Preaching to the converted? How political comedy matters
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Sophie Quirk
Sophie Quirk is a Lecturer in Drama and Theatre at the University of Kent where she primarily teaches popular and comic performance. She is the author of
Why stand-up matters: How comedians manipulate and influence (2015). The book explores the social and political influence of contemporary British stand-up comedy.
Abstract
Practitioners, audiences and critics are often dismissive of political comedy’s impact. It is argued that audiences only attend political performances if they already agree with the performer; further, that audiences will not laugh at ideas that they find too subversive. As laughter depends upon consensus and success depends upon laughter, the comedian merely preaches to the converted. This article challenges these assumptions by examining the diverse strategies of two political comedians: Mark Thomas and Stewart Lee. Through analysis of performance, and their methodology and intent as related in practitioner interviews, I demonstrate that the nature of consensus in political comedy is more complex than has generally been supposed. Far from being a sign of comedy’s impuissance, consensus is used as a tool to enhance and develop political engagement. I suggest that in order to discover whether political comedy matters, we must first broaden our understanding of how it matters.
About the author
Sophie Quirk is a Lecturer in Drama and Theatre at the University of Kent where she primarily teaches popular and comic performance. She is the author of Why stand-up matters: How comedians manipulate and influence (2015). The book explores the social and political influence of contemporary British stand-up comedy.
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©2016 by De Gruyter Mouton
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Comedy matters: On the impact of comedy
- Make Me Laugh: Creativity in the British television comedy industry
- Poor wee souls and fraggle rock: The visceral humor of nurse-peers in a non-accomplishment setting
- Satire and its constraints: Case studies from Australia, Japan, and the People’s Republic of China
- Sending laughter around the world
- Preaching to the converted? How political comedy matters
- “The Muslims are coming”: The enactment of morality in activist Muslim comedy
- “I haven’t heard anything about religion whatsoever”: Audience perceptions of anti-Muslim racism in Sacha Baron Cohen’s The Dictator
- Smiling synchronicity and gaze patterns in dyadic humorous conversations
- Book Reviews
- Peter McGraw and Joel Warner: The Humor Code: A Global Search for What Makes Things Funny
- Kai Rugenstein: Humor: Die Verflüssigung des Subjekts bei Hippokrates, Jean Paul, Kierkegaard und Freud
- Gayatri Devi and Najat Rahman: Humor in Middle Eastern Cinema
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Comedy matters: On the impact of comedy
- Make Me Laugh: Creativity in the British television comedy industry
- Poor wee souls and fraggle rock: The visceral humor of nurse-peers in a non-accomplishment setting
- Satire and its constraints: Case studies from Australia, Japan, and the People’s Republic of China
- Sending laughter around the world
- Preaching to the converted? How political comedy matters
- “The Muslims are coming”: The enactment of morality in activist Muslim comedy
- “I haven’t heard anything about religion whatsoever”: Audience perceptions of anti-Muslim racism in Sacha Baron Cohen’s The Dictator
- Smiling synchronicity and gaze patterns in dyadic humorous conversations
- Book Reviews
- Peter McGraw and Joel Warner: The Humor Code: A Global Search for What Makes Things Funny
- Kai Rugenstein: Humor: Die Verflüssigung des Subjekts bei Hippokrates, Jean Paul, Kierkegaard und Freud
- Gayatri Devi and Najat Rahman: Humor in Middle Eastern Cinema
