Status Anxiety, written in 2004 by Alain de Botton, talks about humorists and whether their entertainment is not only for laughs but to convey messages that are detrimental to say straight forward. Humorists are vital because of their role in society to make people laugh but also to educate. But sometimes you can take things too far and joke about things that are not supposed to be joked about. 

Political cartoons were big forms of humor before radio or television media. Cartoonists like Thomas Nast showed the corruption going on during their time in ways that would catch the audience’s attention. Nast would draw the characters in obscene, almost comical ways to get his point across. Education wasn’t as large back then, so a lot of people couldn’t read and relied on political cartoons for information. 

In more recent times, we have media and the internet that can inform the whole country and world. Stand up comedians like Dave Chappelle and Kat Williams have used humor to speak about the racial injustice against them. The boom of social media also plays a role. A lot of influencers use humor to say things the average person wouldn’t just say out in public.

Even though in the United States we have an open and somewhat safe environment to speak about these messages, people in other countries do not have that freedom. A joke here won’t cost you much, maybe some fans but in other countries a joke can cost your life. There is a time and place for everything.

Humor is important to speak about things the average person might be afraid to speak on. de Botton believed that society allows humorists to shine light on the dark of this world. There’s a lot that can be said though humor and its purpose that is very vital to society.