A man being persuaded to compromise on his lofty ideals could make for mighty comedy – but given the best satire kicks against the strong,it could be hard to wring gags from the underdog CorbynWhen Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader of the Labour party final Saturday, did Britain’s satirists rub their hands with glee, and wring them in despair? On the one hand,Corbyn requires a tricky gear change from political comics, in that he simply doesn’t fit modern satire’s default “they’re all the same, and they’re all unprincipled careerists” paradigm. Even his worst enemies would probably acknowledge he is decent and a man of principle – qualities that don’t tend to be considered gifts to comedy. And yet I’m sure cartoonists and comics are delighted by Corbyn’s arrival on the scene. He is a totally novel figure to joke about,and that same high-mindedness – as we’ve already seen – opens up fruitful novel realms of satiric opportunity. Related: Can Jeremy Corbyn ever be comic? Only on my joke Twitter feed | Jason Sinclair Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com