That's Not Funny: How the Right Makes Comedy Work for Them

by Matt Sienkiewicz, Nick Marx, Keith Sellon-Wright (Reader)

A 2022 Best Comedy Book, Vulture "Why do conservatives hate comedy? Why is there no right-wing Jon Stewart?" These sorts of questions launch a million tweets, a thousand op-eds, and more than a few scholarly analyses. That's Not Funny argues that it is both an intellectual and politically strategic mistake to assume that comedy has a liberal bias. Matt Sienkiewicz and Nick Marx take listeners--particularly self-described liberals--on a tour of contemporary conservative comedy and the "right-wing comedy complex." In That's Not Funny , "complex" takes on an important double meaning. On the one hand, liberals have developed a social-psychological complex--it feels difficult, even dangerous, to acknowledge that their political opposition can produce comedy. At the same time, the right has been slowly building up a comedy-industrial complex, utilizing the irony-laden media strategies of liberals such as Jon Stewart, Samantha Bee, and John Oliver to garner audiences and supporters. Right-wing comedy has been hiding in plain sight, finding its way into mainstream conservative media through figures ranging from Fox News's Greg Gutfeld to libertarian podcasters like Joe Rogan. That's Not Funny taps interviews with conservative comedians and observations of them in action to guide listeners through media history, text, and technique.

1 pages, Audio CD

Published December 13, 2022

Reviews

[Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a very online, very liberal person who is keenly aware of the trolls lurking around the internet. as a human adult, i’m familiar with Tim Allen and the power of nostalgia. as someone interested in politics, i know a good amount about the religo-satirists like Crowder.
this book didn’t teach me about these people- it showed me how interconnected right wing comedy really is and stressed the importance of recognizing this “humors” impact.

even though i know millions of people watch fox news and tons of americans love Gutfeld, it is still hard to believe that’s true. i mean how? it just baffles me.

i think what’s holding this book back for me is 1) i knew a lot of it already 2) slightly repetitive 3) i wish there was more solutioning. ok so we know about these people - how can we as a liberal collective combat the influence of “comedians” like Fuentes?

the last section talked a bit about how liberal comedy has changed in the trump era- how it’s so self serious. i think that’s true and i wonder if there is room for trolling on the left. not rolling around in the mud with racist and homophobes… but subversive anti-humor that achieves liberal ends (i guess chapo but that’s not really funny)

2.9⭐️

[Jerry Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frank and (mostly) intellectually honest look at right-wing comedy

Sienkiewicz and Marx do well in refuting the misconception that there's no such thing as right-wing comedy and lay a convincing car of why it's ignored at our peril. Points lost, however by looking a little too hard for dog whistling in mainstream shows like _Last Man Standing_ -- I'm still unable to think after several days of a racial slur rhyming with 'Tahoe' without stretching the definition of 'rhyme' almost to breaking.

[Luis Salazar · Rating 4 out of 5]

What's Funny

Not Funny is a call to action of liberal comedy which is largely dismissed by the majority of the most liberal as just that. This leaves ideas on the table for the Right to use in a predictable fashion upon reflection, though underappreciated by liberals who need this platform now more than ever.
This tour through the right's World of Comedy is a much needed perspective.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly valuable book well worth everyone's attention. The authors introduce the readers to the very real concept of right-wing comedy, and if you're unfamiliar with that ecosystem, they bring you up to speed not only on its existence but also its popularity. Right-wing readers will surely already be familiar with a lot of these references, but many of us will have our eyes opened to a subculture that we really need to understand and know more about. By the end of the book, we learn about the extreme right-wing websites that, let's face it, present "comedy" that is rooted in hate. But we must be educated about this world if we are to act properly. This book is a must-read for everyone.