The Politics of Humor :: essays research papers fc

THE POLITICS OF COMEDYIs this thing on?In efforts to promote voter education, laughter is perhaps the best strategery.Comedy and tragedy prove one in the same, as the saying goes. The variability of the twosome, however, substantiates rather inconsistently in politics, an cranial orbit overflowing with disassociateicipants who take themselves too seriously. And where a potential view attempts to utilize comic relief, one often discovers the result to be rather tragic.In spot of the consequences politicians may endure with the mere utterance of a poor joke, most tend to stray from the possibility of Meet the Press turned comedy hour. especially when their reputations are at stake politicians are well aware, according to Mark Katz, humorist and speechwriter for Bill Clinton, that a good joke will last about a week, whereas a bad joke will be reprinted in you obituary. Perhaps responsibility lies within the confines of a narrow-minded media, exhibited as a threat to be avoided rat her than a tool to be implemented. But certainly with just cause the news media are poorly fit to their role as the principal intermediary between candidates and voters, rooted in the conception of politics as game and a business rather than a struggle over national policy. The aforementioned incidents occur frequently, but not absolutely, should candidates appropriately utilize humor. The war on terror provides unavoidable roadblocks on an already-tumultuous melt trail, and even primitive technology such as television suffices in establishing the general 9/11 fear climate. The presumption of a candidates entrepreneurial priorities over his public relationship undermines the use of humor as the candidates ultimate weapon. The primarily noticeable aspect of governmental campaign humor pertains to its absence. Undoubtedly humor is used more sparingly than songs in political commercials the commodity appears even more so in the wee campaign efforts of the mid-nineteenth century th an recent endeavors. Humors effectiveness originates from its multilevel success in the campaigning process. Involuntarily proliferated by an ever-expanding press, the ideal candidate would apply comedy because of its effervescent facility of concurrent humanization and advertisement. Moreover humorous politicians formulate an equally comical and less aggressive response within the merriment realm, successfully intertwining the sphere of pop culture with the relatively unscathed territory of political science. The general consensus regarding the benefits of humor relates to its malleability it can be employed to set upon the opposition, or it can serve to enhance a campaign. While it can be argued that humor refers to a conscious campaign maneuver on the part of its source, as a tool it only succeeds with regard to the respective candidate.