Authoritarianism is Deadly Serious...

But resistance can be fun

by Rosie Berman

There’s nothing funny about authoritarianism. Responding to rights violations and political repression with humor might, therefore, seem incongruous or outright offensive. But rather than trivializing the threat of authoritarianism, humor can play a vital role in combating it. Pro-democracy organizers around the world have used humor to bring people into the struggle, upend power dynamics that favor authoritarians, and boost morale amongst activists for the long haul.

Making the Movement the Place to Be

Authoritarian rule promotes disillusionment and disengagement. Humor, by contrast, positions political participation as something cool and fun. In 2000, Serbian activists with Otpor! painted dictator Slobodan Milošević’s face on a barrel and placed the barrel, along with a stick, in the middle of a busy shopping district. A sign near the barrel instructed shoppers to “smash his face for a dinar.” The activists watched from a nearby café as passersby lined up to take a wallop.

Small-scale humorous actions such as Otpor!’s barrel stunt grow movements by providing lower-risk opportunities to participate. Each such participation opportunity ultimately serves to increase citizen confidence in themselves as political actors and inculcates a culture of resistance among the population. Moreover, sharing jokes strengthens movement cohesion by building camaraderie among participants. According to one Otpor! organizer, “[because of the humor] we were functioning much better in the organization, we had better relations inside Otpor, we felt like a family.”

Breaking the Fear Barrier

Authoritarian regimes leverage fear and projections of unshakable power to render their rule unquestionable. Jokes at the regime’s expense upend this status quo by flipping the power dynamics between ruler and ruled. When rulers become the butt of the joke, the fear they have cultivated dissipates. Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef observed that “You can’t really respect or fear something you are laughing at.” Otpor! organizers concur, reflecting that “it is more difficult to be afraid of someone when you laugh at him.”

Otpor! also discovered that humor puts authorities in a bind. Repressing a humorous action might provoke greater opposition to the regime. Allowing the action to continue could facilitate more dissent. Police in Serbia faced this dilemma as citizens took turns whacking the Milošević barrel. Caught between two undesirable options, they chose to arrest the barrel. Opposition newspapers ran images of police wrangling the barrel into their squad car, to the amusement of readers across Serbia.

Similar scenarios have played out across the world.

• Russia’s Toy Protests. When authorities in the Russian city of Baranul denied residents a permit to hold a protest in 2012, the residents staged a toy demonstration. Teddy bears, Lego figurines, and other toys held signs denouncing electoral corruption. Images of the protesting toys swiftly went viral and inspired similar actions across Russia. The Russian government ultimately outlawed the toy demonstrations, declaring that “toys are not Russian citizens and therefore can’t take part in meetings.”

• Burma’s Stray Dog Generals. In 2007, when a brutal military crackdown made public protest in Burma impossible, activists from Lanna Action for Burma found a creative way to continue the fight. The group hung pictures of regime leaders around the necks of stray dogs, an insulting association in Burmese culture. Hilarity ensued when authorities seeking to remove the photos struggled to wrangle the animals.

• Egypt’s Foreign Agendas. As Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak faced increased opposition to his rule in early 2011, the regime accused protesters of serving “foreign agendas.” Egyptians responded by bringing ordinary blank notebooks to Tahrir Square, claiming they had left their foreign agendas at home.

Fortifying for the Long Haul

Anti-authoritarian struggles are long, difficult, and dangerous. One step forward might be followed by several steps back. Compounding stress and terror take their toll on both individuals and movements. In such an environment, humor serves as a pressure-release valve and a tool to cultivate resilience.

Turkey, for example, is enduring two decades of democratic backsliding under autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, despite courageous citizen pushback at every juncture. Earlier this year, Turkish democracy faced yet another blow when authorities detained Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a leading Erdoğan rival, on charges of corruption and terrorism. Citizens took to the streets, and security forces responded with tear gas, water cannons, rubber bullets, and mass arrests. Amidst this repression, footage emerged of a protester in a life-sized Pikachu costume dodging riot police and water cannon blasts. Protester Pikachu quickly went viral. Pro-government media debated whether the colorful cartoon character was a psychological war tactic. Protester Pikachu’s antics, alongside other creative and humorous stunts, ultimately provided Turks with a critical morale boost, even as the country’s slide into autocracy showed no sign of abating.

Bringing Humor Home

Like their counterparts around the world, Americans have fought back against rapid democratic backsliding with humor. As the Department of Government Efficiency gutted the federal government earlier this year, activists submitted mock employment applications from figures including Cruella De Vil, Ebenezer Scrooge, and the Grinch, who told DOGE “I stole Christmas. What more do you need?” More recently, a demonstrator in Portland, Oregon debuted their own version of Protester Pikachu in the form of the Portland Frog. This protester in a bright green frog suit joined other Portlanders in colorful, silly costumes to challenge President Trump’s depiction of their city as a terrifying warzone. Even after ICE agents sprayed tear gas directly into the frog costume’s air vent, the frog returned triumphantly to protest the following night.

Anti-authoritarian movements require mass participation. To succeed, they must flip the power dynamic between the regime and the people while breaking the barrier of fear that prevents citizens from standing up. Movements also must develop creative ways to keep citizens engaged amidst long and difficult struggles. Silly costumes, protesting toys, fake job applications, or real stray dogs don’t detract from the gravity of fighting authoritarianism. They’re not just fleeting memes with no tactical significance, either. Instead, as countries around the world have demonstrated, humorous actions promote durable and joyful resistance that has broad appeal. Movements, in the US and abroad, benefit from taking humor seriously.

Rosie Berman (she/her) is a researcher and writer based in Washington, D.C. She’s worked across the nongovernmental sector and in Congress, with a primary focus on prioritizing people in policy debates. You can find her on LinkedIn and Bluesky. All opinions are her own.