Political Humor in the US - Essay Example

Political Humor The fact that politics dominate nearly, if not all, spheres of human lives cannot be disputed. Politics tend to positively or negatively impact on the lives of people of a particular society. Over the decades, it has become apparent across the world that politics and political players, if not checked, can bring about detrimental consequences in the society. It is against this background that political satire and humor was developed as a way of ridiculing and ideally intending to shame individuals and the society itself for political happenings that are not ideal (Cohen 19). While satire and humor are usually meant to be funny, their greater goal is to offer constructive criticisms through performing arts, graphic, and satirical writing and speech among other ways. This paper will analyze the article from the US-based satirical news website “The Onion”, titled “Mexico Killed in Drug Deal.” It will analyze the piece using four different approaches to studying humor: superiority theory, incongruity theory, relief theory, and benign violation theory. It will then discuss the best approach that explain the different jokes in the article, and finally comment on whether the article is funny and if it is effective as political humor. Contemporary philosophers have developed main theories of humor. The first one is the Superiority Theory which holds that the humor that we find in life and comedy is majorly based on ridicule, where the object of amusement is regarded as inferior and we regard ourselves as superior. This theory explains that the object of laughter is ridiculous and that the ridiculous is others’ self-ignorance when they have a belief that they have wisdom (Morreall 36). This is reflected in the article where Mexicans are regarded as inferior as they are all killed during a shoot-out between rival drug cartels. The U.S Drug Enforcement Administration is perceived as being superior as they are the one in control following the “death of Mexico” (The Onion). Humor, according to this theory, is as a result of feeling of pleasure at seeing others suffer a misfortune after being deluded by their own wisdom (Bardon 2). In this article, humor arises from the misfortune suffered in Mexico where all people who were present in Mexico at the time of the shoot-out died (The Onion). Superiority theory regarding philosophy of humor further argue that laughter arises from seeing those who hold power in society being ruled by emotion and desire and therefore are tempted to abuse power and make bad decisions (Bardon 2). This aspect is well depicted in the article where Felipe Calderon, the Mexican President is gunned down by passing drug dealers as he declares the state of emergency at the podium. This theory also holds that a passion of humor arises from sudden glory as a result of sudden eminency conception of certain persons; in other words, humor is basically found in that which seems inferior to people, and that which makes them to have the assurance of relative superiority (Bardon 3). The U.S. drug dealers have a sudden conception of eminence as demonstrated at press time where they assure the American public that they would ensure that the vast supplies of marijuana that Mexican cartels left behind reach the intended consumers (The Onion). The critics of Superiority Theory argue that there are many experiences that might make people feel superior but are not amusing. Therefore, some philosophers have developed a different and radical account of the comic, which states that humor is primarily found in an intellectual recognition of a ridiculous incongruity between experiences and ideas that are conflicting (Cohen 44). This account of humor falls under the incongruity theory which states that the cause of humor is the bringing together of contrary ideas, images and some resemblance in the grand idea (Bardon 7). In the article, this is demonstrated by the death of all the Mexican citizens within a very short period of time (The Onion). There is incongruence in the sense that it is expected that all people in a society cannot die within such a short time and in such a circumstance, but this is what happens in Mexico as per the accounts provided by the article . The theory holds that, humor in the greatest part is founded on the contrast of ideas of sanctity, dignity, and grandeur, and the experiences of baseness and meanness. So, in this respect what amuses is not the incidental degradation of the amusement object, but rather the incongruity. An incongruity between reality and expectation is an example of what strikes as humor (Cohen 61). Philosophers associated with this theory such as Hutcheson suggest that incongruity gives enjoyment because it distracts people from negative emotions. Incongruent theory also states that humor lies in frustrated intellectual expectation and incongruity. In other words, amusement derives from conflict between perception and thought and in the realization of incongruity between what a person perceived and the intellectual expectation in a particular case (Bardon 