Is edgier political comedy making America worse?
| NEW YORK
When late-night comedian Stephen Colbert hurled a string of crude insults at President Trump on 鈥淭he Late Show鈥� last week, it didn鈥檛 take long for the leader of the free world, a former reality-TV star, to respond.
Conservative critics and others were calling for Mr. Colbert鈥檚 ouster this week after the nation鈥檚 most-watched late-night host used a lewd metaphor to close out his .听An insult of the 鈥渓ocker-room banter鈥� variety, Colbert鈥檚 final quip was criticized by LGBT advocates, some of whom said his joke was a symptom of a听 and joined the furor.
鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing funny about what he says,鈥� the president , calling the host a 鈥渘o-talent guy.鈥� 鈥淎nd what he says is filthy. And you have kids watching. And it only builds up my base. It only helps me, people like him.鈥�
From political cartoons a century ago to the conventions of parody and satire on late-night TV, insults hurled are hardly anything new in American politics. Yet critics from the right and left are both expressing concern about听a new edginess to the humor听鈥� an edginess that may thrill each side鈥檚 base, but also deepens cultural divides.
And many say Trump is right about one thing: The comedy of Colbert and other liberal-leaning late-night comics has only helped the president. Both Trump's supporters and other conservatives say they see an 鈥� and especially among the liberal comedians who cater to them.
鈥淲e鈥檙e all familiar with the style,鈥� wrote David French in , critiquing the likes of HBO鈥檚 John Oliver and TBS鈥檚 Samantha Bee, both alums of Comedy Central鈥檚 genre-changing news parody, 鈥淭he Daily Show.鈥� 鈥淭he basic theme is always the same: Look at how corrupt, evil, and stupid our opponents are, look how obviously correct we are, and laugh at my marvelous and clever explanatory talent.鈥�
Yet many social critics see more than hectoring and propaganda behind the changing traditions of America's political satire. From the niche audiences of digital media and cable news to the varying comedic sensibilities of urban and rural viewers, a new media landscape has begun to evolve, scholars say.
鈥淔or the guy who goes and works 50 hours a week just trying to make ends meet for his family, and he just wants to sit down and watch the 11 o鈥檆lock news and laugh a few times before going to bed, there鈥檚 this feeling now that everything is political,鈥� says Heather LaMarre, an associate professor at the Klein College of Media and Communication at Temple University in Philadelphia. 鈥淧eople just don鈥檛 have an escape, and they鈥檙e frustrated that they don鈥檛 have an escape.鈥�
Indeed, for those who would 鈥渕ake America great again,鈥� the current dominance of aggressively liberal comedy feels like another culture loss. And late-night comics are seen as 鈥淗ollywood elites,鈥� as powerful as the people they are mocking, many believe. The New York Times columnist Ross Douthat before the election that late-night comics had abandoned the witty, winking satire of a Johnny Carson or David Letterman, in favor of hosts who are 鈥渓ess comics than propagandists 鈥� liberal 鈥榚xplanatory journalists鈥� with laugh lines.鈥�
Make no mistake, former late-night comics like Mr. Carson and Mr. Letterman tossed plenty of insults at politicians. But Professor LaMarre points out that their dominant rhetorical style of was what scholars call 鈥淗oratian satire,鈥� named after the 1st-century Roman satirist Horace, and characterized by a wit that criticized human folly in a tolerant way.
Today, however, most of the late-night comics have begun to employ a more 鈥淛uvenalian鈥� style of satire, named after the 2nd-century Roman satirist Juvenal, and characterized by a more angry, personal, and indignant exposure of vice and folly. Comics such as George Carlin, Lewis Black, and the conservative Dennis Miller employ this style.
鈥淓ach of the current late-night satirists are competing for viewers and for the sort of relevance that only comes from being GIFfed, memed, retweeted, or posted to Facebook,鈥� says Steven Benko, an assistant professor of religious and ethical studies at Meredith College in Raleigh, N.C., who studies the ethics of humor. 鈥淭hey have to be louder, more pointed, and they have to find a niche that distinguishes them from the others. Being loud, being biting is how they attract viewers, and they are up against cable where the rules on language and content are looser.鈥�
Among comedians, one of the most biting forms of humor remains the genre of schoolyard-style disses 鈥� rhetorical battles of wit and humor that up the ante for often lewd, personal taunts.
It鈥檚 a genre Mr. Trump knows well, too, having been the witting subject of a , where most jokes bring as many bleeps as laughs. And the president himself employs name-calling, including听,听as no American leader ever has before. Colbert鈥檚 rhetorical litany of insults, in fact, was meant to be a response to the president鈥檚 quip to CBS鈥檚 Face the Nation host John Dickerson 鈥� or, 鈥淒eface the Nation,鈥� Trump said during an interview last Sunday.
鈥淲hen you insult one member of the CBS family, you insult us all!鈥� Colbert began. 鈥淢r. President, I love your presidency, I call it 鈥楧isgrace The Nation.鈥� You鈥檙e not the POTUS, you鈥檙e the 鈥榞loat-us.鈥� You鈥檙e the glutton with the button. You鈥檙e a regular 鈥楪orge Washington,鈥欌�� he said, before becoming more biting and lewd.
Critics note that before Trump was elected president, Colbert struggled to find his comedic voice as Mr. Letterman鈥檚 replacement on 鈥淭he Late Show.鈥� When he played a parody of a conservative Bill O鈥橰eilly-like host in his Emmy-winning 鈥淭he Colbert Report,鈥� he had a more Horatian style of satire.
But as he and others became more aggressive toward the new president, their ratings shot up.
The number of politically liberal viewers tuning in to Colbert doubled since the election, researchers say. Samantha Bee鈥檚 鈥淔ull Frontal,鈥� too, has become the most-watched late-night show among viewers 18 to 34 years old 鈥� just one year after its launch.
Yet not too long ago, some observers note, the angry style of political humor was the realm of conservatives. Rush Limbaugh, in fact, uses aggressive parody and satire in his long-running radio show.听And with advertising lines such as 鈥渢alent on loan from God,鈥澨齃imbaugh has been a leading conservative voice grounded in a comic style. The pundits Ann Coulter and Glenn Beck, too, have used a mocking schtick in their personality-driven takes on politics. 听听
鈥淛okes, commentary, or satirical bits that absolutely enrage one side leaves the other side laughing so hard that people's ribs hurt,鈥� says Brian Rosenwald, a media scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. 鈥淢y line to lots of conservatives complaining about Stephen Colbert last week, and calling on CBS to sanction him, was to question whether they thought Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh should be sanctioned by their bosses for some of the outrageous and inflammatory things they say.鈥� 听
But as political satire and late-night comedy becomes more aggressive and Juvenalian, it risks becoming less effective, says LaMarre.
鈥淧eople will pay more attention to satire that is dark and edgy, but they will also argue against it more,鈥� she says. 鈥淪o although more people will pay attention to it, it will have much less of a persuasive impact.鈥�
But as long as Trump remains the insulter-in-chief, few see this shift in political satire changing soon.
鈥淭he whole game has changed now 鈥� there鈥檚 a new dealer at the table, and it鈥檚 not any kind of dealer that we鈥檝e ever had before,鈥� says Christopher Irving, who teaches English and the humanities at Beacon College in Leesburg, Fla. 鈥淚f Donald Trump were a seasoned politician, a statesman, and not a successful billionaire who likes to Tweet all the time, we would still be having the same arguments, but in a very different way.鈥�
