Laughtivism in Politics

By: Matthew Ricks

Political campaigns or movements seem to pair really well with Laughtivism because it is fairly easy to make fun of

certain campaigns. There are meme movements and several examples of different uses of political laughtivism such as the “anyone but Trump” and the “White Flour!” campaign protesting the neo-Nazi movement. Laughtivism is a described by Natalija Janesa as being, “used as a term to describe a social action, which is presented in a humoristic way. It is a form of activism that instead of anger is based on fun. Laughtivism can be a very powerful strategy if used creatively and with complete and current knowledge of the topic.” Donald Trump is probably the easiest candidate in this year’s presidential election because he is by far the easiest to ridicule through laughtivism. Trump’s campaign slogan is “Make America Great Again,” yet his list of failures goes on and on, you have Trump Airlines (failed), Trump Casino (failed), Trump Mortgage (failed), Trump University (failed), and Trump couldn’t even drink away his numerous failures and frauds with Trump Vodka… because it also failed! The series of laughtivist protests against Trump appear to of at most work and at the least not harmed because according to CNN almost 6 out of every 10 voters view Trump unfavorably (59%). He is easy to target because people don’t like him, so they laugh him off and campaign against him with Laughtivism and it is working because according to Real Clear Politics Hillary Clinton is whooping Donald Trump head to head in every poll by an average of about 9 points. Real Clear Politics also has Bernie Sanders beating Donald Trump in the polls by approximately 15 points! Mladen and Popovic state that, “There is a reason why humor is infusing the arsenal of the 21st-century protestor: It works. For one, humor breaks fear and builds confidence. It also adds a necessary cool factor, which helps movements attract new members.”

            To get a more personal perspective on the use of laughtivism I asked my good friend political enthusiast, Sean O’Sullivan. I asked Sean what he thinks of the use of laughtivisim and its effects on politics. Sean stated that, “It can be easy to get caught up in a campaign like that because of the exciting nature around it. It can be fun to mock Trump through laughtivism, but you have to be careful that you know all of the facts about who is being targeted if you are looking in from the outside so that you are not swayed by untruths because they are funny.”

            In conclusion, Laughtivism can be a good tool in politics for anti-campaigns in order to

laugh off what one feels as political non-sense and show un-approval for political actions someone disagrees with. On the other hand it can be a way for millennials to just sit behind the comfort of their own screens and mock things they disagree with because it “offends them” and they need a “safe space.” However, humor can be a great tool and is hilarious when it comes to politics. Nothing quite beats a picture of a dog with a Trump wig speaking what Trump is saying.

Sources:

“2016 Presidential Race” Real Clear Politics. 14 April 2016. Web. 24 April 2016.

Aglesta, Jennifer. “National poll: Clinton, Sanders both top Trump.” CNN. 2 March 2016. Web. 24               April 2016.

Janesa, Natalija. “Why Laugtivisim is so effective and what role the Internet plays in it.” New Media           Activism. 24 February 2016. Web. 24 April 2016.

Joksic, Mladen and Srdja Popovic. “Why Dictators Don’t Like Jokes.” Foreign Policy. 5 April 2013.            Web. 24 April 2016.

O’Sullivan, Sean. Interview by Matthew Ricks. 24 April 2016. Phone.