A Global Audience Through Comedy

I would like to write about someone who I believe demonstrated the key qualities of a global citizen and helps to promote global thinking. John Oliver who currently hosts his show ‘Last Week Tonight’ on the American channel Comedy Central, where almost every week he discusses global issues in realistic and intelligent ways. Most of his segments are written to address the primary American audience almost all the issues discussed are relevant to viewers worldwide, such as nuclear disarmament, net neutrality, the wealth gap and advertisement in the news.

By presenting the facts in a straightforward way, and with the use of strong humour throughout, a large population are being exposed to news that they would otherwise have no understanding of. John Oliver is not the only reporter like this, some other examples are John Stewart and Steven Colbert, however while they report news in a similar manner they are more focused on American issues and the political system over there. Alongside this, John is also a British man working on an American Show, this give the feeling that the issues being covered are not solely focused on the US.

The way in which the information is presented within each episode is focused on encouraging involvement from the audience, and I believe this is necessary to promote a globally aware and active audience. A large factor in the success of the show in terms of global citizenship is how involved the fans are after each episode, and as the series continues the waves made by the viewers will only increase and promote more change.

https://www.youtube.com/user/LastWeekTonight