A provocative new book explores the history and execution of conservative comedy. Read an excerpt from mediastudied and marxnick's 'That’s Not Funny: How the Right Makes Comedy Work for Them'
Photo: Omar Vega/Getty Images Humor seems to naturally veer to the left politically. Satire has traditionally been about speaking truth to power or taking sacred institutions down a peg, and the powerful have historically been conservative and hostile to change. The people on the fringes mock and tease their oppressors because it’s often the only weapon they’ve got. Because they’ve got all the power, right-wing things — and right-wing individuals — can be perceived as utterly humorless.
There is also, however, a blithe, dismissive way in which “That’s not funny” frames right-wing comedy. If something does not or, even better, cannot exist, then surely no one needs to worry about it being funny. And then there is, of course, the moral approach to “That’s not funny”–ing away right-wing comedy. This book delves into the depths of right-wing humor, taking readers into comedy crevices that make traditional dirty jokes look like kindergarten curriculum.
This book warns readers not to bury their heads in the sand. We confront right-wing comedy with two specific goals in mind. The first goal is to avoid taking for granted the left’s significant recent advantage in the comedy arms race. For years, left-leaning comedians have had serious impacts by pushing boundaries and attacking norms, shaping conversations around racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and other liberal political objectives.
For much of the 20th century, the mediascape was less densely developed and chaotic than it is today. There weren’t as many destinations then, and they were all on the same few major thoroughfares. The map was not yet organized around specific demographics, identity groups, or political affiliations.
As media both come together and pull apart, the fundamental order of the modern media landscape can be difficult to recognize. The metaphorical “complex” discussed earlier in this introduction provides a start: Right-wing comedy is an integrated structure of TV shows, podcasts, streaming media, and websites that work together, developing a shared audience and keeping them contained as a relatively homogenous, easy-to-advertise-to grouping.
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