From the satirical plays of ancient Greece to the biting cartoons of the French Revolution, mockery has always been used to challenge the status quo. It is a "safe" way to test the waters of dissent. If a joke lands well, it signals that the public is ready for a deeper conversation about a particular issue. In many ways, the comedian or the cartoonist is the scout for the social reformer, identifying the points of greatest tension in society and bringing them into the light where they can no longer be ignored or suppressed.
