One main idea that caught my attention, in the Laughing Matters text, is the information on political humor. The one type of political humor that intrigues me is the type that Parvin uses to give the nation a new view on a politician. Elizabeth Kolbert finds out from Parvin, that this type of humor is the “easiest thing in the world” for Parvin to use and the press picks it up with considerable ease. The purpose of even using political humor is not to aid politician in conveying his views, but to influence the nation to like him more. Many politicians use humor to make light of their mistakes or problems going on while they’re in office, but even Parvin knows that there is a place and a time to poke fun at mistakes or problems. In his mind, “sometimes [humor] helps, and sometimes the trouble is intractable.” It’s important to discuss because it shows how far politicians are willing to go to be better liked. They’ll make fun of themselves and even make fun of the mistakes they made, if the mistakes aren’t that serious. The thing that I think Elizabeth Kolbert misses throughout her writing is that sometimes things become funny in politics when a politician is trying to be completely serious.
An example of this is located at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6TeoNNXxpk
No comments:
Post a Comment