Being A Humorist

People often think that comedians have a straight forward job: they practically just have to joke about a topic and make people laugh. But not many realize the brutality comedians have to face when they are “forced” to change their acts according to the setting and diverse range of their audience. In the article “That’s Not Funny”, the author Caitlin Flanagan, explains on how comedians face an uphill talk when they perform in colleges and how they have to change their scripts to make sure they don’t offend students on the basis of gender, religion etc. Colleges are paying comedians big money and that’s the main reason comedians still perform even when they can’t express themselves freely through comedy. In this essay, I will explore how Caitlin argues about the unjust conditions interested comedians face who want to perform in college campuses. Caitlin builds the credibility of her work by stating strong and valid points, different types of arguments and rhetoric situations.

Political cartoons are an illustrative technique that political cartoonist use to display a message to the viewers about government, world affairs, and politics. In 1754, publishers of the Pennsylvania Gazette published the first political cartoon illustrated by Benjamin Franklin (West, par. 1). Benjamin Franklin used his first political cartoon, titled Join or Die, to gain support from the colonies for the Crown’s war against the French (West, par. 1). Since the 1700s, illustrators use political cartoons as a medium to display political messages to its viewers (West, par. 1). On March 10, 2015, publishers of the Columbia Daily Tribune published a political cartoon, illustrated by John Darkow, titled Hillary Has A Primary Opponent (Darkow,

Originating in the 19th century, political cartoons are created and drawn as a means to deliver a message. Whether it be about politics, events or social concerns, the artist is able to express themselves creatively. The cartoons are not only meant to express the view of the creator, but are also open to interpretation. Most political cartoons have a biased point of view and uses rhetoric to persuade its audience.

Throughout time, humorists have been able to pull off a phenomenon, which allows for others to laugh about sensitive, stressful topics. With talent, humorists are able to captivate positive emotion from their audience and allow for society to see delicate issues in an unbiased view. Although humorists are commonly seen as people who only intend to entertain, humorists purposefully say things through their work that allow for hard issues to be spoken or illustrated.

In Status Anxiety, author de Botton correctly claims that humorists are expected to not only entertain their audience, but to make statements about controversial events that may be too sensitive to say directly and causally present them in a way that is easy for the public to understand. This is demonstrated through various forms of media such as television shows and political cartoons.

Whenever a cartoon is seen, it draws people’s attention because of the vivid colors, action packed scenes, and the sweet memories of childhood. Some of these cartoons are often found in newspapers and magazines as political commentary. Political cartoons originated in the late 1700s, and they have only become more popular since then. Even though political cartoons have been around since then, they began to make an impact on the world in 1914 during World War One, and still make an impact today regarding war and our perceptions of political leaders. Political cartoons are used to ease tension, as a form of propaganda, and they are used today to illustrate the Afghanistan War as well as important political figures. Cartoons during World War One made such an impact on citizens that many times, it would even influence their opinion about the war.

My general audience will be young Americans and Americans, who want change. Creating a political cartoon will help spread awareness of this problem. The younger generation of United States’ can help resolve the problems of congress if they are informed about the political system. Later in life, these young Americans will know more about United States government to help fix the problems with the system. A political cartoon will intrigue the young Americans and teach them more about government; the young people will be between the ages of fourteen and sixteen. This approach will give young Americans two to four years of preparation to make choices at the age of eighteen. The next type of audience that can make a difference is Americans who want

Cartoons have been a prominent and interesting apparatus for politics throughout the ages. Political movements, parties, and groups using propaganda to further their beliefs dates back to the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Though America faces an austere history, lighthearted propaganda colors its decades and gives them life. Political cartoons are so widely used in America that they have become a significant piece of pop culture. Moreover, because of their ability to capture the reader’s attention, propaganda is exploited throughout politics.The cartoons are wonders of the human imagination; illustrators create comical images and intertwine profound political opinions to influence their viewer’s mind. For example, one movement that abundantly grew from propaganda was the women’s rights movement. The artists of the seemingly despised cause drew controversial cartoons that set a fire in the hearts of women all over the world. Consequently, the same cartoons ignited a passionate war between women who wanted freedom, and those who believed that women could not handle that freedom. Through the use of colorful concepts and daring expressions, political cartoons display the influence of the women’s rights movement throughout history, while the cartoons of Anti-Feminists demonstrates the world’s reaction to the movement.

