Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” Cesar A. Cruz

Istanbul (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – To most people, comedy can be a source of entertainment, an enjoyment to remove us from our daily routine and everyday problems. For this reason, many comedians tend to avoid complicated topics and controversial issues so as not to offend any part of their audience and to broaden the scope of their reach and influence. Yet, there’s another breed of comedians, like the late great George Carlin, who reject safe comedy and believe that comedy and satire can and must challenge taboos. By using witty, clever jokes they delve into topics in ways that the classical politicians and journalists are unable to do. A lot of research believes that this brand of comedy has a lot of merit when it comes to navigating complex political situations, fighting injustices, or advancing social change in the world. Unsurprisingly then, the recent War in Gaza has become the subject of many comedians’ sets and punchlines for a myriad of reasons.

Comedy at its core is meant to be funny, that’s the one thing almost every person on the planet would agree to. Yet is that all that comedy is good for? A lot of researchers would disagree. Research by Sara Ödmark proposes that the main difference between comedians and journalists in news framing is that comedy tends to be more personal, emotional and understood at a societal level. These features in comedy create a space for the audience to feel heard and understood. Caty Borum Chattoo shares similar findings in her research where she argues that journalism institutions should take notes from comedians on how to make news accessible to their readers. While this may come as a shock to some, many people trust comedians’ input in serious matters such as political affairs. For instance, an old Pew research from 2007 revealed that “16% of Americans said they regularly watched The Daily Show or the Comedy Central spin-off, The Colbert Report”. Jon Stewart, who wouldn’t be identified as a classic journalist, is trusted by many Americans for his provoking and satirical takes on American and foreign affairs. Ödmark clarifies that comedians like Stewart occupy a position her research coined as a “comedic interlocutor: a satirist who uses humor, emotion, comedic metaphors, and analogies while addressing the audience to discuss serious topics”. A 2020 research by Rutgers goes into detail on how this form of comedy could become a force for social change through:

“Drawing attention, disarming audiences, lowering resistance to persuasion, breaking down social barriers and stimulating sharing and discussion…Comedy also can have broader cultural effects, shaping news coverage and social media discourse, providing visibility to alternative ideas and marginalized groups, and serving as a resource for collective action”. 

Zeteo Video: “Bassem Youssef and Mehdi Hasan on Gaza: “If you’re going to kill me, I’m allowed to scream.”

So, if comedy can be such a force of change, how has it been employed in the war in Gaza? 

For starters, comedy can be a strong therapeutic tool to process feelings and emotions for both the comedian and the audience. This is true for many Palestinian comedians who found solace in their comedy. Palestinian comedian Sammy Obeid explained in an interview with CBC how talking about the conflict not only can help bring the Palestinian narrative to light but is also a way for him to process his emotions, “I get to say things that maybe haven’t been said before … and helping people come to those realizations with me also feels cathartic,” This sentiment is shared by his fellow Palestinian comedian Mohammed “Mo” Amer whose comedy has been focused mostly on his Palestinian heritage, through his Netflix specials such as “The Vagabond” and “Mohammed in Texas,” and his comedy series “Mo”. Amer believes that comedy can help foster understanding and can assist in humanizing Palestinians, especially for Western audience. Yet, he also acknowledges the strength of comedy for comedians to process their own feelings stating that “Comedy has been what saved me.” Hence, through comedy, these comedians found an outlet to channel their grievances and let other people, who may not have a proper way to do so, feel heard and understood.

While comedy can be a great outlet for grief and processing our emotions, other comedians believe in its power as a tool for social criticism. A notable example of such potency can be seen in the Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef. A heart surgeon-turned-political comedian, Youssef came into the limelight through his satirical show “Al Bernameg”. In format, Youssef’s show mirrored the Daily Show with Jon Stewart garnering him the nickname ‘Egypt’s Jon Stewart’. His main focus was the criticism of Egyptian politics and politicians through satire. This premise, while highly successful, landed him in hot water with the government and he had to flee from his country. These days, Youssef decided to aim his satirical talent at the war in Gaza, attending different interviews prepared with satirical, witty, and often exaggerated answers to the hosts’ talking points. 

His two interviews with Piers Morgan remain two of the best examples of how comedy can be phenomenally successful in delivering poignant criticism and in making people listen to alternative perspectives. Through his dark humor, both interviews attempt to dismantle the Israeli points of view by exposing their illogic and by humanizing and shedding light on the Palestinian perspective. For instance, to expose the Israeli’s overuse of the human shield argument, Youssef jokes with an uncomfortable Piers Morgan about how hard it is to kill his Palestinian wife:

“You know those Palestinians, they’re very dramatic: ‘Ahh, Israelis killing us!’ But they never die. … They are … very difficult people to kill. I know because I’m married to one. I tried many times — couldn’t kill her… I tried to get to her, but she uses our kids as human shields; I can never take her out.” 

This joke is funny but also uncomfortable because of how embedded it is in truth. Yet, this is only one example of many that Youssef employs to expose the fallacies of the Western media but also to highlight the dehumanization of Palestinians by Israeli propaganda. As Noor Nooman puts it, Youssef’s humor “isn’t intended to make us laugh. It is intended to make us feel agony and to provoke people who blithely mouth Western talking points about Palestinians to question their assumptions”.

The best comedians are master storytellers, they create a space for their jokes that is both immersed in reality and exaggeration. An ability that, when appropriately used, can render the audience defenseless against their own misconceptions and assumptions. Akin to the jesters of the past, comedians hold immense power to oppose the injustices of our leaders and to expose the lies and hypocrisies of those in charge. 

But guess what? Al-Sisi was tremendously more thin-skinned than Mubarak and the junta decided that Mubarak had erred in allowing a margin of dissent. They went in a North Korean direction, outlawing all dissent.

Youssef’s comedy came in part from simply pointing out the fantastic beliefs espoused by government figures and their supporters, the narcissism, the illogic, the grandiosity. At one point al-Sisi announced that his military physicians had found a cure for AIDS. It is not clear why they fixed on that particular lie. In the announcement of the cure, the government spokesman mixed up DNA and RNA. Youssef, who is also a physician, said that if a medical student had made an error like that, he would be drummed out of medical school and that his village of origin would be placed on a blacklist such that no one else from there would ever be admitted to medical school again.

In 2014, Youssef got word that the government was coming for him. He threw some clothes in a suitcase and managed to fly out before a warrant was issued.

In Iran, Atena Farghadani was imprisoned for 18 months for putting out a political cartoon that slammed members of parliament for not paying attention to Iranian women’s rights, according to Nadja Sayej at Vice. Stand up comedy is not allowed.

Americans might have found it hard to believe that someone could be jailed for a stand-up routine making fun of the government. Governments are funny and the officials in them often deserve to be made fun of.

Mark Twain said, “Fleas can be taught nearly anything that a Congressman can.”

He soliloquized, “Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.”

Samuel Clemens may have raised hackles, but no one wanted to jail him.

According to aides, in 2019 Trump watched a Saturday Night Live skit about himself and went ballistic. Asawin Suebsaeng at Yahoo News, who writes that it wasn’t the first time:

“It’s truly incredible that shows like Saturday Night Live, not funny/no talent, can spend all of their time knocking the same person (me), over & over, without so much of a mention of ‘the other side,’” Trump tweeted, long before he was banned from Twitter for inspiring a violent mob. “Like an advertisement without consequences. Same with Late Night Shows. Should Federal Election Commission and/or FCC look into this?”

Suebsaeng adds,

“According to two people familiar with the matter, Trump had asked advisers and lawyers in early 2019 about what the Federal Communications Commission, the courts systems, and—most confusingly to some Trump lieutenants—the Department of Justice could do to probe or mitigate SNL, Jimmy Kimmel, and other late-night comedy mischief-makers.”

Trump was under the impression that the “equal time” requirement applied to television political satire. It does not.

Trump labors under a plethora of misapprehensions.

His aides just fobbed him off, saying they would look into it. The only good thing about Trump was his short attention span.

But now that the Republican Party has been captured by his cult of personality and is rejiggering voting rights and election certification to accommodate Trump’s narcissistic fantasies, you have to worry at least a little bit about the future of freedom of speech if they get back into power.

There isn’t any doubt that Trump would like to rule as al-Sisi does in Egypt or Khamenei does in Iran, and that his acolytes and his cheerleaders at Fox Cable News would be perfectly all right with that.

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Bonus Video:

Saturday Night Live: “Donald Trump Press Conference Cold Open – SNL”

FLAGSTAFF – Asgard, Wakanda, Xandar and other intergalactic empires are well-known to comic book fans, but a new comic is hoping to bring readers back to Earth to learn about Indigenous heroes.

Penned by Native American artists and writers, “Marvel’s Voices: Indigenous Voices #1” was released Nov. 18, to the delight of Native Americans who feel underrepresented in the comic book universe.

The new release features several new Indigenous heroes and address their involvement in X-Men stories.

Keith Jim, a Navajo comic book artist who became interested in comics at an early age, is proud to see Native Americans breaking through into the superhero world.

“Sometimes I feel like we’re forgotten. We are still here, so it’s important to stand up,” said Jim, who drew the comic book episode “The Heroes” in 2018.

Jim said Native American comic book characters usually are depicted in stereotypical ways, as they are reduced to complementary or side roles and are shown in feathers and loin cloths.

Anthony Thibodeau, a curator at the Museum of Northern Arizona who specializes in Indian arts and culture, said this misrepresentation of Native Americans is evident in mainstream popular culture.

“Any character that was a non-white character, they were usually represented in a very stereotypical way,” Thibodeau said. “Either through their clothing, a lot of times how they talk or through their accent.”

