Hypothesis - Humour used as a political tool

[Don Troooomp]

Inspired by the "Nig nog" thread (1960/70s humour based on racism) and a phone call from a young lady I know looking at the history of oppression against Catholics in Ireland post 1645, I wondered how much humour and comedy was used as a political tool to influence mass thought.

I realise the Nazis used any "juden" humour (?) and idiots more lately used Muslim humour (?) in the Charlie bollocks rag, but I wonder how much anti Irish humour was used (if at all) as a government/political elite tool designed to keep the Irish oppressed.
Cromwell was clearly an extremist bastard, but did the absentee farmers (capitalists) or governments from the last invasion up to the end of the troubles deliberately spread anti Irish humour, or perhaps encourage it as a propaganda tool?

It could well be the humour (?) was simply cheap comedians looking for cheap laughs at the expense of groups with no political power to stop them - or was there something deeper going on?

 

[belboid]

Irish jokes go back to the 16th century, apaprently

Irish butt of English racism for more than eight centuries

 

[skyscraper101]

Cromwell comes across to me as a bit of a humourless cunt tbh.

 

[Don Troooomp]

Cromwell comes across to me as a bit of a humourless cunt tbh.

He did and I suspect he used mass murder as a rather blunt political tool as he was probably too big a cunt to think of much more, but I wonder if later interests in Ireland used humour with the intention of modifying the thoughts of the masses.

 

[Don Troooomp]

Irish jokes go back to the 16th century, apaprently

Irish butt of English racism for more than eight centuries

That's a cracking link with nice references - I've forwarded it to the young lady - Thank you

 

[skyscraper101]

Some politicians have it and some do not. It seems to span the political divide.

Those that were/are good at humour and generally executed it well for political gain: Reagan, Blair, Clinton, Farage, Obama, Thatcher

Those that tried but lack sufficient wit/charisma to pull it off and end up sounding like scripted robotic twats: Cameron, Miliband, May

Those that are just humourless to the core and don’t seem to bother: Brown, Corbyn, Trump, Putin

Those that have some natural wit but play it safe and use diplomatic snark and sarcasm: Khan, Sturgeon.

 

[skyscraper101]

You also get some who are just desperately unfunny twats who can’t resist inserting a quip here and there to show they are down with the people and have a great sense of humour. David Davis is like this. Tim Farron too.

 

[JimW]

Cromwell comes across to me as a bit of a humourless cunt tbh.

Liked a bit of a song and a dance apparently and there's some anecdote about him and one of the other signatories splashing each other playfully with ink from the quills as they attest Charles' death warrant.

 

[skyscraper101]

Liked a bit of a song and a dance apparently and there's some anecdote about him and one of the other signatories splashing each other playfully with ink from the quills as they attest Charles' death warrant.

Didn’t he outlaw dancing? He was the original Criminal Justice Act.

 

[Sprocket.]

Cromwell banned Christmas!

 

[JimW]

Didn’t he outlaw dancing? He was the original Criminal Justice Act.

Not sure on that tbh but think it's a bit of a myth, it was certain types of fun in certain contexts originally iirc
Read that Christopher Hill bio God's Englishman years ago so going off what I recall of that and they seemed to reckon he was a bit of a boisterous type. Probably even more annoying.

 

[Pickman's model]

there was a special issue of the international review of social history devoted to humour and social protest

 

[Pickman's model]

Corbyn Cromwell banned Christmas!

corrected for you

 

[SpookyFrank]

Irish jokes go back to the 16th century, apaprently

Irish butt of English racism for more than eight centuries

The 16th century was not eight centuries ago, not unless I overslept last night to the tune of 300 years

 

[PTK]

Some politicians have it and some do not. It seems to span the political divide.

Those that were/are good at humour and generally executed it well for political gain: Reagan, Blair, Clinton, Farage, Obama, Thatcher

Those that tried but lack sufficient wit/charisma to pull it off and end up sounding like scripted robotic twats: Cameron, Miliband, May

Those that are just humourless to the core and don’t seem to bother: Brown, Corbyn, Trump, Putin

Those that have some natural wit but play it safe and use diplomatic snark and sarcasm: Khan, Sturgeon.

I don't think that Thatcher had much of a sense of humour.

 

[8ball]

I don't think that Thatcher had much of a sense of humour.

Hence Saatchi & Saatchi.

 

[Pickman's model]

there was a special issue of the international review of social history devoted to humour and social protest

This seems to be open access atm butchersapron Smokeandsteam

 

[Pickman's model]

At least it's showing up as access for me and I'm not logged in at work

 

[8ball]

At least it's showing up as access for me and I'm not logged in at work

Some really interesting stuff there, but I can't directly see any material beyond abstracts (I may be being a bit derp, got up late).

 

[Pickman's model]

Some really interesting stuff there, but I can't directly see any material beyond abstracts (I may be being a bit derp, got up late).

So you don't see a green access thing?

 

[strung out]

Some really interesting stuff there, but I can't directly see any material beyond abstracts (I may be being a bit derp, got up late).

Click the PDF button.

 

[PTK]

I think that satire can play a reactionary role. I used to love Bremner, Bird, and Fortune, and its predecessors. I learned things about political events that did not seem to be covered in news programmes on television. I thought the humour was hilarious. However, I think that it may have bred cynicism. The government sells arms to a dictator, the satirists mock this, we laugh. The government starts a war, the satirists mock, and we laugh. In the end, everything is a laugh. We don’t weep or shout in anger, we don’t fell inspired to rush off and try to do something about these things, we just laugh.

I sometimes would cry when watching Bremner, Bird, and Fortune, because injustice sometimes takes me that way. I don’t think it made activists cynical. It may have had that effect on the members of the public we were trying to convince.

 

[8ball]

So you don't see a green access thing?

Click the PDF button.

Got it - bleary-eyed and uncaffeinated me is basically good for getting dressed and that’s about it.