In the era of Donald Trump and increasing political polarization, the role of satire and comedy in shaping public discourse has become more crucial than ever. As traditional news media struggles to keep up with the rapid pace of events and the proliferation of misinformation, comedians have stepped in to fill the void, often providing more incisive and hard-hitting commentary than their journalistic counterparts.
The recent depiction of Trump in South Park, where he is shown cheating on Satan (who is carrying his spawn) with JD Vance in the White House, is a prime example of how satire can cut through the noise and expose the absurdity of the political landscape. As Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of the show, have demonstrated, they very much own this territory, and their willingness to push the boundaries of what is acceptable has made them a force to be reckoned with.
However, the blurring of the lines between news and comedy has raised concerns about the responsibilities and limitations of each. As the American economist Paul Krugman observed back in 2000, the press has been “fanatically determined to seem even-handed,” to the point where they are unwilling to call out outrageous untruths. This has created a void that comedians like Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and John Oliver have stepped in to fill, often doing a better job of breaking scandalous stories than the news programs they are satirizing.
The rise of “investigative comedy” has enabled these comedians to build trust with their audiences, allowing them to act as a form of opinionated journalism. As Parisian journalist and stand-up comedian Charles Pellegrin notes, “Comedians don’t have to play by the same rules, so they can point out the glaringly obvious – so obvious it feels subjective.”
However, this power comes with its own set of challenges. Comedian Gianmarco Soresi warns that the moment comedy becomes power, it loses its efficacy, and that’s why it was so offensive when comedians “cozied up to Trump.” There are limits to what comedy can achieve, as Soresi acknowledges – it can create spaces for relief and reflection, but it cannot replace the role of politics in building political movements.
The situation in France provides an interesting contrast. When I first moved to the country in 2012, I was struck by the absence of the same prevalence of satirical political comedy shows on French TV. This, I slowly realized, was because the news media were doing their job properly, with live fact-checking and in-depth coverage of political debates.
However, over the past decade and a half, things have been declining in the French media sphere as well, with two right-wing billionaires gobbling up television stations, radio stations, and newspapers. As a result, France is heading down a similar path to the US, where the traditional news media become weaker and more partisan, politics becomes a farce, and comedy steps in to fill the void.
The danger in this scenario is that the comedian’s stage becomes the most important public forum, which is the opposite of what comedy should be. As Alexander Hurst, the author of the original article, warns, “Without it, we risk turning the comedian’s stage into our most important public forum. That’s dangerous for society, and also the opposite of what comedy should be.”
The balance between news, politics, and comedy is a delicate one, and it is essential that we find ways to reinvigorate the traditional media and ensure that it can fulfill its role as a watchdog and a forum for public discourse. Only then can we ensure that comedy remains a powerful tool for social and political commentary, rather than becoming a crutch for a failing system.