Keith Jim, who drew the comic book episode “The Heroes” in 2018, says he sometimes feels as if Native Americans are forgotten. “We are still here, so it’s important to stand up.” (Photo courtesy of Keith Jim/KTJ1 Comics & Arts)

To eliminate these stereotypes, he said, it’s important that the Marvel comics are created by Native Americans.

“I think it is a good step,” Thibodeau said. “Especially having these writers and artists interpret these characters to bring a better sense of representation into mainstream pop culture than there has been.”

Thibodeau and Jim hope that the new Marvel comic book heroes, including Echo, Mirage and Silver Fox, will help tear down the misrepresentation of Indigenous people.

“I can’t wait for it to come out just to see how it should’ve been from the start, how Native Americans should have been represented from the start,” Jim said.

Cory Bushnell owns Cab Comics, the closest comic book store to the Navajo Nation, where the new Marvel comic will be sold.

“It’s something that we’re excited to have in the store and excited to help encourage people to know about,” Bushnell said. “It’s encouraging people to learn more.”

Bushnell and Jim both said that these new heroes will help Native Americans feel inspired. Kyle Charles, an Indigenous illustrator for “Marvel’s Voices: Indigenous Voices,” already received support from Indigenous women for his depictions of the Marvel hero “Dani” Moonstar, a member of the Cheyenne Nation who was introduced in 1982.

“I hope they (women) get inspired or they feel empowered. I hope they get whatever they need out of it, even if it’s just to escape,” Charles said in an interview with the Canadian Press. “The most important thing to me is them seeing this and saying, ‘That’s me, I am that character.’”

Johnny Messiha is a Southern California native who expects to graduate in spring 2021 with his master’s degree in sports journalism. He has served as a commentator at the University of San Diego, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in communication studies.

McKenzie Allen-Charmley is originally from Alaska and expects to graduate in May 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in business. Aside from reporting for Cronkite News, she works in event production for Arizona PBS and at the JET Lab at the Cronkite School.

Via Cronkite News

Get Paul Jamiol’s latest book of political cartoons, Hatred Rising

Related Informed Comment Posting: “War Crimes: Israeli Snipers Kill Palestinian Nurse, Injure 100, at Gaza March of Return” .

Anderson Cooper (Alex Moffat) has an unexpected run-in with Kellyanne Conway (Kate McKinnon).

[See also Trump as Stephen King’s ‘It’: Lashing out at Clinton, N. Korea – JC]

Saturday Night Live: “Kellywise”

More than 1,600 artworks were submitted to the “International Trumpism Cartoon and Caricature Contest.”

U.S. President Donald Trump and his policies are the themes of an international cartoon contest organized by the Islamic Republic of Iran, with more than 1,600 artworks submitted to the “International Trumpism Cartoon and Caricature Contest,” PressTV reported.

Over 550 people from 75 countries sent cartoons to the contest, which began last Monday and will run for a week. The competition’s logo courted controversey as the “T” in Trumpism was positioned diagonally, apparently to depict a swastika.

Hadi Asadi, an Iranian cartoonist, took home first prize, receiving a US$1,500 award for his drawing of Trump donned in a jacket made of dollar bills, and a tie depicting the U.S. flag while he drooled over a stack of books that represent culture. His hair, flaming upward, partially blocks out a world map in the background.

“I wanted to emphasize the U.S. president’s money-mindedness and warmonger nature,” said Asadi.

Ali-Asghar Jafari, the contest’s director, said that the United States “is moving against Muslim countries, especially Iran.” He also emphasized that “it was difficult to prove U.S. brutality in the past, but Trump’s presence has made it easy.”

Another event organizer, Masud Shojaei-Tabatabai, noted that “the -ism in Trumpsim is a direct reference to racism and Nazism,” and that the exhibition is intended to highlight Trump’s misled policies within a satirical scope.

“This contest considers Trump as a symbol of U.S. capitalism and hegemony that many intellectuals compare with Nazism,” he said.

The Independent reported that other themes depicted in the contest included violence against women and wall building.

Via TeleSur

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Related video added by Juan Cole:

TeleSur: “Artists Mock Trump in Iran Cartoon Competition”

“Daily Show correspondent Hasan Minhaj took full advantage of Donald Trump’s absence by taking aim at the president and his administration during his monologue at the White House Correspondents’ dinner.”

Daily Show’s Hasan Minhaj White House Correspondents’ Dinner full monologue

“There was an unexpected distraction for Professor Robert Kelly when he was being interviewed live on BBC News about South Korea. But he managed to keep his composure and complete the interview successfully.”

BBC: “Children interrupt BBC News interview – BBC News”

“Sean Spicer (Melissa McCarthy) and Jeff Sessions (Kate McKinnon) take questions from the press (Bobby Moynihan, Mikey Day, Vanessa Bayer, Sasheer Zamata, Cecily Strong, Kyle Mooney).”

SNL: “Sean Spicer Press Conference Cold Open – SNL”