8). The incongruity is also evident through the massacre of 4 million police officers and military officials, who are otherwise expected to protect the citizens of their country against “aggressors” (The Onion). Relief theory was developed in response to Incongruity Theory and is of the view that humor is a manifestation of the release of emotional tension or nervous excitement. This theory is founded on the physiological basis for the laughter phenomenon and that just like how pain and joy are manifested physically, laughter is the physical manifestation of the nervous energy release (Morreall 75). It concurs that humor occurs in the contexts that involve certain humiliations of others or upon experience of some sort of absurd incongruity. That notwithstanding, this theory claims that what characterizes all situations that result to humor is the release of some emotion or nervousness. This was evident in this article as emotions built up throughout the drama in Mexico is released at the end when the U.S. drug dealers said that they would ensure that the vast supplies of marijuana that the Mexican cartels left behind reach their intended consumers and that they wished to assure the Americans that they were doing all they could (The Onion). The other theory of humor is that of Benign Violation Theory that integrates the other theories of humor and states that humor occurs when the following three conditions are satisfied: the situation which is threatening is apparently benign; something is threatening sense of someone regarding how the world should be, and; a persons sees these two interpretations at the same time (Morreall 96). In the article, it is evidently clear that the threatening situation is apparently tending to exert an influence that is favorable and beneficial to the society and that it has benign or gentle consequences in the society. It seeks to bring favorable influence in addressing the drug trafficking and abuse problems in Mexico and even America (The Onion). Also, the article portrays a threatening sense of how one think the world should be and therefore heightens the need to address the problem of drugs. The Incongruity Theory best helps to explain the different jokes in this article. As has been noted, the theory holds that humor in the greatest part is founded on the contrast of ideas of sanctity, dignity, and grandeur, and the experiences of baseness and meanness. Also, it has been noted that the theory asserts that humor is founded in the incongruity between perceptions and reality. This theory shows how the entire nation, “in reality”, can die within a very short time and in very awkward circumstances involving a shoot-out between rival drug cartels, something which is totally unexpected (The Onion). More hilarious is the account narrated by one of the tourists, Allan Curtis, who said that a bunch of shoot-out that lasted for a few minutes killed nearly 8 million people, a situation which in the expected sense cannot happen (The Onion). Incongruity Theory also depicts humor in the theory by showing how 4 million police officers, who are expected to protect the citizenry, are reportedly driven out to the desert where their corrupt partners slit their throats; this is totally ridiculous as it is expected that they would definitely have mounted some resistance and such would not have happened (The Onion). Also, it helps to explain the joke of how the United States government officials are trying their best to locate any Mexican military or police officials who are still alive to work hand in hand with them to combat drug violence; it has been reported that all Mexicans have died and as such the violence has ended, so these officials’ efforts are ridiculous (The Onion). Besides, how is this the case while the U.S. drug dealers say at a press time that they were not sure when and how the vast marijuana supplies that Mexican cartels would reach their intended customers, but they are doing all they can to ensure they reach them? This piece is funny, but not to the most desired level of a political humor that ought to be funnier. The piece has attempted to provide humor about drug dealings and violence in Mexico. It shows how the efforts being made by the authorities are futile and that they cannot achieve the intended objectives combating this crime. It also uses humor to show how powerful the drug cartels can be to an extent that they can kill the entire nation within such a short time. The piece is effective as a political humor as it shows how the political class has failed in the great way in combating drug crime, and how they too are falling victim of this crime. Works Cited Bardon, Adrian. “The Philosophy of Humor,” in Comedy: A Geographic and Historical Guide, ed. by Maurice Charney (Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2005). Cohen, Ted. “Humor.” The Routledge Companion to Aesthetics. London: Routledge, 2001. Morreall, John. Comic Relief: A Comprehensive Philosophy of Humor. John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Print. The Onion. Mexico Killed in Drug Deal. 2010. Web. 11 Jul, 2012. Read More