FromThe Fresh PrincetoThe Politician: climate change frames in American scripted television comedy 1990–2020

Humour beyond human: eco-humour as a pedagogical toolkit for environmental education

“…Human beings are, in a sense, humour beings , being able to communicate effectively through the simple and accessible language of humour (see also Heidari-Shahreza, 2021a). Carter (2022, p.2), in this respect, states “[h]umour is a powerful tool for communicating climate change in media, as it helps communicate complex, often confusing topics through a humorous lens”. Pointing to the growing interest in humour-based environmental communication, Kaltenbacher & Drews (2020, p. 718) also advocate it as an “unconventional” yet effective approach to inform individuals about environmental issues.…”

“…Therefore, one may say the systematic, research-informed employment of humour has largely remained an uncharted territory in environmental education (see also Kaltenbacher & Drews, 2020). As Carter (2022) notes the potential of humour in environmental communication (and education) particularly climate change media is well-documented “but this potential remains largely unrealized” (p.1).…”

“…Similarly, eco-humour may lend a hand in alleviating ‘eco-anxiety’ (i.e., the chronic fear of environmental crises). As Carter (2022, p. 2) highlights “[h]umour can effectively communicate risks without overwhelming viewers or provoking distancing or avoidance behaviors…, and can inspire action through an emphasis on hope over fear”. In fact, humour may significantly aid in maintaining mental and social health.…”

“…In this regard, Osnes, Boykoff and Chandler (2019) found that good-natured comedy could help individuals develop optimistic perspectives on climate changes and deal with negative emotions more efficiently. Thus, eco-humour can successfully communicate different feelings and emotions, underscore biocultural differences and manifest implicitly or explicitly the dynamics of interpersonal and intercultural relations (see Carter, 2022; Gough & Horacek, 2022; Ziv, 2010 for more information and related examples). In other words, eco-humour is, in essence, a more-than-human, environmentally distributed and culturally diverse phenomenon which may be employed to speak for the environmental and cultural heritage of nations (see also Cook et al, 2022; Osnes, Boykoff & Chandler, 2019).…”

“…Due to its ‘threshold effects’, such humour, in the long run, may notably contribute to the public awareness of environmental education. Thus, it can be said that eco-humour (as an umbrella term) takes slow, small and steady steps to address and possibly help redress the environmental challenges the world faces (see also Carter, 2022; Zhang & Pinto, 2021).…”