The Revolution Will Be a Joke

Abstract

This chapter offers an analytical view on the ethics and efficacy of comedic expression. Humour and comedy have gained an established place within political discourse, as evidenced in satirical news shows and other commentaries as well as in stand-up comedy. At the same time, the limits and rights of expression are hotly debated topics, including issues such as free speech and political correctness. The chapter gives an ethnographic glimpse into how the relation between comedy and political issues is engaged with by stand-up comedians in Finland, and an analysis of semiotic ideologies of comedic expression, referring to sign users’ understandings of the means and ends of their sign systems. During the relatively short history of stand-up comedy in Finland, engagement with political issues has grown significantly. However, there are different views among comedians on how and if comedy should tackle political issues, and how comedy relates to moral stances. The author explores how the views held by comedians shape their work and their engagement with audience reactions, and how the comedians’ views relate to existing analytical and popular views, which tend to either erase or overstate the efficacy of humour. In response the author proposes an analysis that encompasses the conventional and innovative aspects of comedy to show how semiotic ideologies enable and restrict the effects of humour for both comedians and audiences but are subject to change through sign use.