The Humor Divide: Conservative and Liberal Comedy

Every art form contains within it the ideology of the artist. It's easy to see what they stand for and what they're against. Comedy is a great art form where the ideology of the comedian and the joke cannot be separated. That is why it is perceived in two different ways. Conservative/right-wing and liberal/left-wing comedy. Conservative comedy and liberal comedy are two categories of humor that often reflect the political ideology and values ​​of their respective viewers.

Conservative comedies typically revolve around traditional values, patriotism, free market principles, and skepticism of government intervention. It often pokes fun at liberal politics, political correctness, and what it considers the excesses of the left. These are usually jokes that can be perceived as derogatory towards women or the LGBTQ community. They use language that supports heteronormative practices. Conservative comedians often use satire and parody to criticize liberal ideologies and social movements. Some examples:

Jeff Foxworthy: "I got a gun for my wife. Best trade I ever made."

Margaret Cho: "I have a lot of gay male friends. They're just women who like to make out with men."

An American comedy site called “malacody.com” which is acronym of “make America laugh again” used the following part as a marketing campaign.

“Tired of comedy dripping with far-left propaganda? So are we. Make America Laugh Again is the only live conservative comedy show of its kind. We've gathered the best stand-up acts around for a gut-busting night of politically incorrect comedy. There's nothing better than an evening with comedians who have the same views as YOU! Join us if you're ready for the funniest comedy event you've been to in a long time.”

Liberal comedy tends to focus on progressive values, social justice issues, inclusivity, and criticism of conservative policies and figures. It often ridicules traditional institutions, social norms, and power structures and aims to stimulate critical thinking and change. Liberal comedians may use irony, irony, and absurdity to highlight inequality and advocate progressive causes. Some examples:

Amy Schumer: "I think if you're against birth control, you should stay off it. I don't believe in shooting heroin, but I'm not going to stop you from using a clean needle."

Chris Rock: "You don’t pay taxes – they take taxes. I'm not paying for the war in Iraq. I’m barely paying for Netflix."

That being said, comedies can cater to both audiences, but that's certainly a rare occurrence. Ian Ward interviews Matt Sienkiewicz, an associate professor of communication and international studies at Boston University, about this dilemma of political humor:

Ward: What are liberals signaling about their worldview when they call this sort of established conservative humor “not funny?”

Sienkiewicz: When you don’t like something, and maybe you don’t find it personally funny — or maybe you do, but you feel bad about that — there are different ways to respond. One is to simply say, “That’s not funny” as a way to dismiss it or a way to castigate yourself for laughing at something that you think is immoral. But more often, [liberals] are saying, “You shouldn’t find it funny” — that there is a moral problem or maybe a political problem with finding it funny. And on the one hand, we can sort of understand that impulse. On the other hand, is that really what “funny” means? And if there’s this whole suite of people who have a different political and moral compass, that’s not going to apply at all.

Later in the interview, Ward asks Nick Marks, an associate professor of film and media studies at Colorado State University.

Ward: Is there a lesson in the rise of conservative comedy for liberal humorists and for liberals more generally?

Marx: The right is very good at overcoming their intramural disagreements on partisan issues to unite behind a common enemy. The left coalition is a lot bigger and more diverse, so there are going to be a lot more sort of disagreements among that coalition. But I think there’s a lesson to be learned from the right that comedy can still be a binding agent, that it can be unifying. It needn’t be something that we use to draw boundaries among ourselves on the left.

Overall, comedy seems to be both entertainment and political strategy in some cases. Since it necessarily involves ideology, any kind of humor that doesn't align with our ideas may be unfunny or wrong. At the end of the day, you're consuming media that makes you comfortable, and it's up to you to decide what entertains you.