Public Lecture — Nick Marx: Comedy and the Rise of the Right

In the face of a second Trump presidency and rising political fragmentation around the world, it has become clear that those across the political spectrum are not laughing at the same things. In this free public lecture, keynote speaker and special guest Professor Nick Marx (Colorado State University) urges for a renewed attention to the hegemonic pull of right-wing politics on United States' and Global North comedy, humor, and satire. Presenting work from his book That’s Not Funny: How The Right Makes Comedy Work For Them (University of California Press, 2022), co-written with Matt Sienkiewicz, Professor Marx argues that it is both an intellectual and politically strategic mistake to assume that comedy has a liberal bias. For years, the right has been slowly building up a comedy-industrial complex, utilising the humorous, irony-laden media strategies of liberal comedians to garner audiences and supporters. Even though liberals struggle to acknowledge conservative humour — or dismiss it out of hand when they do — right-wing comedy has been hiding in plain sight, finding its way into mainstream conservative media through figures ranging from Fox News's Greg Gutfeld to libertarian podcasters like Joe Rogan. Right-wing comedians may seem utterly appalling, sometimes surprisingly funny, or just plain weird. They are all, however, culturally and politically relevant, as the American right seizes spaces of comedy and irony previously held firmly by the left.

Professor Marx’s talk will be preceded by two short presentations considering the role of humour in other political contexts: Suchi Chowdhury (RMIT University) on Narendra Modi’s use of humour against political opponents and marginalised groups in India, and Jack Brady (University of Melbourne) on the potential of political satire here in Australia. The lecture will be followed by a discussion and Q&A.

This event is presented by the Australian Comedy Studies Collective and supported by the United States Studies Centre (USSC) at the University of Sydney.