Comical Politics

Entertainment has shifted from the standard radio and television comedy bits, to a more political stance. Along side the serious debate and discussion of the many radio stations, their hosts, as well as other large news media corporations, there stands a small deviant subculture of the political world. Where satire of political figureheads and comical spins on issues and debates are common. The debate on political comedy lies on whether or not comical spins on actual political events is beneficial or is destructive of ones own political knowledge. One side says it is destructive to the youth who may grow up to think that politics is a joke, and where nothing gets done, or perhaps politics is all about “mud slinging.” The other side says it is a relief from the serious issue at hand, and is a refreshing break-away from the complicated world of politics and has no adverse effects on political knowledge. After all, if one wants to know the “truth” you could just go pickup a newspaper, or watch the evening news. I find myself agreeing with the stance that being able to make fun of our nation’s leaders is something we ought to take advantage of; after all, political comedy in the mainstream media is a minority. You may be able to get a kick out of a comedy sketch about President Bush, but when it comes down to political decision making, simply watching a sound bite with some commentary will not be enough to make a justified decision. As Jon Stewart has said when asked about kids getting political knowledge from his show “The truth is most kids are not because you can’t—because we just don’t do it” (We The People p. 13) meaning they don’t report news, rather create a satire of those in office.

I find it rather fun to be able to watch mainstream news with their in-depth reporting and debates, then being able to flip the channel on the television to see what witty comments Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert or Saturday Night Live can come up with. Obviously making political decisions based on comedy would be rather foolish to say the least, but it is a change of pace from your typical news sources. Comedy may lead to a greater interest in politics for those people who are apolitical. Comedians like Jon Stewart still report facts, but the viewer must realize that it is only part of a larger story, and while comical, real facts are shaping the way our nation works and how we elect and view our leaders, not a comedy sketch on late-night television.

In a time of one of the first history making elections, having the first African-American, and first Woman to be campaigning for President the comedy networks have been booming and capitalizing on the situation. In a ground-breaking election there is a lot of new material to be used, and a lot more laughs to be had. When reliable and fact filled information is already readily available, making a decision based on a comedy sketch would lead one to be seen as hiding from the truth. After all, there is a reason why the voting age is eighteen. So the voter is mature enough to distinguish between fact and fiction in order to make an educated decision. Mixing media, both comical and factual is beneficial to gain the correct political knowledge and have fun at the same time. A joke has never hurt anyone, and certainly won’t be the deciding factor in a historic election, and influence legislation or world leaders.