Why are most comedians left wing?
- Thread starter Fatmarley
- Start date
MVV
pfm Member
I guess we really need to define terms, but then, It’s sunny today and I’m going for a fell run.
I do have a dislike of left wing comedians who come from money; just seems completely disingenuous. Fighting against the very system of privilege that gave them the opportunity to take rooms at the Edinburgh Fringe; it’s just a complete racket.
Before you know it they are working with Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice.
I think one of reasons I like Seinfeld is that he is aware of his extreme privilege & makes no excuses for it.
Before you know it they are working with Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice.
I think one of reasons I like Seinfeld is that he is aware of his extreme privilege & makes no excuses for it.
Mike Reed
pfm Member
One could equally question why those in the acting profession are assumed to be biassed to the left. Also the teaching (or simply 'academic') profession, who as an entity, are presented as left-leaning. One could argue that being extremely socialist is such a joke that comedians/comediennes have a head start anyway. That could also apply to far-right thinkers too, I guess. Political humour has always been lost on me; I prefer the quick-fire humour of my favourite comedic show, 'Would I Lie To You', which hosted many of today's comedians, and of course, my penchant for plays on words (puns).
I'm amazed that the comedies/comedians I enjoyed in earlier years are still funny and in my dotage, I find many modern ones just as humorous in their separate ways. The German, Henning Wien (sp?) is funny just by opening his mouth; amazing command of English colloquialisms, too.
I'm amazed that the comedies/comedians I enjoyed in earlier years are still funny and in my dotage, I find many modern ones just as humorous in their separate ways. The German, Henning Wien (sp?) is funny just by opening his mouth; amazing command of English colloquialisms, too.
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Tony L
Administrator
I don’t agree at all, you are basically trying to force political belief on class terms, and that just doesn’t work. Even bloody Corbyn came from wealth and went to a private school, and I don’t hold that against him. I’d actually argue right/left was maybe an IQ or sociopathy thing. Above a certain point it becomes pretty obvious that selfishness isn’t the best strategy to build a well-rounded and functional society.
richardg
Admonishtrator
Also SNP. Its weird how people will defend a party for their whole life, the only consistent argument over the years being it's better than the other options.
Fatmarley
"It appears my intelligence circuits have melted"
How do you feel about people who are obviously right wing but pretend to be left wing on internet forums?
You can find politicians of both sides of left and right arguments who provide targets but the Tory party are with out doubt supreme in just giving. Alec Douglas Home the economic expert with his match sticks, Profumo, Thatcher, Rees Mogg, Mark Francois, pick and mix!
I guess the righties throw in the likes of Kinnock and Corbyn as well as their right wing comic Jim Davidson to fight on their behalf.
Its even more likely that politicians have lost respect of the public and with their lies and pomposity deserve every piss take they get.
I guess the righties throw in the likes of Kinnock and Corbyn as well as their right wing comic Jim Davidson to fight on their behalf.
Its even more likely that politicians have lost respect of the public and with their lies and pomposity deserve every piss take they get.
Cav
pfm Member
Everyone who comes from money or privilege should be right wing by default. That is a very right wing attitude.
Peasants should also know their place and never try to better themselves, I assume.
cutting42
Arrived at B4 Hacker Ergo
Popular comedy that comments on politics usually picks on the current government as they are typically the easiest target. Given that we have had right wing parties in power since the 1970's it makes complete sense that most political comedy appears to be left wing.
I have a friend who is a stand-up comic in the USA and she picks on whoever is in public making decisions and she has sets based on Democrat or GOP which she tunes to the audience and the prevailing wind that week. I actually don't know what her personal political persuasion is but I suspect she might be a republican but boy she rips Trump a new one on stage.
I have a friend who is a stand-up comic in the USA and she picks on whoever is in public making decisions and she has sets based on Democrat or GOP which she tunes to the audience and the prevailing wind that week. I actually don't know what her personal political persuasion is but I suspect she might be a republican but boy she rips Trump a new one on stage.
rbrown
I think therefore I think I am
Interesting answer here
https://www.thepoke.co.uk/2020/09/0...-comedy-on-bbc-sent-stewart-lee-column-viral/
https://www.thepoke.co.uk/2020/09/0...-comedy-on-bbc-sent-stewart-lee-column-viral/
claire.foxx
-⃝⃤
Most comedy tends to target & ridicule systems of oppression (be it people, organisations, politics, inconsistencies-within etc), right wing comedy is promoted by ppl in positions of privilege targeting & ridiculing often less powerful of people whom have been marginalised by these systems of oppression. (‘Punching down’ — as posted in link above) which is why it defaults to racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic & promoting an ever right-leaning status quo — which I’d argue takes it out of the realm of comedy & into polemic.
Historically, when these discussions crop up, it’s the right looking at ways to embed & promote right wing propaganda, it’s constant, tiring & unending.
EDIT: You can take a liberal laissez-faire approach so that by sheer inaction, it will allow bigotry to re-emerge unchallenged. In many ways this is necessary in order for the British to have a vilified enemy to rally against. That’s how this country operates; needing marginalised ppl to pin all their woes on (& by extension ridicule) in order to function as a society. As an insular UK devolves to a 50s-that-never-was, we’ll see more of an appetite for that.
It wasn’t surprising that the appetite to challenge racist comedians happened around the time of the anti authoritarianism & anti-Thatcher sentiment of punk; the shift in comedy to challenge all that was very much a product of a lot of the subcultures going mainstream at that time.
Historically, when these discussions crop up, it’s the right looking at ways to embed & promote right wing propaganda, it’s constant, tiring & unending.
