All of our progressive movements (for peace, the environment and climate, for human rights and social justice, etc., etc., etc.) need smart ways to reach out to other people with messages that they will be able to hear and understand.
Creativity, the arts, and humor can be more powerful than hard logic and facts, because they go over and around and under the barriers that prevent some people from hearing and absorbing new ideas.
Here are some examples and resources:
Watch this excellent 7-minute video: Why it is best to listen to political satire. Mainstream news media have legitimized Trump by taking his blatant lies and bullshit seriously. In contrast, comedians and satirists have done a much better job in exposing those. The video I linked below includes examples and smart explanations by Sophia McClennen who points out, for example, that, “We think that the journalists’ job is to show all sides of the story, but the journalists’ job is to show the truth.” Ridicule and sarcasm are powerful tools when used expertly. I encourage you to watch and share this video, which all of America needs to understand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fUDIucr2eo
“Send in the Clowns” — I recommend watching this documentary film about using humor politically. You can sign up through your library card or sign up directly at Kanopy.com and watch this: https://trlib.kanopy.com/video/send-clowns-humor-weapon
Nuclear weapons? Cold War? Pathological fear of the Russians? Watching this funny 1966 film can help! Most people do not want to hear about nuclear weapons, because they are a hard, scary issue. This was true during the Cold War too, when many people were paranoid about Russians. In order to get around people’s fears, we could use humor. That’s true nowadays when many people are pathologically afraid of Muslims and other enemies du jour. Let’s use humor to expose the ridiculous fear-mongering that is exploited in order to fool people into thinking that nuclear weapons are reasonable. I highly recommend the funny film from 1966 titled, “The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!” During the Cold War this film brilliantly exposed and satirized the Cold War fear of the Russians – and the film’s end humanizes them by showing that they can be helpful and save a child who was in danger. Here is a link to watch it online for FREE with no obligation to do anything else: https://freemoviesfull.com/watch-movie/watch-the-russians-are-coming-the-russians-are-coming-62606.2850943
How many other very funny films deal effectively with serious issues? “Blazing Saddles,” Mel Brooks’ great anti-racist film, exposed racism in funny ways. I recommend watching the film. Also, you can read this insightful article: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/12/29/1907565/-The-anti-racist-classic-Blazing-Saddles-the-race-class-narrative-and-how-to-beat-Trump-in-2020?detail=emaildkre
Mark Fiore’s one-minute animated video explains how Trump won the election. You can also watch his other short, funny animated videos about a variety of political issues. This one explains how Trump won the election: http://www.markfiore.com/oct-dec-2020/2020/11/5/the-trump-formula?ss_source=sscampaigns&ss_campaign_id=5fa5c3119595777a476ac537&ss_email_id=5fa5cab201d09355c78f959b&ss_campaign_name=New+Animation%3A+SO+Close%2C+The+Closer+%26+the+%E2%80%98Blessing+From+God%E2%80%99&ss_campaign_sent_date=2020-11-06T22%3A14%3A46Z
Satirical website for the Republican Party: https://republicannationalistconvention.com/
This 3-minute video about the Coronavirus came out in March 2020, when Trump and his cronies were making the pandemic much worse. This video is both accurate and very funny. It does use many “naughty words” effectively. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hks6Nq7g6P4
Climate Crisis? Sea-Level Rise? Yep, that too! See the quick, easy-to-read blog post I wrote about that: http://parallaxperspectives.org/now-you-can-stop-worrying-about-sea-level-rise
