In the Trump era, we need satire more than ever. Just don’t expect it to save democracy

 

 

"“Trump gave us so much fodder that you could only approach it at a superficial level, and a lot of viewers, I think, went: you’re just recounting the day,” millennial American standup star Gianmarco Soresi told me. Comedy at its best, he continued, “is trying to blow things up. Comedy should question power, and the second that comedy becomes power, it’s lost its efficacy, and that’s why it was so offensive when comedians kind of saddled up to Trump.”

However, Soresi was also quick to say that comedy cannot replace politics: there are limits to its powers. “Do I think we can create a space for relief? Yes. Do I think it can create a space for reflection? Yes. Do I think – as an American Jew – it can poke holes in Israel’s geopolitical agenda? Yes,” says Soresi. “Do I think it can build a political movement that takes down Netanyahu? No.”"

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In the Trump era, we need satire more than ever. Just don’t expect it to save democracy | Alexander Hurst | The Guardian