The other day, my partner Carmela and I participated in a demonstration against the planned expansion of Barcelona’s airport, along with thousands of others. Dressed as tourists, we held up placards that stated “El tamaño no importa” (Size isn’t everything) and “El turismo: qué mal invento!” (Tourism: what a bad invention!), a twist on a famous line in the Spanish film comedy El turismo es un gran invento (1968).
During the demonstration, we received many chuckles and complements from other protesters and were captured by several journalists (the next day, some relatives called to say that they saw us on the evening news). We evidently made a bit of an impression, but why? The reason is simple: we were among only a handful of protesters who used humor to raise attention to this very serious issue. Most of the other placards at this demonstration were more serious in tone, citing the many negative consequences of expanding BCN airport. While these sorts of concerns need absolutely to be stated, they don’t make for copy that is as media-friendly, and gaining media coverage on behalf of a cause is what protest action is all about.
Humor has a way of transmitting a message –and making it stick– that seriousness lacks. When messages –especially political messages– are overly serious, they can be taken as offensive among those who disagree, whereas a humorous message can nevertheless make those who disagree laugh a little. This bit of laughter matters. Sharing even a bit of laughter brings people closer together, reducing conflictive attitudes. Humor disarms opposition, even if only temporarily, and is not as offensive as seriousness.
This is why humor (especially satire and irony) can be especially subversive. It allows serious criticism to be levelled at someone or something without the appearance of aggressiveness. Humor is criticism delivered with a smile rather than a sneer, which makes it much more effective at winning over public opinion. Just look at Donald Trump, who completely lacks any sense of humor whatsoever: his approval rating is among the lowest of any president in history. No coincidence there.
Of course, criticism that uses humor is not always appropriate. Ridiculing an airport expansion is one thing, whereas ridiculing the genocide being perpetuated by Israel in Gaza is quite another. Humor nees to be appropriate to its context and its object of criticism. It works best in relative moderation, moreover. If humor is always used, it can mine away at credibility and possibly make the humorist appear flippant (besides, it’s damn hard to be funny all the time!). This is why I employ humor in only some of my writings. On the issue of BCN airport expansion I have written two posts, an early one that is humorous and a more recent one that is serious.
In any case, the main point here is that criticism or protest containing humor can be highly effective at transmitting a message. Humor, in other words, should not be taken too lightly.
