doi.org/10.1177/17496020221146067 [Google Scholar]
  47. (2023) Informalization in government visual communication. Journal of Visual Literacy, (), –.
     [Google Scholar]
  48. Sumitomo Corporation
    Sumitomo Corporation (2019, January7). Order received from the Philippines for rehabilitation and maintenance of Manila MRT-3. https://www.sumitomocorp.com/en/jp/news/release/2019/group/11200
     [Google Scholar]
  49. Tsakona, V.
    (2020) Institutional humor. Journal of Pragmatics, , –.
     [Google Scholar]
  50. van Dijk, T. A.
    (2001) Multidisciplinary CDA: A plea for diversity. InR. Wodak & M. Meyer (Eds.), Methods of critical discourse analysis (pp.–). Sage.
     [Google Scholar]
  51. (2005) Contextual knowledge management in discourse production: A CDA perspective. InR. Wodak & P. Chilton (Eds.), A new agenda in (critical) discourse analysis (pp.–). Benjamins. 10.1075/dapsac.13.07dij
     https://doi.org/10.1075/dapsac.13.07dij [Google Scholar]
  52. (2008) Discourse and power. Palgrave Macmillan. 10.1007/978‑1‑137‑07299‑3
     https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-07299-3 [Google Scholar]
  53. Wodak, R.
    (2009) The discourse of politics in action. Palgrave Macmillan.
     [Google Scholar]
  54. Wodak, R., & Reisigl, M.
    (2001) Discourse and discrimination: Rhetorics of racism and antisemitism. Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  55. World Population Review
    World Population Review (2026) Anime popularity by country. https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/anime-popularity-by-country
     [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/japc.25078.env
Loading
“No Demons on the train”
John Benjamins ; https://doi.org/10.1075/japc.25078.env
/content/journals/10.1075/japc.25078.env
/content/journals/10.1075/japc.25078.env
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keywords: anime and popular culture ; government communication ; discursive contestation ; digital discourse analysis ; metapragmatics of humor

Most Cited

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error