Two Types of Political Humor

If I were a Republican, I would no doubt laugh at liberals, thus contributing to the fortunes of entertainers such as Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter.  I am a Democrat, however, so I laugh at Donald Trump jokes, if only to keep from crying.  Fortunately, there are lots of Trump jokes on the internet, many in the form of short Youtube videos.  These fall into two broad categories, which I believe are applicable to humor in general.  There are smart jokes and there are outrageous jokes.  We laugh at both, although for different reasons. 

The most obvious examples of the two genres, and the clearest differences between them, are often found in observational standup (smart; think Chris Rock or Amy Schumer) and slapstick (outrageous; think the Three Stooges or Gallagher).  Of course, there is outrageous standup (all of Don Rickles) and smart slapstick (some of Charlie Chaplin, the Marx Brothers, or Steve Martin), but the broad categories – smart v. outrageous – generally hold. 

I saw the distinction in two recent videos mocking Donald Trump, both of which have been big hits on the internet.  I offer them here to illustrate styles of humor. The political content is incidental.  I am willing to assume that there are comparable examples of right-wing humor, although I must admit that I seldom find them funny.

First, we have the smart humor of Randy Rainbow (wait for the song; the Kellyanne Conway interview is not very funny):

The song parody is funny because it is so clever, and not merely because it ridicules Pres. Trump.  The rhymes are intricate and they challenge the viewer to anticipate what will come next.  The song appeals to intelligence in a way that, I believe, transcends politics.  Most importantly, the video would be funny irrespective of the singer or the target.

Then we have the outrageous humor of Vicente Fox:

This video is outrageous because no one would expect the former president of Mexico to refer to “Donald Fuckin’ Trump.”  If we laugh, it is because we are shocked, not because the video is inherently funny.  In fact, it would hardly be funny at all if the speaker were someone other than Fox, and I am sure that Republicans find nothing worth laughing at (other than, perhaps, the "always ask" hat). It does not take much creativity to call the American president a turd.  There are a few moments of smart humor in the video, but they are mostly overshadowed by the sheer outrageousness of it. 

One final thought:  Many attempts at judicial humor fall into the outrageousness category.  It is surprising, and therefore laugh-provoking, when a judge makes a joke or delivers a pun, either from the bench or in an opinion.  But judges’ jokes are often funny only because of their shock value, and not because they are subtle or clever.  There is a simple test.  Re-read the passage and ask yourself whether it would be funny if written by someone other than a judge.  The famous lawyer-mocking opinion by Sam Kent appallingly fails that test, and so does much other judicial humor, although seldom so egregiously. (Yes, I know what happened to him later.)

Comments

[Deep State Special Legal Counsel]

For a trenchant and sobering analysis of why Donald John Trump is president, I would suggest reading Ta-Nehisi's "The First White President," published in the October 2017 issue of Atlantic Magazine. It is also online. Donald Trump won because he is White.

[anymouse]

Chris Rock = Smart
Amy Schumer = Not Smart

[anymouse]

Deep Space Nine - Donald Trump is the president because he ran against a candidate worse than himself, Hillary.

[Deep State Special Legal Counsel]

Anymouse,

So, you are more concerned about a WOMAN"S emails than the country? How was she worse?

[anon]

if you want clever libertarian humor, look up the videos by Remy.

[anon]

Let's amplify that:

In my view, posting that video is conduct unbecoming a law professor (if he teaches classes). This is political pornography, and Lubet is supporting and promoting it on this blog.

[Anymouse]

Deep Space Nine - Yeah, that and the corruption of the Clinton crime family.

[Derek Tokaz]

The first video wasn't particularly funny. "DACA shame," the first line of the song, is basically the only clever joke. "DACA shame, put 'em on a plane" isn't exactly clever, intricate, challenging, or unanticipated. The song is essentially just the "DACA shame" pun repeated over and over with a bit of filler.

By contrast, Fox's video is pretty good in the genre of insult comedy. Maybe insult comedy just isn't your thing, but this would have been funny if read by any number of regular Comedy Central roasters.

If you really want to know what the two types of political humor are, it's very easy. There's the political humor that's going for laughs, and the political humor that's going for applause.

[Deep State Special Legal Counsel]

Anymouse,

So, you read the "Clinton Cash" book. Found a copy for .99 cents on the Barnes and Noble scratch and dent table. What tripe. So, Trump has a foundation that pays for giant oil paintings and statuary of himself and golf fees to his resorts and you are silent. The Clinton Foundation raised money from wealthy oil sheiks and gave it for clean water projects in Africa and Haitian Hurricane relief and you have a problem? There is no moral equivalency.

[anymouse]

Deep Space Nine - No, I watched the news for the past 17 years and followed the Clinton Foundation's activities. That was enough.

[Deep State Special Legal Counsel]

Interesting. What news did you watch? Breitbart? Infowars with Alex Jones, Storm Front? If the Clinton Foundation was so CROOKED, why did Bush I and II and other public figures participate in a knowing, intelligent and voluntary manner? They were very very public about it and proud.