Yes, I think so. If it is done honestly and if there is freedom of expression, why not?

Comedy political shows are at their best to disseminate political information among public because people like the lighter way to absorb tricky information on hard core issues. We have this practice in Pakistan and political comedy shows are getting so popular among general public they got to know so many concrete problems of country and in response they come up with solutions in the form of feed back to policy makers, government and media too.

No I don't think so, they are confusing our people. They are not playing better role in the society in any way.

I think comedy, like other forms of communication, can take someone from the state of being uninformed to becoming either misinformed or informed (depending on the comedic message). Whether these comedy shows make someone politically active has yet to be determined (with arguments for and against).

There is a history with satire being used for social change. But satire does not require laughter, whereas most comedy shows do require laughter (in order to be deemed successful). Is the political comedy show playing the audience for the quick laugh or for a deeper understanding? (Both?)

The big question involves people who do not "get" the joke (do not understand the comedic premise or its punchlines). Will they seek information to understand the political messaging (will they move to an informed state of mind)? Or will they merely act like they understand, and/or forget about the messaging (as they move to their next entertainment activity/distraction)?

Yes, of course they do

I totally agree with Sean, Ukuk and Ayesha, comedy shows have had a major impact on the understanding of complex political issues on the part of our audiences.

Absolutely yes! The advantage about comedy is that it can touch on very serious issues including those considered seditious using humor. Further, audiences continue to discuss the comedy show after it ends, therefore getting them to debate and exchange views- and in the process increase awareness.

Genre political show has two sides. On the one hand , agree with colleagues, comedy accessible, understandable language explains complex political phenomena is their popularization . And there was even a separate line - political animation ( cartoon "South Park" ) . However , on the other hand, I must warn that political show always has the investor ( customer). They may be the political elite or large businesses associated with the state. As a result , with the help of interesting political show of the population can form specific patterns . Manipulation occurs .

Would you believe I even cant remember when I saw any good political comedy here? Watching TV news is usually more than enough, because no author is able to beat quotes from some of our politicians.

50/50 objectives media gain by launching political satire shows.morality and code of ethics bypassed by media practitioner just to gain TRP and un necessary laughter .A fine should be drawn between satire and privacy of the guests.

vulgarity is also there in the name of political satire shows.

Yes comedy programme does have effect on political awareness of public especially for those people who are not interested in politics otherwise and they get informed/aware about politics through comedy..

I believe it definitely does increase awareness. The issue, I believe, is whether this is a critical awareness or it just a way to release accumulated affection and turn laughter into an instrument of political normalization. What would be interesting is to find more subversive forms of humor, that make use of laughter as a form of criticizing hegemonic discourse (like a fool would do in medieval times).

Please see the following chapter for evidence of the effect of political comedy on understanding of climate change:

Feldman, L., Leiserowitz, A & Maibach, E. (2011). The Science of Satire: The

Daily Show and The Colbert Report as Sources of Public Attention to

Science and the Environment In A. Amarasingam (Ed.), Perspectives on

Fake News: The Social Significance of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.

Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company. Pgs. 9-25.

Tina Fey´s spoofing of Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin´s interview with Kathie Couric helped cost Republican Presidential candidate John McCain the 2008 election in the United States. Whether Fey´s impressions of Couric increased information in the watching public is a matter of speculation, but I would venture to guess that they did.

In my opinion this impact in not long lasting but it surely creates awareness and what ever is presented with humorous touch people don't take it seriously

Attia, you are correct, the impact is not long-lasting, but it is powerful, like a storm that strikes and departs. At the base of political humor lies a barb of serious criticism-- in the case of Palin, of her misinformation and limited scope ("I can see Russia from my backyard in Alaska.")

Historically, what we call "political comedy" today has a very long tradition, going back to great ancient writers like the Greek Aristophanes or then Plautus in the Roman Empire. This kind of political comedy always fulfilled a very important function. Laughing about the elites, those in power, is a kind of release, of changing hierarchies for some hours, and of intelligent critique. Later 14th and 15th century, the comedia dell'arte had a similar role, then Shakespeare or Molière. In the Habsburg empire it was Nestroy. The café théâtre in France in the 19th century or the German and Austrian Kabarett played an important role as a kind of extra-parliamentary opposition. And in the socialist countries the works of persons like Bulgakow were undoubtedly political comedys. Although it is difficult to measure, I think there is an influence.

It majorly depends on the content of the show and the kind of viewership it attracts. The current political comedy shows on Pakistani TVs are crappy and rubbish, they are just a copy of stage dramas with foul language.

I yet have to witness a good political comedy show in Pakistan.

I am sure like South Park, there are some good western shows that one of my friends can quote here.

I would say it is probably the best type of politically informative shows for some reasons; first they provide the people internally and externally, if satellite channels, with information, it is a show for everyone in the family, except children of course, and it also shows the bad side of the political process, candidates and even participation. for example, there is this TV presenter called Bassim Yousif, he used criticize Mubarak's regime at first, then he criticized Morsi and his party, and right now he criticizing those who have worked with in the other channels where he used to work. what this living example shows is the metamorphism of political systems and public opinion about any certain system. Moreover, it is very healthy to have opposition to see the down side of yourself at different times, what can be better than TV political comedy show.