How does comedy relate to the social

Comedy is watched, shared, and discussed by millions, more than ever before, in the digital age. It is partly where hegemony arises, and where it is secured. For its part, contemporary mediated comedy — positioned prominently in the current entertainment marketplace through both reconfigured post-network TV 8 and the digital-native environment of YouTube and Funny or Die — is an engine for new ways of seeing, or an arena of resistance.

Social justice topics — and diverse new comedy voices — are embraced by audiences in a cultural moment characterized by social justice struggle.

Contemporary comedians are using their voices and platforms to assert their cultural identities and call out oppressive power dynamics. In turn, as a partial consequence of the shifting comedy and entertainment marketplace in the digital era, the voices of traditionally marginalized people and groups — racial and ethnic minorities, women, and sexual minorities — are not just increasingly seen in comedy, but also are rewarded by critical acclaim, media coverage, and audience buzz.

For instance, after the attacks of September 11, , as the United States turned the page on a new chapter of Islamophobia, Muslim-American comedians took to their microphones. Within the context of a cultural moment marked by struggle and calls for social equity, comedians themselves serve as social justice influencers in a range of ways. They are overtly calling for remedies to social problems, re-framing news issues, asserting cultural identity, sharing experiences of discrimination and othering, and unmasking taboo topics.

With one eye on world news and the other on Variety, he is a volatile mixture of show business and politics, of exhibitionistic self-dedication and a seemingly sincere passion to change the world.

Comedians are acting not just as joke-tellers, but as truth-tellers—as guides through our cultural debates… comedians are doing their work not just in sweaty clubs or network variety shows or cable sitcoms, but also on the Internet. Comedy, like so much else in the culture, now exists largely of, by, and for the Internet.

Which is to say that there are two broad things happening right now—comedy with moral messaging, and comedy with mass attention—and their combined effect is this: Comedians have taken on the role of public intellectuals. Satirical news, perhaps the most immediately recognizable in this context, is well-documented as a source of political and civic information 15 — and an undisputed audience hit, with millions of views and shares.

At its height, use of The Daily Show as a source of news and information — not just entertainment — rivaled that of traditional news programs, and its coverage was found to ideologically balance topics and perform a de facto watchdog function, particularly for civic issues, politicians, and the media.

Mediated comedy in the digital era is shared virally, a public engagement mechanism and practice also central to contemporary networked social justice efforts. One of the most enduring theories of humour arrived courtesy of the philosopher Thomas Hobbes.

It asserts that humour is ostensibly about mocking the weak and exerting superiority. In his recent book, Ha! The science of when we laugh and why , Weems reviews a raft of academic studies, including those that have used scanning to show which parts of the brain respond when we encounter something funny. Humour that is in bad taste or cruelly targeted at particular groups may generate conflict, but, for Weems, humour is our way of working through difficult subjects or feelings.

Troubling news events can inspire dark satire, which may help unite people in their shared values Credit: Getty Images. Over the years, researchers have built a substantial body of evidence that some types of comedy — including sophisticated satire, which is growing in popularity — perform a potent social function, from breaking taboos to holding those in power to account.

Avner Ziv , who has written numerous books about humour, explores this theme extensively. The two forms together constitute the best illustration there is of the social function of humour. A social justice activist and a comedian, Long has a reputation for delightful, optimistic, whimsical humour and nimble storytelling. However, as her career has evolved, she has consciously put social and political topics at the heart of her act. She believes that comedians have a role to play in articulating and challenging some of the most pressing issues of the day.

It was a way to be useful for other people. Context is crucial to humour Credit: Getty Images. That they have a role in contemporary society beyond just making people laugh is undeniable; their work is evidence of the impact comedy can have more widely. If we find a joke offensive, we protest by not laughing at it. In many ways, Quirk says, the sorts of observations made by comics such as Long are reinforced by her recent academic work, which has involved lengthy interviews with jobbing comics.

While you do sometimes just need something silly to watch, comedy has much greater resonance than it tends to be given credit for. The best comedians, he argues, are our most effective anthropologists and cultural critics. A good joke packs a harder punch than many other forms of dialogue, and it can reach people who would otherwise be unwilling to listen Credit: Getty Images.

British comic Stephen K Amos sells out venues seating thousands, year in, year out, and has successful BBC Radio 4 programmes under his belt. And while it may be difficult to quantify, he says, the social and psychological impact of comedy warrants much greater recognition. The research backs this up. Although the role of comedy is to be entertaining first and foremost, through interviewing comedians, Sharon Lockyer , a sociology lecturer and the director of the Centre for Comedy Studies Research at Brunel University, has identified a number of possible other functions.

In discussions with other producers, they started wondering if there was a better way to communicate with audiences. They considered ways to reach more young people and other viewers outside the international development community. For another research project, Borum Chattoo and Feldman examined how audiences responded to the funny documentary, Stand Up Planet , compared to a serious, explanatory documentary about the same topics.

When confronting issues like climate change or famine, a comedic style can connect with larger numbers of people of all political persuasions. She mentions the viral clip of Michelle Obama singing carpool karaoke with James Corden, a gregarious—and nonpolitical—talk show host.

Before wading into comedy and social change through research, Borum Chattoo learned from a master.