Another type of political comedy that is often undervalued today is political cartoons. Prior to the television becoming a mainstream medium, political cartoons constituted the majority of political comedy. This power stemmed from the fact that political cartoons were often presented in print media, such as newspapers and magazines. As print media has fallen out of demand, however, political cartoons ceded their position to late-night comedy shows. This is not to suggest that political cartoons cannot exist in a TV-dominated society; rather, that a bit of its availability and power has been transferred to other media. Political cartoons still exist and have potential to alter viewers’ perception of the current political climate. In fact, some argue that the political cartoon has experienced a resurgence due to social media. One study phrased it like this: “Shared on social media, these cartoons created an impression of “déjà vu”, showing us the same metaphors again and again in a very limited space of time” (Bouko, Calabrese, & De Clercq, 2017). Not only do editorial cartoons still exist, their power has been augmented by the structure and nature of social media. Internet memes also constitute a section of this and will be discussed in-depth later.

Political cartoons can be humorous and revealing, but they are also a powerful way to start debates, especially in the rhetorical situation of a presidential election. A cartoon that discusses Trump in a security briefing by Chris Britt, shown in the US News and World Report on August 22, 2016, displays the traits of a political cartoon by creating discussion about the presidential election. This cartoon depicts Trump showing the military generals a list of who he wants to attack, which leads to the generals telling him that he will not have access to the nuclear codes. Britt's cartoon effectively utilizes many of the elements of a cartoon to entertain a broad audience while spurring discussion about whether Trump is fit to be in charge of our nation.

Political cartoons can be very funny,especially if you understand the issue that they are commenting on. The main purpose of a political cartoon, is not to amuse, but to persuade. political cartoons are meant to draw your attention to a specific issue, and more importantly to sway your opinion.

Late night television shows have taken every serious incident in our country and made it into a funny joke. Even newspaper’s typos are made humorous with the help of shows across the nation. Incidents and accidents should not be made fun of on national television, instead it should be corrected. Tosh.O makes fun of average Americans, yet if a student was to mimic those behaviors in school, they would be chastised for bullying. Young adults are not advised to watch late night TV, but that does not stop them. These youth are very likely to copy actions of these figures and will be punished by adults. Teenagers are often looked down upon for their manners, but these are the behaviors taught by those on television and in society all around them. People watch talk shows, normally staring celebrities, to investigate other people’s opinion on issues and how the superstars believe. Celebrities have “acted as cultural magnets” in the way “we frequently copy traits they” acquire because we believe that is “what made them successful in the first place” (Tehrani). Once again, individuals have stopped standing up for themselves and have let other people’s opinion override their own principles. By never questioning the celebrity, their intentions and motivations, the viewer never creates an opinion based on the whole story, but instead on half-truths. The virus continues to

Political communication uses different tools to convey the message to the audience. The use of humour is one such tool for disseminating political news in an alternative way. Political humour is intended to evoke amusement about governance of society. Political satire is a humour technique widely used in political communication to express and ridicule the absurdities of its subjects in order to affect or prevent changes (Kaid and Holtz-Bacha, 2007).

Imagine a vast concert hall filled with people. The audience excitedly clamor in anticipation for the main star of this event. The event they paid so much money for, cleared up time in their schedule for, spent time getting to the event for. As the lights dim, the spotlight shines on the center stage. Then an average person emerges on the stage with a thousand eyes’ on him. He only has with a microphone in his hand. Just a typical person, with a normal gait and normal sense of fashion. However, after speaking a few words in the microphone, the crowd bursts into a cacophony of laughter. No matter how ordinary or extraordinary the person, entertainment through humor is universal. Utilizing humor, an extensive language of amusement, to open perspectives and challenge what is conceived right or wrong can be impactful- if done correctly. Dave Sedaris accomplishes that goal when he uses humor to illustrate his dilemma because of his identity. Despite being an accomplished successful comedian, author, radio show host, certain people look down at him as just a homosexual freak. Rather than gravely addressing his opposition, Sedaris utilizes a jovial yet relatable anecdote called “Chicken in a Henhouse”. Incorporating ideas from Ardian Bardon’s “The Philosophy of Humor”, specifically, the three theories of humor: superiority theory, incongruity theory and relief theory, Sedaris argues that the American public stereotypes homosexuals as pedophiles and ,as a result, they feel

The talk show did not originate over night, at one time, or in one place. It developed out of forty years of television practice and antecedent talk traditions from radio, Chatauqua, vaudeville and popular theater. In defining the talk show it is useful to distinguish between "television talk" (unscripted presentational