Humorists In Status Anxiety By Alain De Botton

There are over 7 Billion people in the world each with their own individual thoughts, ideas, and innovations. Based upon this fact, it is evident that there will be disagreements and conflicts amongst peers. In order to present these problems and arguments within the world in an entertaining, but informative way, satires are used. Satire is the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupiditiy or vices particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues. Through the use of exaggeration, humor, irony, and a variety of other similar techniques, controversial topics involving things such as politics can easily be presented.

Humorists are often seen as insignificant contributors of society. People consider humorists no more than just “entertainers”, willing to make fun of anything in order to make a crowd laugh, however, has the audience ever contemplated why humorists are the some of the only people who are allowed to critique anything that crosses their mind without consequences? Alain de Botton, claims the vital role of humorist is, “to convey with impunity messages that might be dangerous or impossible to state directly.” I agree with Alain de Botton’s claims, that humorists do hold an important role in society, which is far more than to entertain. They break the ice on delicate topics, communicating the messages to society. Political cartoons and the Colbert

Modern society allows humorists to touch upon offensive topics without receiving much criticism. As Alain de Botton claimed in his 2004 book, Status Anxiety, humorists’ role is not merely to entertain but “to convey with impunity messages that might be dangerous or impossible to state directly.” De Botton’s argument proves legitimate. Many humorists, such as cartoonists and television hosts, decide to use their humor as a tool to prove an idea or express a belief that cannot be voiced candidly in public.

Many comedians have been talking a great deal about politics and the government as a way to spread a variety of messages to the community expressing how they feel about how things are going for America. Therefore many comedians have become more popular in this past election season and with Trump 's new presidency. Stephen Colbert an American comedian, television host, and author uses his spotlight in media as a way to attack President Trump and his administration within his comedy. Colbert uses Juvenalian satire and satirical techniques while discussing politics to reveal his opinions as a way to spread messages to society about the Trump Administration and uses his comedic platform to do so.

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.

In Alain de Botton’s book, Status Anxiety, he claims that a humorist’s purpose is “not merely to entertain, but to convey with impunity messages that might be dangerous or impossible to state directly.” Humorists have more leeway when discussing controversial topics, thus they serve a vital function in society; however, humorists also have other intentions such as entertaining their audiences and earning revenue.

Humor has become manifested into nearly all aspects of the secular world. Whether it be in comics, writings, or television, some form of comedy is sure to be seen on a regular basis. It seems the world today depends on a good laugh every now and then, and Alain de Botton argued the purpose of this in his book Status Anxiety. He concluded that humorists are more than just a form of entertainment; They "convey with impunity messages that might be dangerous or impossible to state directly". These men and women are granted some degree of leeway to speak freely and candidly on ultimately any subject for the preservation of societal stability. Their representation of public sentiment results in the people feeling as if what they long to say is finally being heard on a larger platform. Humorists serve the vital role of being a true reflection of public opinion; however, they are not immune to

Final Paper Rough Draft Auston Collins Ever since their inception in the early 1930’s, television programs have revolutionized the United States in countless ways. From informing millions about current news to allowing sports fans to watch their team playing across the country, television has truly been one of the most revolutionary inventions of the past century. More recently, television programs have begun to comment and take a position on current events. In particular, satire has been very common, as it uses wit and irony to critique certain aspects of society.

Too often conversations are taken as harmful hate speech that needs to be censored. Although a large amount of things that people find offensive are completely unnecessary we can’t go censoring it to make the problem go away. Freedom of speech doesn’t mean you can say anything you want to say but it does mean that you have the right to say most things, and most times speech cannot be censored no matter how appalling it is. Sometimes speech needs to be censored, but there is a big difference between illegal and legal speech that we need to make sure we know.

Perhaps the most important reading from this class, I feel, is the Gray, Jones, and Thompson article on satire. Although the seemingly most popular article of the class, I argue that its popularity strives from a detachment of more traditional television sources, providing a new form of cultural engagement and citizenship. As trust in clear-leaing broadcasting systems fades, satire and parody emerges as substitute, filling in the spaces of discontent and misrepresentation felt by audiences. Shows like the Daily Show “defamiliarize” norms embedded into our social-political behavior, allowing a ‘step back’, as it were, and on an individual scale philosophically scrutinize them (Gray, 9). Most significantly, elements of satire and parody facilitates

For instance, the NFL kneeling phenomenon that was heard across the country is the perfect example. This situation has been highly debated by many people for months now. Whether or not these players who are kneeling or raising a fist to the air during the national anthem are welcome to do so. Many people have mixed opinions about this. They’re people like

Satire is commonly discussed and understood as the use of humor in literature and media to bring about an increase of awareness and change in society. While this definition is correct, it is not all encompassing. Satire can certainly employ humor (found in Horation-type satire) but it can also be effective without the use of laughter and amusement (known as Juvenalian satire). Through combining these different uses and the purposes of each type, a more encompassing definition may include the methods to bring about change in human institutions that are found as absurd, foolish, or full of vice or error. While often found in the lives of individuals, satire must be studied and have its components identified to be able to fully understand and comprehend the purpose of the issue being satirized.

Satire is constantly evolving in order to maintain with the times. As technology, culture and humanity change and grow, satire is forced to grow with it. Satire of our modern time is more likely to be found on our phones than on print, more likely on a television than a telegram. By merging with pop culture, in forms of Family Guy and Comedy Central news shows, these forms of satire are able to stay relevant. But, despite the change in medium, the purpose of satire and effect of satire holds true. Modern satire, just as that of past satire, sheds light on the problems of our society through ridicule and mockery, without reinforcing and further cementing the stereotypes and prejudices they are trying to expose.

Today, comedy news shows are becoming progressively more popular, and in so, becoming a new source of information – which may, or may not, be a positive consequence. Most comedians twist the truth in order to connect to people and make them laugh. The article “A Serious Business: What Can Comedy Do?” suggests some comedians “use logic to make painful things make sense” (O’Hara 108). Satirical comedy acts as a relief mechanism in that it comforts people that may be wary about a certain subject, especially in the realm of politics. Similarly, Peter McGraw and Joel Warner discuss how comedy can act as a coping mechanism. The authors conclude that “activists all over the world have been using comedy as a form of political protest” (McGraw & Warner 147). Iain Ellis writes about how political satirists do more than just deliver jokes, they use satire “to expose, ridicule, and–implicitly–call for action and change” (Ellis 152). Ellis contends that comedy can make a difference by its constant presence in our daily lives. Socrates, Plato, and even shows like South Park believe that humor is a way to persuade others. One of the most effective expressions of humor to affect social change has been the inclusion of satire. Although humor often provides people a welcome escape from the burdens of their daily lives, the satirical comedy deconstructs social issues in various ways as a means to persuade the

One way that Izzard is able to change his audience’s viewpoint, is by talking about real life situations in a witty way, by doing this he is able to change the viewpoint of his audience, to the same view that he has. An example of this is, “Comedy is interesting, because it’s not a building tool, it is an attacking tool. It tears down pomposity and stupidity in certain presidents” (Wright 1). In this statement Izzard is saying that comedy has more power over people’s opinion than realized. Through comedy, Izzard is able to sway the viewpoint of his audience into making them agree with him and what he thinks about certain situations. By making the political situations humorous, he is able to make the topics easier to