Why Is Conservative Comedy So… Not Very Good? - Early Release and Ad-Free
Added 2021-11-01 13:53:56 +0000 UTCHi. In today's episode, we discuss Gutfeld, Dennis Miller, Babylon Bee, and why conservatives aren't funny.
Comments
I still don't know the psych or child development term for this, but to me what is remarkable about "conservative humor" is that they actually don't understand humor. There is a convo going on now about evangelicals and RW conservatives in any field whose starting premise is that everyone should have already been abused, dehumanized and pummeled into the same state: Generational Abuse Catatonia. Without trying to make it funny, they are stuck in an abuse cycle that presumes you've been beaten down so far that the only POV you can have is to see everyone as a victim or as an abuser. Pick your role. So "humor" is predicated on seeing everyone, in every scenario, in one of those two roles. "Liberals" are supposed to always be in the victim role. Taking Charge, like God-Uncle Donnie always does, is always the abuser/alpha. Not paying your contractors and visibly hating your wife and children is a display of power. Humor can't accomodate the idea that anyone might show or acknowledge their vulnerability. That erases about 74% of all comedy. The rest has to show someone as abuser, and the outcome has to always be debasement and destruction. The cycle of abuse works when the abused picks up the frail mantle of power and uses it to abuse others, who, obviously, are weaker than they. So the field of comedy, which really has a wellspring of humility, self-awareness and vulnerability, looks like a strange, abandoned battlefield to conservatives. They think, "who is top abuser here?" "Where are my victims?" The currency in conservative circles is this abuse cycle that requires only those two roles. No wonder they can't construct jokes or perceive comedic dynamics. What is humor? Understanding our flawed humanity, and gently acknowledging each other. What is conservatism? A zero-sum game of dominance and subjugation where annihilation is the object. Humor can be devastating. But it becomes icky and abusive when the comedian punches down and demolishes a worthy, human opponent. The conservative worldview is that only one "team" or victor can survive, and annihilating them is the only goal. Rape, Pillage, kill and devastate the enemy. So what is left? Laughs? There's no room for that, no sense that that is a goal. We can be united by comedy. Conservatives are trying to fight an enemy they mistakenly perceive as warlike or deathly. Fighting to the death against opponents who are merely trading saucy quips. Abused cats and dogs fight this way when they never learned how to "play fight".... They think opening a vein and killing the opponent is the object of every simple discussion of ideas.
Carl P Crossgrove
2021-11-30 06:58:22 +0000 UTCWhat an A+, top shelf showdy. It's as if you're a news show that is also funny, but at the same time actually dissecting nuanced subjects in a informative way. Is there a way to give a standing ovation through a reply?
emfry
2021-11-07 15:21:53 +0000 UTC
