Sometime around my sophomore year of high school, I discovered progressive politics in the form of YouTube videos about feminism and equality. It started with John Green — yes, the author of “The Fault In Our Stars”, that John Green, who is surprisingly socially aware — and later, I began to watch videos by Laci Green, a feminist YouTuber who essentially made comprehensive sex-ed videos. So, yeah, I guess you can say I had a pretty interesting 2012.
After watching plenty of videos, reading articles and consuming political memes that were biased on both sides, I made my way around to political comedians like Jon Stewart and John Oliver on "The Daily Show." By bringing humor to the heavily flawed politics, society and economics in America, they helped develop the way I thought about journalism and world events. Eventually, John Oliver received his own show on HBO called "Last Week Tonight," and the rest is history — he became one of my favorite comedians and biggest inspirations.
Oliver became involved with improvisational comedy in college and later did stand-up comedy. When his stand-up was becoming better known, Oliver was recommended to Jon Stewart’s "Daily Show" by none other than Ricky Gervais. Oliver became a correspondent on "The Daily Show" and some years later, received his position as head of "Last Week Tonight." Unlike "The Daily Show," "Last Week Tonight" isn’t a parody of a news station. It’s simply John Oliver at a desk dissecting political issues the way he knows best: comedy.
If you have never seen "Last Week Tonight," take a tip from me and watch it on YouTube — you won’t be disappointed. He jokes about politics in the way that I often do, but of course, his English accent makes it sound 10 times more eloquent.
Taking on topics like Brexit, church tax exemptions and Donald Trump, Oliver does exactly what I, and many other young people who care about politics, hope to do -- use our talents to bring awareness to massive injustices, especially in a way that can also make people happy. In Oliver’s case, it’s through a comedy show. He has often spoken about the “full creative freedom” that he has in making his show because considering HBO’s lack of advertisements, he’s free to criticize corporations however he sees fit.
Oliver and the writers on his show do a fantastic job of criticizing various organizations in fact; one particular episode features Oliver literally registering a megachurch and asking for donations just to prove the ridiculousness of church tax exemption laws. (Of course, he donated all the proceeds to Doctors Without Borders.) “Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption” is iconic in the world of political comedy. The website is still up and like the segment, it’s satirically funny.
My love and appreciation for John Oliver was solidified by his Donald Trump segment earlier this year. He finally put into words everything I had been feeling about the political candidate, doing everything from debunking Trump’s claims to comparing his brand to a gold Sharpie, “Something that has the appearance of wealth, but is actually just a cheap tool.”
Upon finding that Trump’s ancestral last name was “Drumpf” a few generations ago, Oliver suggested that instead of making America great again, why don’t we #MakeDonaldDrumpfAgain? In a complementary video about Trump’s border wall, Oliver first supports the idea that “building a wall” doesn’t carry any practical benefits and then proposes that, since it would cost the same, why don’t we just buy every man, woman and child in the United States a Belgian waffle maker? After all, he says, it’s cost effective and brings a whole lot more happiness than an arbitrary border fence.
Oliver’s political commentary has been considered rather influential and for good reason. They even call it the "John Oliver Effect." One of the earlier episodes of "Last Week Tonight" talked about net neutrality, and the segment suggested different policies the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) could enact to protect it. Oliver encouraged viewers to send the FCC comments about their concerns, and it was revealed that Oliver’s clip was being watched at the FCC.
Later, the FCC went back on their anti-net neutrality proposals and put into place various rules that considered the internet a public utility rather than a private service, which were essentially the types of policy changes that Oliver proposed in the first place. The segment changed the debate for the better. Another episode of "Last Week Tonight" spoke out about the rights of citizens of U.S. territories such as Guam, and it is said that this influenced later legislation that was enacted in favor of the citizens of Guam.
As someone who aspires to journalism, "Last Week Tonight" is rather inspiring as a mix of political comedy and journalism. While Oliver insists that he isn’t a journalist himself, it’s evident that his show makes journalistic efforts. The Miss America Pageant episode of "Last Week Tonight," for example, highlighted research that Oliver and his team did to debunk the pageant organization’s claim that it is the “world’s largest provider of scholarships for women.” As it turns out, that money is technically available, but has specific requirements that make it inaccessible for almost any woman. "Last Week Tonight" is both funny and politically active; talk about entertaining and informative.
Similar to "The Daily Show," "Last Week Tonight" has brought attention to injustices, educated people on issues and made audiences laugh across the country. Without the geeky British figurehead of the show, I might not have ever thought through the problems with insurance companies, megachurches, debt buyers or the Miss America Pageant. I would not have been able to talk about my issues with Trump as coherently as I do now. So, yes, it’s a comedy show — and a hilarious one. But it’s also a useful tool for getting politically educated and inspiring young activists like me. Thank you, John Oliver! Maybe I’ll send you a Belgian waffle iron for your birthday.
