Every Joke is a Tiny Revolution

-George Orwell, 1945

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Political Cartoons are but one branch of humor documented as a means of subversion against an authoritarian regime. Political cartoons are certainly an older form because newspapers once were one of the few ways to reach masses of people, but evolving into Punch and Judy puppet shows to opening monologs of talk shows such as The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and skits on Saturday Night Live, evolving into the The Daily Show and Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, to hundreds of everyday satirists now able to self-publish on Bluesky, Substack, andTikTok. Humor, political or otherwise, has been studied and documented as serving as important role in resistance movements, whether it be criticizing the government or just providing a respite to what is happening.

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No one can deny that "did you see Saturday Night Live?" has been a mainstay topic of conversation for 50 years now. The number of academic articles written on Tina Fey's impact on the 2008 election from her impersonation of Sarah Palin is staggering. 

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Humor as a means of resistance is now the subject of countless dissertations, documentaries, and many news articles. Please visit our additional resources page for links to other sources on this topic.

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