Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2020
Published In
Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies
Keywords
Vulgarity, Laughter, Populism, Comedy, Ridicule
Abstract
Laughter can provoke both cultural catharsis and sociopolitical critique. However, in an era of Trumpism, laughter has become troubled by vulgar rhetoric of shrugging off comic possibilities insofar as the act of “laughing-at” has overtaken US media culture. This essay argues that political laughter in the shadow of President Donald J. Trump is at risk of being enervated by an overwhelming sense of humorless ridicule. Nowhere is this more apparent than the infamous manifesto, “The Flight 93 Election,” which makes Trumpism into the laughable outgrowth of a crude comicality so prevalent in democratic—and anti-democratic—affairs.
DOI
10.1080/14791420.2020.1714067
Rights
© 2020 National Communication Association
Recommended Citation
Gilbert, C. J. (2020). Pissing in Political Cisterns, or Laughing Into the Pot of "The Flight 93 Election". Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies . https://doi.org/10.1080/14791420.2020.1714067
Comments
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies on January 25, 2020, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/14791420.2020.1714067.