Many modern day comedy shows, such as “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” incorporate political and current events into their skits and utilize such events as the material and basis for their jokes. Roughly one year ago, in September, 2016, John Oliver discussed the refugee and migrant crisis in his comedy show. I believe his clear immediate objective was to entertain those in the audience and others at home, boost the ratings and viewer base of the show, and raise awareness on an issue that he may consider pressing and important. Due to the nature of the issue, many people watching in the audience and at home may respond compassionately to this issue and John Oliver’s discussion of it. It is difficult to not sympathize with the refugees and migrants who have lost their homes, families, and previous lives. John Oliver is further successful in raising awareness regarding this issue as he undoubtedly increased the level of general awareness on the issue in his fan base, and those people may go on to discuss the issue with others. But I do not appreciate the twist John Oliver incorporates in his show as he discusses serious issues such as this. Although I realize he utilizes the comedic aspect because he is a comedian and the show is meant to make the audience laugh and feel good rather than empathize and sympathize, I believe the incorporated humor can be detrimental to the cause and the issue at hand. Although more people become exposed to the matter, when John Oliver uses the events as part of his comic skit, the audience may not realize the seriousness and gravity of the situation. One may think, if John Oliver is willing to make jokes regarding a certain issue, then it must not be serious. And although the audience may be learning or acquiring an opinion regarding the topic, they may not take it to heart or continue with the mindset beyond the viewing of the show.

It is unfortunate that many people are in reality affected by the refugee crisis. Many people in the developed world may be current refugees, former refugees, or family members of those who are struggling to achieve refugee status. If a viewer falls into one of these categories, they may have mixed feelings regarding John Oliver’s portrayal of the matter. They may be happy John Oliver deemed the event as important to discuss and his subsequent raising of awareness. But on the flip side, one may be offended by his incorporation of such a serious issue that affects their lives so deeply on a comedy show. For example, as both of my sides of my family are Persian Jews who lived in Iran, my grandmother and mother’s generation were forced to flee the country during the Islamic Revolution of 1979. If during that time, or even today, I were alive and saw someone using the event as a scenario to make jokes and increase a comedy show’s audience and ratings, I would have been offended. Although I understand increased awareness is important in enacting social and political change, I would not have appreciated this form in doing so.

Another criticism I offer of the discussion of serious subjects such as the refugee and migrant crisis on a comedy show is that there is never a true debate or discussion. The audience is solely offered one viewpoint and opinion on the issue. I believe on any given matter, it is important one has the opportunity to listen to and understand the opposition’s argument prior to building and establishing one’s opinion. News sources such as CNN, Fox News and MSNBC offer their viewers an opportunity to watch arguments and discussions on many important political issues. But many times in these debates, the news channel will only agree to bring a loose end or unintelligent member of the opposition to label the opposition and their ideals as ridiculous and push their own political agenda and narrative. This is an unfortunate reality in the political realm, and I believe is one reason politics has been increasingly polarizing in recent years. When one watches a news source and sees the news anchors of their political party act intelligent and raise legitimate and intelligent points, and are simply exposed to the fools of the opposing party, one may label the opposing party as a group of buffoons.

Ultimately, I believe John Oliver, along with many other politically focused comedy show hosts, do not mean to incorporate a sense of light heartedness or offend others when it comes to issues as serious as the refugee and migrant crisis, but I believe it is inevitable when one views the situation in this context, and there are multiple negative consequences arising in our society due to this treatment of political issues in our society.