Humor Can Change the World! Why Comedy Is One of the Most Effective Tools for Social Change

Laura Lo ZitoMatthias MatschkeDr Nicole ZabelLars Jessen

We are living in times of multiple crises: Democracy under pressure, wars and human rights violations overlap. However, the more dramatic the situation, the more often pure problem communication leads to excessive demands. Neuroscientific findings show that facts without any emotional link often do not reach people. What really moves people is the feeling of being self-effective. And hardly any other genre has more power to build bridges than comedy.

PlanetNarratives uses specific examples from film and TV to show why humour can play a central role in climate and democracy communication. In the subsequent panel, Matthias Matschke, Laura Lo Zito, director Lars Jessen and Dr Nicole Zabel will discuss how comedy can be used in a targeted way to tell climate and democracy issues in a new way – entertaining, relevant and effective.

In cooperation with Filmfest Hamburg.