“Man makes fun of man. In his efforts to change and improve humanity, man turns what he considers serious into absurdity” (Ziv). One of the many effects of humor on human behavior is its ability to change the way someone behaves. More specifically it is the idea that a human phenomenon that goes against society's expectations will face punishment, which in this case is laughter (Ziv). Bergson writes: “Laughter is a social reaction that punishes and represses deviant elements in man's behavior and in various events” (Ziv). Political humor is a vehicle through which comedians can channel viewpoints and criticism, expressing contempt or admiration for the political figure being targeted. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay According to the book, The Best-Selling Guide to Writing Funny and Getting Paid for It, "celebrity coverage is a cheap shot, but our appetite for a pinch of acid gossip about our heroes, icons and villains is insatiable” (Shatz and Helitzer 44-45). Political figures, especially unsympathetic ones, can create great jokes and perhaps have the power to change the way the general public views a particular political figure Bree Becker, assistant professor at Towson University, suggests that comedians who publicly ridicule a presidential candidate cause the audience to have negative attitudes toward that individual (Taylor and Francis study found that, regardless of political affiliation,). watching critical comedic content changed people's attitudes towards a candidate. This specific study focused on the 2008 election between Barack Obama and John McCain. Study participants watched a video from The Colbert Report mocking McCain's campaign, or a video of McCain mocking himself on an episode of Saturday Night Live. The results concluded that while both Democratic and Republican participants appreciated John McCain's self-deprecating humor, viewing the SNL clip did not result in a significant change in attitudes toward the candidate (Taylor and Francis). Steven Colbert's hostile humor seemed to lead to more negative ratings of McCain. The results of this study by Dr. Becker conclude that “there are both negative consequences of being the constant target of political satire programming and the potential benefit of appearing on political comedy programs to engage in self-ridicule” (Taylor and Francis). Shows like the Daily Show and other similar programs tend to promote negative attitudes towards the comics' target audience. However, candidates who wish to appeal to voters may find it useful and strategic to use self-directed humor one of the types of less offensive, but more effective humor, making it ideal for engaging audiences with a candidate's cause. As writer-director Carl Reiner observed: “Inviting people to laugh with you while you laugh at yourself is a good thing to do. . You may be the fool, but you're the fool in charge” (Shatz and Helitzer 42). To conclude Becker's 2012 study, she states, “Going forward, politicians will have to become more adept at deflecting direct humor. to them and also be able to tell a good joke" (Taylor and Francis). The question is: can humor change a situation? entire group of people's opinions or even change society as a whole? Throughout history, there have always been groups fighting for a certain ideology,.”