{"id":601,"date":"2018-07-12T10:15:28","date_gmt":"2018-07-12T09:15:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/copyright.lboro.ac.uk\/research\/?p=601"},"modified":"2018-07-12T12:19:44","modified_gmt":"2018-07-12T11:19:44","slug":"trump-baby-balloon-why-humour-is-such-a-powerful-form-of-protest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lboro.ac.uk\/research\/communication-culture-citizenship\/trump-baby-balloon-why-humour-is-such-a-powerful-form-of-protest\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump baby balloon: why humour is such a powerful form of protest"},"content":{"rendered":"

An inflatable \u201cbaby\u201d Donald Trump<\/a> is expected to be the star attraction in London as protestors take to the streets to register their dissatisfaction with the visit of the US president on July 13. Protestors have much to motivate their mobilisation against Trump: from the controversial separation of families<\/a> at the US-Mexican border, to his misogyny, nepotism, and travel ban<\/a>. Tens of thousands are expected to attend a \u201cStop Trump\u201d rally in what organisers have described<\/a> as a \u201ccarnival of resistance\u201d.<\/p>\n

Humour, in the forms of chants, performances, satire, cartoons, theatre, jokes, memes and puns has a long tradition in protest movements. It acts as a vehicle to communicate ideas as well as to foster a sense of community \u2013 it can cut across linguistic barriers, and increase the resonance of the message.<\/p>\n

All protests have a target, something or someone to galvanise others to action. The goal of the crowdfunded inflatable is to annoy the famously thin-skinned president. The six-metre tall balloon depicts Trump as a snarling baby in a nappy with tiny hands and moobs. Its purpose is not to change laws or policies, nor to influence his decisions. It is meant to mock and to undermine, suggesting the president is infantile, full of hot air, cartoonish and ridiculous.<\/p>\n

Humour is empowering because it establishes those who are in on the joke and those who are the object of it. The balloon signifies an attempt to take back control and to undermine Trump. Whether he is aware of the balloon \u2013 and surely this media-obsessed president will be \u2013 is neither here nor there because mocking Trump is not just about annoying him. It fosters a sense of belonging between protestors and invites others to join.<\/p>\n

Catharsis<\/h2>\n

The use of ridicule in this way confirms the public\u2019s relative weakness vis-\u00e0-vis governments, multinational corporations and world leaders. But satire and humour foster a sense of solidarity in the face of adversity. For those of us exasperated by the actions of the Trump administration appearing in our daily news feed, mocking Trump is not just a sneer \u2013 it gives us a sense of power, at least for a moment.<\/p>\n

Mocking strongman leaders is a cathartic exercise and one favoured by protestors around the world, particularly in authoritarian regimes. In response to Vladimir Putin\u2019s repressive treatment of LGBTIQ people in Russia, including the notorious anti-gay propaganda law<\/a> of 2013, a neon Warholesque image of Putin in full make-up replete with lipstick was widely shared across social media.<\/p>\n

The image became so ubiquitous that Kremlin officials worried that the Russian president\u2019s sexual orientation would be called into question and in 2017, the Russian justice ministry banned the image<\/a>. However, Kremlin-approved images of the masculine Russian leader shirtless on horseback remain in circulation.<\/p>\n