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The Role Of Humorists In American Culture

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“Hey, hey, hey, hey!” As millions of Americans settle in and listen to introductions similar to this one from The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon they expect to hear witty one-liners and prepare to laugh and find a release from their daily nine-to-five grind. Their favorite comedians pepper them with gut-busting jokes about athletes, celebrities, and politicians. Humorists serve as vital functions to society because they give us the potential to see new ideas. For example, in 2017, President Donald Trump attempted to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act. This was met with widespread criticism because it would have made obtaining insurance for those with pre-existing conditions, typically extreme and rare medical conditions, practically impossible. In response comedian and host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! Jimmy Kimmel went on air and talked about how the policy would have hurt his newborn son who was born with a congenital heart defect. Kimmel using his position as a humorist shows how they can expose new ideas and viewpoints since a …show more content…
A terrific examples of this is The Colbert Report, a satirical news show that aired on Comedy Central for almost a decade. The show was know for satirizing extremely conservative values and allowed for not only conservatives to see how their policies are viewed, it also gave liberals the chance to see how conservatives thought. Even though it was a comedy, it served a great purpose to the everyday American. It allowed for them to see that the ideas of conservatives were of value and they were able to do this through a non-conventional method, a humorist. Without having to read The Wall Street Journal or watching Fox News, people were able to understand the beliefs of those they disagreed with and where those ideas originated from, all coming in a thirty minute

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