Political Satire


Something I have been somewhat forced to watch since I was old enough to understand English has been political satire. It started with Jon Stewart and Colbert, then evolved to Saturday Night Live, and now my YouTube just feeds me Stand-Up comedy commenting on political issues, clips from late night shows, and Randy Rainbow videos.

I was thinking about how people often vote as their parents do. Growing up in a liberal household watching these democrats rail on the republicans, I tend to have a more liberal view on the world. Makes sense, as we are a product of our experiences. I think political commentary in a humorous context is an effective way for people to be aware of what's going on around them. It also influences people's views on the current political climate.

As a student, I don't often have time to read all the political articles in the New York Times or catch up on whatever dumb thing trump tweeted Saturday Night Live is a great way for me to stay aware of the things that are going on while not getting bogged down by the details and underlying biases of the news media. I sometimes listen to NPR in the car, but more often than not my knowledge of today's world comes from comedy.

Not only do I not have time to read the news or listen to the news as it is presented, the facts or alternative facts, if you will, I also don't want to. The world is depressing as hell right now. As someone who is already in her head a lot, I don't need more things to think about. I would rather get my news from comedy.

One observation about this type of media is it's usually blatantly to one side or the other. I've found very few pieces that can be enjoyed by both sides. Epic Rap Battles of History is the closest example I've found of comedy appealing to both sides, but even those are slightly slanted to the liberal side.

Political Satire is a way of processing the world and bringing light to thins which are otherwise dark and depressing. As long as people don't take what's being said seriously, it's informative and a way to relax. It can slant one's view of what's going on in the world, but what doesn't? I would rather media be upfront about their biases rather than concealing them as true facts and news.

Comments

  1. Margo LandryMay 14, 2019 at 5:30 PM

    I understand where you are coming from, political satire gives us the knowledge we need to make an opinion and also not make us even more upset at the world. However, do you think receiving knowledge in this way could lead to an even more apathetic attitude, everyone is so used to laughing at the depressing things, they find it hard to care?

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMay 14, 2019 at 11:55 PM

    I agree with your stance on political satire. It is an amazing creation!

    ReplyDelete
  3. NeKayla IrvinJune 1, 2019 at 10:42 AM

    I did not get into Political Satire until Donald Trump became president. I honestly did not even know it was a thing. But ever since then all I seem to watch is political satire. Trevor Noah, John Oliver, Stephen Colbert, Stephen Meyers these men were the my first step into Political satire and it's a world and I can't really leave. I think it is so popular because technically all of the jokes are references and inside jokes that you do not get until you understand the original news.

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