Last Week Satire

Satire often consists of the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity usually in the context of current political issues. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver a YouTube series made a segment on Net Neutrality which uses satire to expose the issue that the rollbacks of Net Neutrality laws will have under the Trump administration. Without Net Neutrality laws companies are essentially able to limit users ability to connect to any website they desire. Last Week Tonight’s use of Irony, Sarcasm and ridicule of specific topics attracts viewers into their show for leisurely laughs but they often learn about serious topics after watching the segment. John Oliver’s ability to speak humorously about such

a severe topic contributes to his ability to portray Net Neutrality as an issue that should not be overlooked but rather carefully dealt with.
On February 26, 2015, the Federal Communications Commission ruled in favor of net neutrality by reclassifying broadband as a common carrier under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934.

The United States believed that the FCC would consider bending the rules allowing internet service providers or ISPs to violate net neutrality principles by making it easier for Internet users to access certain content. This problem was explained by John Oliver the host of Last Week Tonight explained that,

“Without net neutrality rules in place, ISPs like Verizon and Comcast can prevent users from visiting some websites, provide slower speeds for services like Netflix and Hulu, or even redirect users from one website to a competing website. Net neutrality rules prevent this by requiring ISPs to connect users to all lawful content on the internet equally, without giving preferential treatment to certain sites or services”

(Net).
Net Neutrality allows all people and companies to be a part of an equal system where no one has an advantage over the other because of who they are or how much more they pay the internet provider. The reason John Oliver is covering Net Neutrality on his show is because the Trump administration recently announced that they are planning to roll back Obama era net neutrality rules on equal access. This would allow ISPS or internet service providers to put their equal access promise in their terms of condition. Which according to John Oliver, “ISP’s [would] voluntarily agree to not to obscure or slow consumer access to web content by putting that promise in their terms of service and you know that no human being has ever read them”(Oliver). This would allow companies like Verizon to change their terms and services along with their promise not to obscure their connection, forcing Consumers to be subjected to ISPs changing policy.
John Oliver first uses irony in his video to demonstrate the problems that our government is having when it comes to figuring out how to protect equal access on the internet. Throughout the video he uses a variety of statements like, “Net Neutrality could be protected by an act of Congress but I do not particularly trust this or any congress to get something as complicated as this right and I definitely wouldn't want the president involved and this will not surprise you. He does not seem to have any idea what any of this is”(Oliver). This can be seen as ironic because our government representatives are elected through a representative democracy which makes local officials in charge of large populations. They make big decisions that can dramatically change the lives of the people they represent, so these representatives should be elected by their qualifications and previous lines of work and experience. Yet, in many cases they are not. For example our current president was previously a business man with no real experience in politics but he was elected into office. This is not to undermine the Commander in Chief but the United States’s citizens elect government officials and people should be able to trust that they will do the right thing for everyone. Though John Oliver frequently uses irony throughout his segment he also ridicules people and ideas just as fiercely.
John Oliver’s second component that he uses throughout his segment is ridicule.

Ridicule is seen in various forms of entertainment. For example, this was seen with Lisa Colletta in Political Satire and Postmodern Irony in the Age of Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart, where she referenced the Simpsons by saying, “The creators of The Simpsons ridicule the seductive and manipulative power of television with both the jaded cynicism of Krusty the Klown and the naive gullibility of Homer”(Colletta). Similarly Oliver uses his comedic satire show to expose the exact same seductive and manipulative power of televisions and other form of media. Oliver is able to engage his viewers to take a stand for important issues such as Net Neutrality by ridiculing the audience and saying, “And don't tell me you don't have the time to do this if nothing else the evidence that we all have to much time on our hands and yes I'm talking to you all who posted may the fourth be with you for Star Wars day”(Oliver). Through this use of ridicule and many others like this, Oliver grabs the viewers attention and actively promotes advocacy in the topic of Net Neutrality. With something as relatable as May the fourth be with you or Star Wars Day many people can chuckle at themselves for doing something so pointless with their

time.
John Oliver’s final satirical component in his segment was the use of sarcasm. Which had many convenient uses such as being able to mock President Trump for not knowing what most of the opinions he was actively pushing consisted of. Trump’s twitter post from before his presidency depicts his being uninformed of political issues he spoke out against such as, “Obama’s attack on the internet is another top down power grab. Net Neutrality is the Fairness Doctrine. [Which].Will Target Conservative Media”(Oliver). Which had the exact opposite effect. This had Oliver create a false Twitter post stating, “He couldn't have been more right posting. Net Neutrality is the Monroe Doctrine. Will target the Wu-Tang Clan.”(Oliver). He says this sarcastically because he could not have been more wrong. Although Oliver uses this in order poke fun at his viewpoints many people do not understand it. In fact, a study out of Ohio State University found that, “ a surprising number of conservatives who were shown Colbert clips were oblivious to the fact that he was joking”(Morrison). This joke like many others pass by people without them realizing the context behind it. Without knowing the information behind a joke it is very difficult for a viewer to understand the content and rather just chuckle along. Oliver frequently uses sarcasm in his segment to make issues funny while at the same time exposing the problem at hand.
Overall John Oliver uses different forms of satirical elements such as Irony, Sarcasm and ridicule to introduce and promote deeper thinking of topics. By creating the segment Net Neutrality II: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver(HBO), John Oliver introduced the current political issues facing Net Neutrality. With over four million views on Youtube John Oliver has successfully embedded a message of involvement in political issues to his viewers. Such as how John Oliver encouraged his viewers to post on the Federal Communications Commission’s comment section. A large number of people commented which lead to the FCC’s website crashing. This demonstrates that although Last Week Tonight is not a traditional way to get news or current events it can be a useful tool for advocacy in topics and informing the newest media oriented population.