thoughts on humor, assault, and social justice

 Victoria S 

Dr. Ellis 

Comedy and Social Justice 


I would agree with the overarching statements in both articles. I think that we tend to use humor because the world is depressing enough. It is easier to talk about depressing things without making them even sadder- we might as well laugh, but it will not stop them from happening. For women, it does not shock me that we use humor to cope with sexual assault- it is an easy way to deflect. Even if it does not go as far as assault- I know if something weird happens to my friend or me at a bar involving a man, instead of focusing on how bad it could have been, we exchange looks and laugh. Acknowledging the fear is always there, but it is easier to just laugh something off and not let it ruin our night. 

We talked a few weeks ago about how comedy can inspire new people to care about issues they hadn’t in the past- and I think that is based on relatability. If I laugh at something I am not familiar with, I think I am way more likely to Google it, than if someone is just talking my ear off about the subject. It does not make it any less important, humor makes it more intriguing. 

I do still defend that comedy does walk the line between talking up and talking down. It truly depends on the joke, and while it is not necessarily a problem that a joke makes a hit at someone, we should still acknowledge most humor does this.


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