Laughter as a Weapon of Mass Destruction

Nothing undermines authority as much as laughter, especially aimed at authority. Needless to say, in totalitarian or authoritarian nations (see the Reagan years for the distinction between oppressive bastards and oppressive bastards on America's side), stand-up is not much of a draw. The satire shown on Al-Sharqiya TV in Iraq may just prove the most lasting effect of the fall of the Saddamites.

Journalist Mussab al-Khairalla provided an interesting piece for Reuters that suggests that Iraq is doing better in this regard. A nation willing to laugh is a nation strong enough to see the humor in its own situation without arresting the comedian. The station, the name of which means "The Eastern One" in Arabic, hopes to provide an authentic Iraqi voice, with not only comedy but also real news and even reality TV shows (possibly a crime against humanity if the Fox TV network is anything by which to go).

The ambition to use only Iraqi shows is a noble one for a country that is recovering from the tramping of jackboots down the street. As station director Alaa al-Dahan said, "If we don't air Iraqi material and promote our culture, then who else will?" Yet as Canada, France and many other nations have discovered, TV is a global medium, and foreign-produced content is a necessity.

The wise Mr. al-Dahan also said, "We have to face the problems of the Iraqi people. They need a smile and a laugh to release tension. By using humor, the message gets across faster." Indeed, facing problems is part of the basis of humor. Dictatorships, not admitting to problems, therefore, can't tolerate funny. Anti-Soviet humor was marvelous, but there wasn't any on TV in Moscow.

That isn't to say that democracies are immune to the humorless syndrome. America has a rather bad case of the frowns right now. The only difference is that in a democracy it is legal to make jokes about the buffoonery of authority, but it is considered in bad taste in times of stress. Mr. Bush did his own standup routine a few months back, which included a snapshot of him staring under a couch, and his line dealt with looking for WMD. The Democrats howled about disrespect, but if David Letterman had delivered the same joke, it would have brought the house down. In a healthy society, even authority should be able to laugh at itself.


© Copyright 2004 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.


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