Ridicule in Late-Night Political Humor in the United States: Contours and Consequences

• In Event: Media and The Modern Political Landscape

Abstract

As late-night comedy became a staple of political discourse in a polarized America, the comics increasingly aimed their mockery at political developments. These recent trends of increasing use of political humor demonstrate the importance of examining how ridicule relates to political conflict theory. As political discourse has moved away from issue-based commentary and towards more emphasis on personal and character dynamics of political figures, political humor has come to play a key role in orienting citizens, politicians and the mass media toward contemporary political conflict. By examining how politicians, comedians, the mass media and citizens use political humor to shape public orientations to politicians and public policies, this paper provides an important contribution to this increasingly important aspect of political conflict theory.

Authors

• Stephen Farnsworth, University of Mary Washington

• S. Robert Lichter, George Mason University

• Farah Latif, George Mason University