Comedy is one of the oldest and most popular forms of entertainment. Who doesn’t love to laugh? So when television became the go-to time-killer in the Western world, it wasn’t long before Hollywood’s comedy programs were raking in viewers.
But as the culture of Tinseltown changed, so did the liberal predispositions associated with televised comedy.
Hosted on Oct. 27 by the Department of Communication’s COM Connect series, speakers Dr. Matt Sienkiewicz and Dr. Nick Marx discuss comedy’s evolution and more in their book, “That’s Not Funny: How The Right Makes Comedy Work for Them.” They spoke about this book, answering questions posed by Dr. Cory Barker and the audience about their research process, areas of focus and findings.
“There has long been a sort of assumed connection between the liberal world and the world of satire, irony and comedy,” Dr. Sienkiewicz said.
The authors argue that ignoring the rise of right-wing comics under the false belief that conservatives can’t be funny is not only misleading, but dangerous. Disregarding the cultural and political relevance of libertarians like Joe Rogan and conservatives like FOX’s Greg Gutfeld gives people a skewed view of Western civilization and its values.
“I’ve seen people such as Ben Shapiro or Joe Rogan… kind of subvert it [comedy] into a much more dangerous political ideology,” freshman user experience design major, Alex Chartrand said.
Right-wing comics have gained both fame and infamy by converting what was considered the ‘liberal technique’ of heavy irony into something that works for their platform.
Marx likens the right-wing comedy industry to a suburban building structured like a complex. With different needs being met by different types of comedy all under the ideological umbrella of political conservatism, the goal is pushing audiences as far right as possible.
“Like any sort of structure that exists in the real world, this complex has a basement, too. A subterranean level that is unseen to visitors,” Marx said.
The event concluded the fall speaker series and was well attended by students and the public.
“I really enjoyed it. I thought it was insightful and I’m glad they had this program,” Phiona Pauly, freshman user experience major, said.
