A Conservative Walks Into a Bar: The Politics of Political Humor

by Alison Dagnes

Conservative critics argue that modern political satire, in the age of The Daily Show, has a liberal bias. A quick review of the humor landscape shows that there are very few conservative political satirists, and using personal interviews with political humorists this book explains why. The book explores the history of satire, the comedy profession, and the nature of satire itself to examine why there is an ideological imbalance in political humor and it explores the consequences of this disparity. This book will appeal to Daily Show and Colbert fans, political junkies, and anyone interested in the intersection of politics and media.

Genres: Humor, Politics, Nonfiction

254 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book could have been much better. This topic is fascinating to me. I first heard about the book when I listened to the author, Allison Dagnes, get interviewed on a podcast of some sort. In the interview, she explained her thesis as conservatives fail at doing political satire successfully because they are making fun of oppressed individuals within society while liberals have more success because they are making fun of those in power. That seemed like an interesting conclusion so I wanted to read her research.

Firstly, there are so many typos and missing words that it became distracting. Additionally, I felt like half the book was completely unnecessary. If I were to read this all over again I would only read the Introduction, Chapter 3 (the history of political satire in America), Chapter 5 (where she actually discusses her thesis and research findings) and the conclusion. The rest of the book was sort of her just rambling on. There were also an obnoxious amount of block quotes, most of which were unnecessary.

Her interviews present really interesting information, though I get the sense that she was asking leading questions because all of the interviewees used very similar language. (I can’t tell you how many times the word 'antiestablishment' was used in this book.) Overall, this is an amazing topic of study. I wish she had done it differently and, well, better.

[Florence Ditlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

On Satire, a Most Necessary Art Form
According to Allison Dagnes, laughter universally extends beyond borders and species. Quoting Simon Critchley, she says we laugh for three basic reasons- to feel superior, to release pent up energy and as a result of witnessing incongruity.
In our current polarized climate, we may be brought together by humor if people don’t object to comedy itself. Satire could shed light needed to eventually solve problems.
In her interview with Mark Maron: “comedians release aggression and disarm things while making a point about our culture and society.”
This study of satire will deepen your knowledge and understanding of our human reaction to authority. If you are entertained by Steven Colbert, Saturday Night Live and others, which contain jokes and sketches that have often been featured in the national political discussion, this is eye opening.