Humorists In Alain De Button's Status Anxiety

In Alain de Button’s Status Anxiety, he argues that humorists say things that others refuse to say. Therefore, he ranks humorists as a vital function in society. He could not be more accurate. Humorists make topics enjoyable and easily comprehensible and pave the way for future discussions on sensitive topics. Humorists make controversial topics entertaining. An example of this would be Saturday Night Live’s Cold Opens on the recent Presidential debates. These parodic shorts make bland, tedious topics more amusing and brings cognizance to the topics at hand. It is very hazardous to joke about a presidential candidate, because SNL needs views for their revenue, but they still did it. Although it is full of jokes, it educated an abundance of viewers and brought attention to those who are not active in the political scene. Another example would be the musical Hamilton. …show more content…
An example of this would be comedians such as Anna Akana and Leslie Yang. Akana does stand up and incorporates topics such as mental illness and teen suicide. By doing so, she raises awareness while helping to end the stigma to these topics. Yang does comedy and fights racism, especially towards asians, and yellow fever in her routines. However, not all comedians are funny. Amy Schumer is a well known “comedian”, but she is racist, believes in “reverse racism,” and uses stereotypes in her “comedy.” A example of this is when she compares the mentally ill character, Amy Dunne, from the movie Gone Girl ‘s actions to “what Latinas do if you cheat on them.” Even though problematic figures such as Schumer exist, there are a lot of humorists who actually face racism and other complications and battle them with their wit without being offensive. While not all comedians combat critical issues such as those stated, humorists are a critical part in creating a passage to further