A Comedian and an Activist Walk Into a Bar: The Serious Role of Comedy in Social Justice

by Caty Borum Chattoo, Lauren Feldman

"A comprehensive and insightful examination of the ways comedy can help shape social justice movements."––Hasan Minhaj, Comedian and Host of the Netflix series Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj Comedy is a powerful contemporary source of influence and information. In the still-evolving digital era, the opportunity to consume and share comedy has never been as available. And yet, despite its vast cultural imprint, comedy is a little-understood vehicle for serious public engagement in urgent social justice issues – even though humor offers frames of hope and optimism that can encourage participation in social problems. Moreover, in the midst of a merger of entertainment and news in the contemporary information ecology, and a decline in perceptions of trust in government and traditional media institutions, comedy may be a unique force for change in pressing social justice challenges. Comedians who say something serious about the world while they make us laugh are capable of mobilizing the masses, focusing a critical lens on injustices, and injecting hope and optimism into seemingly hopeless problems. By combining communication and social justice frameworks with contemporary comedy examples, authors Caty Borum Chattoo and Lauren Feldman show us how comedy can help to serve as a vehicle of change. Through rich case studies, audience research, and interviews with comedians and social justice leaders and strategists, A Comedian and an Activist Walk Into a  The Serious Role of Comedy in Social Justice explains how comedy – both in the entertainment marketplace and as cultural strategy – can engage audiences with issues such as global poverty, climate change, immigration, and sexual assault, and how activists work with comedy to reach and empower publics in the networked, participatory digital media age.

Genres: Politics, Comedy, Nonfiction

296 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 24, 2020

About the author

Caty Borum Chattoo is Director of the Center for Media & Social Impact and Assistant Professor at American University’s School of Communication in Washington, DC.

Reviews

[Bex · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Comedian and an Activist Walk into a Bar is an interesting, comprehensive and thought-provoking exploration of how comedy and social justice interact with other each other. The authors draw upon research whilst weaving in examples of comedians and how their work has explored and furthered social justice issues. It has given me a greater respect for how much social influence comedy wields. I found it to be an engaging and thoughtful read and would recommend it highly.

Thank you to NetGalley, University of California Press, Caty Borum Chattoo and Lauren Feldman for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Bex · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Comedian and an Activist Walk into a Bar is an interesting, comprehensive and thought-provoking exploration of how comedy and social justice interact with other each other. The authors draw upon research whilst weaving in examples of comedians and how their work has explored and furthered social justice issues. It has given me a greater respect for how much social influence comedy wields. I found it to be an engaging and thoughtful read and would recommend it highly.

Thank you to NetGalley, University of California Press, Caty Borum Chattoo and Lauren Feldman for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Kelly Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very smart and instructive read. For too long the study of humor has been languishing in philosophy departments. Chattoo and Feldman take "comedy" as a powerful communication device that can serve to create meaning, new framing and positive action towards needed change.

[Tommy Koch · Rating 5 out of 5]

no one really walked into a bar, but the information was neat