Comedy serves as a light in adversity. Comics are inspired by whatever is messed up in society and use it for a breath of fresh air. Take Saturday Night Live, a widely popular comedy show that airs every week. SNL has been known for their clever satire and wit used towards current political figures. Political figures such as Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, etc. Recently with the election, things have been better… or at least for comedy they have. Played by Alec Baldwin, Donald Trump has been the shows laughing stock. In fact, ratings have never been so high in over 20 years. These ratings are kind of two-faced: the worse our president is, the better the comedy is.
Psychologically, this makes sense. In times of distress, comedy has been known to be a better reliever than solemnity. Humor is just as effective as a reliever as it is as a voice of change. Especially on such a large platform like SNL, it serves as a way of raising awareness. Although it is hyperbolized to an extent, that does not exterminate the underlining truth behind a single joke. This method between relief and awareness has been used for centuries. Dating back to 1729, Irish satirist, Jonathan Swift, used absurd hyperbolized humor to grasp the attention of others in A Modest Proposal. The evolution of humor has changed, but the reason for humor has not.
Imagine a scale, the least absurd and illogical presidents on the left side, contrary to that, put the craziest presidents on the right. Now that you have your own mental image of that, add in the comedy ratings. These start to slowly rise up as it moves further right. The crazier our president is, the funnier the comedy is. Looking at SNL‘s statistics from last season with Obama as president, and this season with Trump as president, SNL‘s viewership has grown by 19% with adults and 22% in total viewers. This isn’t strictly because of Trump or the fact that the jokes are funnier. It’s for the other reason above – people want reminders that they’re not the only ones who believe something is ludicrous.
To conclude, comedy is not something that is a one dimensional way of getting people to laugh, it is this multi-layered voice that is calling for action. Remember that even when things get crazy (or unconstitutional), there will always be a voice. Whether that voice is quiet, loud, serious or funny, they all have something to say. That’s what is so powerful about today’s society. People will always fight for what they believe in. Now, I would say that is pretty yuge.
