The Revolution Will Be Hilarious: Comedy for Social Change and Civic Power (Postmillennial Pop, 29)

**An insider’s look at the power of comedy to effect social change** From Trevor Noah’s __The Daily Show__ and Hasan Minhaj’s __Patriot Act__, to Issa Rae’s __Insecure__ and Corey Ryan Forrester’s Twitter feed, today’s multi-platform comedy refuses to shy away from the social issues that define our time.As more comedians lean into social justice activism, they help reshape the entertainment industry and offer creative, dynamic avenues for social change. __The Revolution Will Be Hilarious__ offers a compelling insider’s look at how comedy and social justice activists are working together in a revolutionary media moment. Caty Borum invites readers into an expanding, enterprising arena of participatory culture and politics through in-depth interviews with comedians, social justice leaders, and Hollywood players. Their insights shed light on questions such as: What role does comedy play in helping communities engage the public with challenging social issues? How do social justice organizations and comedians co-create entertaining comedy designed to build the civic power of marginalized groups? And how are entertainment industry leaders working with social justice organizations to launch new comedy as both entertainment and inspiration for social change? Through this exploration, Borum argues that building creative power is crucial for marginalized groups to build civic power. __The Revolution Will Be Hilarious__ positions the rise of social justice comedy as creative, disruptive storytelling that hilariously invites us to agitate the status quo and re-imagine social realities to come closer to the promise of equity and justice in America.

An insider's look at the power of comedy to effectsocial change From Trevor Noah's The Daily Showand Hasan Minhaj's Patriot Act, to Issa Rae'sInsecure and Corey Ryan Forrester's Twitter feed, today'smulti-platform comedy refuses to shy away from the social issuesthat define our time.As more comedians lean into social justiceactivism, they help reshape the entertainment industry and offercreative, dynamic avenues for social change. The RevolutionWill Be Hilarious offers a compelling insider's look at howcomedy and social justice activists are working together in arevolutionary media moment. Caty Borum invites readers into anexpanding, enterprising arena of participatory culture and politicsthrough in-depth interviews with comedians, social justice leaders,and Hollywood players. Their insights shed light on questions suchas: What role does comedy play in helping communities engage thepublic with challenging social issues? How do social justiceorganizations and comedians co-create entertaining comedy designedto build the civic power of marginalized groups? And how areentertainment industry leaders working with social justiceorganizations to launch new comedy as both entertainment andinspiration for social change? Through this exploration, Borumargues that building creative power is crucial for marginalizedgroups to build civic power. The Revolution Will BeHilarious positions the rise of social justice comedy ascreative, disruptive storytelling that hilariously invites us toagitate the status quo and re-imagine social realities to comecloser to the promise of equity and justice in America.

Contents List of Figures Preface Introduction: “It’s like Taking Your Vodka with a Chaser”: Comedy as Civic Power in the Participatory Media Age 1. “Desperate Cheeto”: How Comedy Functions as Deviant Creative Resistance 2. “It’s All about Who You Know”: Pitching and Producing Comedy in the Transforming Entertainment Industry 3. “Hollywood Won’t Change Unless It’s Forced to Change”: How Activism and Entertainment Collide and Collaborate 4. “You Learn to Be Racist from People You Love”: Co-creating Comedy for Antiracism Public Engagement 5. “Invisibility Is Not a Superpower”: Asserting Native American Identity through Humor 6. “Maybe They Think Beauty Can’t Come from Here”: Resilience and Power in the Climate Crisis 7. “I’ve Always Been a Syringe-Half- Full Kinda Guy”: Changing the Entertainment Comedy Pipeline Conclusion: Taking Comedy Seriously Acknowledgments Appendix: List of Interviewees Notes Index About the Author "The Revolution Will Be Hilarious: Comedy for Social Change and Civic Power reveals how and why comedy fuels contemporary social change, how post-millennial activists collaborate with comedians and the evolving entertainment industry, and why creativity and cultural power matter for social justice. Through research and an insider journey into transforming entertainment industry and activism practices, the book explains why deviant creativity expressed through comedy builds civic power-and can help change the world"-- Provided by publisher