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Go Fix It: Comedy as an Agent of Political Activation

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  • Leticia Bode
  • Amy B. Becker

Abstract

Objective One of the recent late‐night political comedy successes is John Oliver's Last Week Tonight, which includes frequent calls to action at the end of a segment, encouraging viewers to do something about the problem they have just learned about. Methods Using an experimental design, this study investigates the effects of these calls to action on the likelihood of engaging with the issue of net neutrality. Results Findings suggest that exposure to political comedy activates viewers to engage in small but meaningful behaviors, but does not spill over to encourage more difficult political behaviors, nor does it boost political efficacy. Conclusion The call to action, encouraging viewer participation in remedying a problem addressed in a political comedy show, seems effective at encouraging viewers to participate. However, it may not make them feel more equipped to do so.

Suggested Citation

  • Leticia Bode & Amy B. Becker, 2018. "Go Fix It: Comedy as an Agent of Political Activation," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 99(5), pages 1572-1584, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:99:y:2018:i:5:p:1572-1584
    DOI: 10.1111/ssqu.12521
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    Cited by:

    1. Amy B. Becker, 2022. "Let's talk about the Israel–Palestine conflict: Does exposure to political comedy about the Middle East influence policy attitudes?," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 103(3), pages 724-736, May.
    2. Waring, Justin & Bishop, Simon & Clarke, Jenelle & Roe, Bridget, 2023. "Becoming active in the micro-politics of healthcare re-organisation: The identity work and political activation of doctors, nurses and managers," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 333(C).

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