Political Humor

[LDAHL]

My question is this: is political humor declining at the same rate as the rest of our politics?

I used to sort of get Jon Stewart. He’d run some painstakingly edited bit of film and them grimace comically to let you know it was funny. And Colbert would do his shtick as the vainglorious Fox talking head (although I sometimes wondered if he’d ever actually seen Fox News, because he missed so many of the sillier aspects). At least the guy had some good guests and could sing surprisingly well. If their main audience was looking to have their prejudices confirmed without the hassle of dealing with the real news, who am I to judge? Having bombed on talk radio (at least the kind not supported with tax dollars) I didn’t begrudge the left it’s own little patch of dumbed-down media. Besides, the good guys had South Park, which was actually funny.

But now we’re down to Bill Maher’s obscene rants against all those idiots he disagrees with. At least Stewart tried to show why they were idiots; Maher seems to think the fact that he disagrees with them is evidence enough. And why did HBO import John Oliver to scold us for being insufficiently socialist? Apparently someone told him Americans will laugh at anything if you say “F#ck” a lot. I did like his bits on Scottish independence and Brexit, though. And on what alternative plane of existence is Samantha Bee funny? I feel like I’m watching a psychotic break staged for my entertainment.

Have our politics degraded to the point that it’s impossible for even highly trained professionals to mine a little humor from them?

[greenclaire]

John Oliver was never really big over here, so it was quite a surprise for most Brits for him to land such a big job in the states. He did a few episodes of 'Mock the Week' which is a British satirical panel show but nothing major.

I though Colbert was still on?

[catherine]

I was interested in the title of this thread because I LOVE political humor. Ever since I saw a live show in DC of the Capitol Steps (http://www.capsteps.com) I just love people who use humor to poke good, harmless fun at our political leaders as well as ourselves.

I think Jon Stewart is brilliant, as is Stephen Colbert and SNL.

Things go a bit rancid with Bill Maher, I agree. He's even too liberal for me. Humor with a veneer of arrogance and self-righteousness is just bratty humor--nothing that makes me laugh.

On the whole, as long as I'm looking in the right places, I find political humor to still be funny and appropriate, but maybe that's just from my perspective.

[JaneV2.0]

I suspect the UK exports entertainers who fall short there. Example: Piers Morgan.

Bill Maher does have a certain arrogance about him, but as long as he keeps making me laugh..."Dead hooker. Finish line." Snort!

[bae]

I think the problem is that the politicians themselves are so comedic that they've cut out the middlemen.

[iris lilies]

I think the problem is that the politicians themselves are so comedic that they've cut out the middlemen.
Snort.

I couldnt watch Jon Stewart because I dont ont have cable. I think I would be amused at some of his smart alek lines, I dd like hs over all look. Colbert was/is stupid. i took out a Colbert dvd from the library,hoping it wouod be funny. It wasnt.

The SNL skit featured in another thread (Alec Baldwin as The Donald) was hilarious to me, the bits I saw. I plan to settle in with a glass of wine to watch the entire thing.

[Tradd]

This is where I REALLY miss Johnny Carson and Jay Leno's monologues on The Tonight Show. That was as much political humor as I've ever needed.

[CathyA]

I think the problem is that the politicians themselves are so comedic that they've cut out the middlemen.

LOL!

[LDAHL]

I think the problem is that the politicians themselves are so comedic that they've cut out the middlemen.

That's true. Trump can spew vulgar invective with the best of them, and Clinton's impressions (especially that Southern accent she tries from time to time) beat anything you can see on SNL.

But is it funny?

[Rogar]

I was watching a classic western the other day. Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda and Jason Robards. I noticed when some one got shot they twisted around a little and then just dropped. Nowadays there's the splatter spew of blood, maybe a head shot to make sure, and then maybe a close up with pooling blood. People seem to want things more in your face. Political humor this election almost has a dark tint to it, but then again so does one of the candidates.

I'm old enough to vaguely remember the JFK impersonator and comedian, Vaughn Meader. I had to look him up to jog a few memories. He made the album, The First Family, back in the 60's which was enormously popular and won a Grammy for album of the year. It was a much warmer humor without losing a sarcastic tone. Story is that JFK got a kick out of it and purchased copies for friends.

[LDAHL]

I was watching a classic western the other day. Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda and Jason Robards. I noticed when some one got shot they twisted around a little and then just dropped. Nowadays there's the splatter spew of blood, maybe a head shot to make sure, and then maybe a close up with pooling blood. People seem to want things more in your face. Political humor this election almost has a dark tint to it, but then again so does one of the candidates.

I'm old enough to vaguely remember the JFK impersonator and comedian, Vaughn Meader. I had to look him up to jog a few memories. He made the album, The First Family, back in the 60's which was enormously popular and won a Grammy for album of the year. It was a much warmer humor without losing a sarcastic tone. Story is that JFK got a kick out of it and purchased copies for friends.

That's a good analogy. We seem to have reached the splatter film stage of our political culture.

[CathyA]

That's a good analogy. We seem to have reached the splatter film stage of our political culture.

But don't you think that everything else in our culture has reached that ridiculous proportion too?

[LDAHL]

But don't you think that everything else in our culture has reached that ridiculous proportion too?

I think there are pockets of decorum and decency all over the place. They're just less audible in the vast animal howl of the media.