Offline with Jon Favreau Jon Stewart, Donald Trump, and How Comedy Changed Politics
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Oct 22, 2023 Jesse David Fox, senior editor at Vulture, and author of the forthcoming “Comedy Book,” talks with Jon about how the internet changed comedy and how comedy changed politics. They discuss the erosion of broadcast journalism under Reagan, the misplaced trust in comedians, the impact of the internet on humor, and why a comic’s success is no longer measured in laughs.
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Why We Laugh Is Social Play
- Play theory says we laugh because of a social, trusting state, not just punchlines.
- Comedians are professionals at creating that safe, playful space for audiences.
Internet Made Humor The Native Tongue
- Social platforms reward short, witty content and made humor central to Gen Z communication.
- Comedians already had those skills, so internet formats amplified comedy's cultural role.
Niche Audiences, Out-Of-Context Clips
- The internet let comedians find niche audiences and become truer artists for those fans.
- It also made isolated clips spread without context, confusing new viewers.