EDIT: You can take a liberal laissez-faire approach so that by sheer inaction, it will allow bigotry to re-emerge unchallenged. In many ways this is necessary in order for the British to have a vilified enemy to rally against. That’s how this country operates; needing marginalised ppl to pin all their woes on (& by extension ridicule) in order to function as a society. As an insular UK devolves to a 50s-that-never-was, we’ll see more of an appetite for that.
It wasn’t surprising that the appetite to challenge racist comedians happened around the time of the anti authoritarianism & anti-Thatcher sentiment of punk; the shift in comedy to challenge all that was very much a product of a lot of the subcultures going mainstream at that time.
Is Corbyn a comedian?
I am specifically talking about comedians, said funsters could just as easily go into politics etc. But no, they bore us with their ‘hot takes’. Spare me please
Err, I was talking about comedians rather than ‘everyone’, I find certain ones rather disingenuous.
I come from a working class background, I don’t consider myself a peasant but do get irked when certain MC types pretend they’re from ‘the hood’ & adopt certain affectations.
I don’t think that is a right wing position at all.
Oh dear.
The original argument is flawed, and assumes that people’s political beliefs cannot be changed by experience. (That itself is a sad reflection on how polarised political opinion has become: political allegiance is being peddled as identity, rather than something that one is free to change as circumstances change)
But anyway, I’d argue that the reason why there are so few “right-wing” comedians is that the realities of being the entertainment business will undermine any support you might have had for right-wing economic theories when you went into it.
Precarious work arrangements, long periods of unemployment, a reliance on state-funded arts grants. If you came from money, that mightn’t be you personally, but if you go on stage regularly, that will definitely describe a lot of the people who are helping you, doing sound, rigging, setup, in other words, a lot of the people whom you go for a beer with after the show.
You’d need to be pretty self-centred to hear all of those stories over such a long period and still believe that poverty and hardship are purely down to a lack of hard work.
As for the nastier parts of right-wing ideologies, a job where success depends on you forming an emotional connection with a room full of strangers drawn from the modern UK’s multi-ethnic population is fundamentally incompatible with a belief system that people who look like you are innately superior to others.
(Mildly amused to see that a discussion of politics has turned into a discussion of “class”, that perennial British obsession. It’s entirely possible to be wealthy, work in a high-paying clerical job or —heavens!— live off the rent of your lands, and still hold left-wing political views, just as working in a factory is no barrier to being a fervent economic libertarian: after all, how do the Tories keep winning elections in a country with so many more poor than wealthy people?)
But anyway, I’d argue that the reason why there are so few “right-wing” comedians is that the realities of being the entertainment business will undermine any support you might have had for right-wing economic theories when you went into it.
Precarious work arrangements, long periods of unemployment, a reliance on state-funded arts grants. If you came from money, that mightn’t be you personally, but if you go on stage regularly, that will definitely describe a lot of the people who are helping you, doing sound, rigging, setup, in other words, a lot of the people whom you go for a beer with after the show.
You’d need to be pretty self-centred to hear all of those stories over such a long period and still believe that poverty and hardship are purely down to a lack of hard work.
As for the nastier parts of right-wing ideologies, a job where success depends on you forming an emotional connection with a room full of strangers drawn from the modern UK’s multi-ethnic population is fundamentally incompatible with a belief system that people who look like you are innately superior to others.
(Mildly amused to see that a discussion of politics has turned into a discussion of “class”, that perennial British obsession. It’s entirely possible to be wealthy, work in a high-paying clerical job or —heavens!— live off the rent of your lands, and still hold left-wing political views, just as working in a factory is no barrier to being a fervent economic libertarian: after all, how do the Tories keep winning elections in a country with so many more poor than wealthy people?)
Because it's easier to punch *up* than *down*. Nobody wants to see the little guy being beaten up, they want the bad guy who thinks he's fantastic to get his come-uppance.
That's why Harry Enfield's Loadsamoney character was funny but the flipside Buggerallmoney was a failure. Nobody wants to laugh at the guy who is down on his luck, but the nouveau riche arsehole like the STAIN who pushed to the front of the queue this morning in his "richer than you" Range Rover deserves all he gets.
Same goes for the paul Whitehouse "Considerably richer than yow" who is a great target too.
That's why Harry Enfield's Loadsamoney character was funny but the flipside Buggerallmoney was a failure. Nobody wants to laugh at the guy who is down on his luck, but the nouveau riche arsehole like the STAIN who pushed to the front of the queue this morning in his "richer than you" Range Rover deserves all he gets.
Same goes for the paul Whitehouse "Considerably richer than yow" who is a great target too.
Cheese
Bitter lover
Wasn't it @Joe P who said that rightwingers made the better action movies ?
And of the, say, 10 greatest Hollywood actors of all time, are you sure left-wingers are the majority ? John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Clark Gable, Charlton Heston, Frank Sinatra, Gary Cooper, Cary Grant (to name a few) were all rightwingers and did their job rather well I suppose.
Not that it comforts me to know them to be rightwingers, what I mean is that this left-right-distinction among actors is just total bull. If you want to watch Ken Loach movies (which I like BTW) all the time then do so, but **** would the world be a grim place if all filmmakers were like him.
Finally to those who think (and even write) that being right or left wing is a matter of IQ, <snore>.
And of the, say, 10 greatest Hollywood actors of all time, are you sure left-wingers are the majority ? John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Clark Gable, Charlton Heston, Frank Sinatra, Gary Cooper, Cary Grant (to name a few) were all rightwingers and did their job rather well I suppose.
Not that it comforts me to know them to be rightwingers, what I mean is that this left-right-distinction among actors is just total bull. If you want to watch Ken Loach movies (which I like BTW) all the time then do so, but **** would the world be a grim place if all filmmakers were like him.
Finally to those who think (and even write) that being right or left wing is a matter of IQ, <snore>.