Note from the author: This is a political opinion piece written on the basis of research into comedy and the media. I am not, nor do I claim to be, an expert on this topic.
Coming from a progressive household, watching The Daily Show has been a ritual from the time I could understand Jon Stewart’s jokes. In truth, the satirical news show was one of my first exposures to understanding American politics and my liberal identity. I attribute a lot of my political ideology to the comedic way that Stewart, and now Trevor Noah, integrate humor into the issues of the political spectrum.
Watching the show contributes to my identity as a millennial, as well, since it is the primary way that I learn about the news. When I see a headline from NBC or CNN, I always look to the next Daily Show episode and see what Noah and correspondents have to say about it. Especially during this election, I’ve been watching the show religiously.
Continuing my intake of political news, I watch segments of Late Night with Seth Meyers, where Meyers takes “A Closer Look” at the candidates and the events surrounding the election. His commentary is also a progressive take on American politics.
Noah’s and Meyer’s shows are just two examples of late night talk shows with progressive political commentary. There are many, including Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, Real Time with Bill Maher, and the list goes on. Talking about all the hilarious clips from these shows that I had seen got me thinking: what late night talk shows do conservatives watch for political commentary and hilarious jokes? This is where my research began, and the lack of conservative late night comedians led me to an interesting conclusion about the differences between democrats and republicans.
An article from The Atlantic asks the same question that I was: why hasn’t a conservative Daily Show found its way onto television? Certainly there are things about the Left-wing to make fun of (The Atlantic suggests things like fanatic feminists and eco-terrorists). And conservative comedians could find a niche in Fox News’ audience, so why haven’t they?
Evidently there have been some attempts at creating the Right’s own high-profile comedic satire. In 2007, a conservative counterpart to The Daily Show called The ½ Hour News Hour aired on Fox News. However, the show was so ill-received that it was cancelled after 13 episodes and is the lowest rated television show of all time by MetaCritic. Dennis Miller, a former actor on SNL, contributes to Fox News’ O’Reilly Factor, but the critics have called his comedy more “preachy.” The Flipside started up in 2015, which is so far the most Daily Show-esque, but its limited budget has kept it from reaching a larger audience, and critics say that it’s just not as funny or analytical as existing liberal shows.
The article proposes that conservatives just don’t choose careers in comedy; just as liberals tend to dominate writing fields like journalism and academia, they also make up most of the performing arts. This professional divide is more pronounced because comedians tend to live with irregular income and work schedules, which evidently, most conservatives just aren’t that into. Additionally, conservative policies tend to support traditional social constructs that comedy tears down.
This chart from Crowdpac, a non-partisan firm, shows where certain industries fall on the political spectrum based on to which political candidates people in these professions donate.(Source)
An article from The Week magazine added that late night talk shows tend to be geared more towards the people who are awake to watch them– younger adult audiences– and this age group tends to hold more liberal views. However, the author acknowledged that anyone can view videos from late night shows anytime of the day, so this theory held more true when Jon Stewart was just beginning his show back in 1999.
What is significant about this article from The Week is that it revealed to me the most interesting part of my research; the author asserts that conservative late night comedians are actually needed– like, really badly– because the lack of conservatives in late night comedy is influencing the political ideology of republicans.
The Right has been pushing the idea that there is a lot to be afraid of in America. It seems that the GOP’s fear-mongering has hit an all time high, evidenced by their current presidential candidate calling Mexicans rapists, vowing to restore “law and order,” and suggesting a complete shutdown of Syrian refugees entering the country. The Week’s article suggests that it is, in fact, the lack of conservative comedians that has led to this kind of attitude filled with fear and hatred. Conservatives essentially have more to fear, because they have no outlet for discussing and laughing about the issues.
Through the use of humor and satire, comedians like those on The Daily Show take issues and confront them, rather than fear them. The Week quotes writer and humorist Gina Barreca, who explains, “humor addresses the same issues as fear, not to dismiss them, but to strengthen our ability to confront them and then laugh them away from the door.” This is, frankly, something that fear can never do.
Now, this is purely the opinion of one writer from one news magazine, but it really got me thinking about the divide between democrats and republicans, especially in the upcoming election. Could the presence of conservative comedians actually bring a greater sense of unity to politics if we are able to openly disagree and analyze the issues in a comedic outlet?
The conservative Daily Show doesn’t exist for multiple reasons; some of which suggest that conservatives just aren’t that funny. Although it certainly wouldn’t be my style, I sincerely hope that a genuinely funny conservative late night talk show appears sometime soon. It may be just the thing we need to make political progress.
This is an opinion piece, if you wish to share your opinion please email xavier@hercampus.com to apply to be a writer. – HCXU