It's kind of anti-climactic, in a all-the-hype-and-hoopla-was-kinda-fun way. In some ways, it was fun to see these two candidates banter back and forth throughout these last couple weeks, playing this hypothetical game of chess and chicken — waiting for the first person to misstep.
That's pretty good. Completely brings together all of the stereotypes and classifications people put on Obama during the entire election process then has him getting the last laugh. It's a simple piece, but it's got the point that every "eff you republicans!" liberal is thinking.
Of course, this gets a little more extreme when you dive into the world of memes:
That one is just my favorite. Not sure why, maybe it's the fact that the rapper Two Chainz is just awful and Obama sporting the chains and mean-muggin' look just gets me. Either way, that's today's political humor. Sure, people still love watching SNL (I think, do people?) for the political stuff, but really, these online jokes are what gets around the most. These political memes are funny because they appeal to a younger audience. Sure, middle-aged folks use the internet, but there's no way these same people are searching BuzzFeed or Reddit for meems of Obama pasted onto a rapper's body. It's funny because it's a young person's kind of joke, and these people were a huge part of this election.
I say "these" people, but that's us. If you supported Obama throughout this time, seeing stuff like this is just a double-dose of satisfaction — your guy won and you get to see a funny picture. It's that kind of connection that really helps to get young people excited and involved in this process.
Maybe that's what makes political humor funny after all — being on the winning side of things.
I saw a lot of these on Facebook the days following the election. I'm glad college-age people are getting out there and supporting a candidate because as we talked about in class, a lot of them never paid attention to politics before.
ReplyDeleteIt may not be the most serious way to be involved with the American political process, but it's a step towards (hopefully) more educated adult Americans in elections to come.
I think you make a really good point; the post-election humor seems like a really great thing to see spreading in regards to our generation staying involved in politics. Once the hype wears down, a lot of people -especially our generation- tends to move on from pretty much all things politics right after. To see a good amount of memes still circulating about the elections, and even some for the legalized weed props and their pun-filled coverage in the news, seems to sort of solidify the tradition of making internet political humor.
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