In his work, An Apology for Poetry, Sir Phillip Sidney defends poetry as a viable form of artistic expression. Sidney highlights the genre of comedy: “The Comedy is an imitation of the common errors of our life.” For many, the role of the stand-up comic has fulfilled a similar role that Sidney saw in Comedic poetry hundreds of year ago. The comedian stands up on the stage and becomes a mirror (an imitation, if you will) that reflects the problems of the world around us and of the internalized self.

In their article “When the Truth Hurts, Tell a Joke: Why America Needs Its Comedians,” authors Roger Cohen and Ryan Richards posit this very same idea:

While comedians will make everyone uncomfortable at some point, good comics are playing an important function in society by holding up a mirror and forcing us to confront realities that we would often prefer to ignore. For minority groups, humor also serves as a tool to neutralize the power of stereotypes that obstruct their path to equal participation in society. Stand-up comedy can give social critique and instigate transformation in a way that leaves many audience members wanting more.

One thing I’ve been grappling with lately was the role that stand-up comedians are playing in our volatile political atmosphere. In the wake of Bill O’Reilly’s firing, Stephen Colbert became a target of hashtag violence when he made a crude remark about President Trump in his monologue on The Tonight Show, with a medley of scathing comments including, “You’re a real prick-tator,” “You attract more skin heads then Roggaine,” and “The only thing your mouth is good for is being Vladimir Putin’s c— holster.” Colbert fired off his comedic attack in response to Trump’s insulting and harsh comments towards CBS reporter and host of Face the Nation, John Dickinson. #FireColbert spread across social media and many condemned Colbert as being “homophobic,” in his choice of insults. Colbert has come out and apologized for his crude choice of words but does not withdraw his comments and I agree wholeheartedly with his decision.

This isn’t the first time that Trump and his supporters have attempted using soft censorship towards comedic discourse, particularly with the White House Correspondents Dinner, which is an event where the press and the President are roasted by comedians. It is a tradition for the President to attend and to speak, though this year’s event was marked by a refusal to come by President Donald Trump. Here we see comedy being treated as a political tool to frame and criticize various parts of our society, yet many contemporary comics are not as ‘liberal’ as Trump seems to believe they are. Many comedians are known for their problematic comments, in fact, many even take great pride in the racist/sexist/misogynistic humor they often perpetuate.

Kevin Hart’s recent special titled ‘What Now” covers a variety of topics like fame, fortune, and family. Hart jokes about how he verbally insults his son for talking like his “white” friends, using this to define his son’s blackness. Hart is known to cite Dave Chappelle as one of his favorite comedians, who left the spotlight for many years because of his frustration with his blackness being a prop for other’s entertainment. Yet earlier this year, his ‘return’ to stand-up on Netflix included various jokes about his refusal to accept Bruce Jenner as Caitlyn Jenner.

There are a variety of hypocrisies to contemporary stand-up comedy. Yet they all must exist because they continue to function in the spirit of comedy laid out by Sidney over four-hundred years ago. Whether it is Colbert, Chapelle, Hart, and so on, these comedians are making an imitation of the errors that make up our existence.

The famous aphorism that I despise is “Laughter is the best medicine,” as medicine implies it has the ability to heal. I don’t see laughter as medicine, I see laughter as a way of coping with pain and suffering by refusing to let the wounds close until they can properly be cleaned and dressed. Only then can the healing begin.

Christopher LaSasso