Friday, August 20, 2010

How Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's Poking Fun at Iranian Culture Helps America Lube the Wheels of War

Laughter at Iran's expense is not quite as harmless as it seems. Cultural judgment helps dehumanize a country, making it easier for a society to go war.

"In the modern era, humor has worked again and again to dehumanize target countries as a standard part of war propaganda. In a democracy, where support of the population at large is supposedly a prerequisite for attacking another country, jokes are a common means of dehumanizing, demonizing and generally placing the population of the targets of the attack into the category of Other. Empathy plummets; and civilians in the aggressor state find it increasingly difficult to put themselves in the (Islam-approved) shoes of those on the receiving ends of the bombs".
Read more-AlterNet

4 comments:

  1. This arguement is irrational. Colbert and Stewert are empathizing with the Iranian people and their opposition to Khamenei's and the IRGC Kuds Force's cruel oppression.

    Most Iranians oppose the regime and are trying to replace it. Almost all the global Shiite Marjas oppose Khamanei.

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  2. "It’s not a tiny leap from poking fun at a people to bombing them – but it’s not too far off either"


    Well, I guess we will be bombing ourselves soon. Colbert and Stewart spend more time poking fun at their fellow Americans than any other group of people.

    Ridiculous.

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  3. Outside of the inane comments of anan,  vza's has to be the most convoluted of all.  We do not have a rant for years on end of how the USA should be bombed,  however we do about Iran,  and this has already happened to Iraq and Afghanistan - while the SAME people call for the violence.  Also,  during the time previous to the last invasions you had jokes galore about Iraq and Afghanistan -

    <span><span>"Today, the United Nations approved a resolution to lift the sanctions against Iraq. ... Yeah, the move will allow Iraqis to buy things they don't have, such as medicine and weapons of mass destruction." -Conan O'Brien</span></span>

    "Kurt Waldheim met recently with Saddam and said, "Saddam, I knew Adolf Hitler; Aldolf Hitler was a friend of mine, and Saddam, you're no Adolph Hitler"

    "Picture: Iraqi tank on the desert with a "baby on board" window sticker"

    The propaganda sets the stage,  the jokes enhance the inhumanity.

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  4. <span> Cultural judgment helps dehumanize a country, making it easier for a society to go war.</span>

    Our comedians have also used the French as the butt of jokes, too. Far more often than Iran or Iraq. Have not bombed France. I guess it will just be insurance, in case we ever do want to go to war against France we have dehumanized them with our jokes. 
    You are pulling jokes from what was probably a 5 minute monologue that touched on all sorts of topics. I know, I know. Convoluted.
    If its on Alternet it must be true.

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