Christopher Innes

Stephen Fry is the thinking person’s comedian. Through his talent for satire, he encourages others to consider social, political, and religious matters. Like Socrates, Fry mocks the institutions and those in positions of power who think that their authority alone makes them better than others, and he asks questions that lead to what Socrates believed to be the purpose of inquiry: an examined life. Fry guides his audience by persuading them to think about their absurd surroundings. He mocks everything that deserves to be mocked: the military, the concept of social class with concentration on the upper class, and the absurd notion of an all-powerful God who allows suffering. Fry is what we might call a “manic comedian” because he suffers from bipolar disorder (which is also known as manic depression) and it figures heavily into his subtle comedic process. Middle class by birth, Fry moved to the upper class due to his social influence and celebrity, and yet he mocks the elite for their incompetence; the convert is often the most ferocious critic. He even imagines a sit-down interview with God, threatening an egalitarian leveling of the Almighty; that is, Fry wants to point out that God, and those who elevate God to a special status, are not as faultless as they have been presented to the public. This chapter will determine the degree to which Fry, through his comedy, demands actual social change as part of the Socratic principle of the “examined life.” It will reveal that, although Fry does call for social reform, it is perhaps moderate instead of radical.