Amy Schumer Needs An Emmy This Year

Amy Schumer is the hottest comedian in America right now — that's a fact. The star of Trainwreck and Inside Amy Schumer has seen an enormous rise in popularity over the last few years, and with the Emmy Awards coming up, she might get to add a few new awards to her fast-growing roster. It seems only right that she get all the awards she possibly can, but there's no knowing just yet if Schumer will definitely win an Emmy in 2016. That said, she totally deserves it, for her hilarious, insightful work on her Comedy Central sketch series.

Having just finished its fourth season, Schumer's series saw her continue to take on a starring role, as well as be its creator, writer, and executive producer. This season primarily focused on exacting judgement of Hollywood, from parodying Game of Thrones to referencing Hamilton, all done in spot-on, laugh-out-loud ways. It dealt with the good and bad of cultural criticism, as well as major societal topics like gun control and body shaming, and though this season didn't quite live up to the viral and groundbreaking status of Season 3, it still held its ground by talking about issues that needed to be discussed.

Season 4 also saw Schumer attacking abusers and the social media platforms that many use to feed upon the vulnerability of victims and intensify the damage of online harassment. In Episode 2, “Welcome to the Gun Show," Schumer appears as “clickbait sensation Amy Schumer," and the episode features an “I’m Going To Rape And Kill You” button to be used on Twitter. The acting VP of Communication explains, “Whether it’s thumbs up or LOL, people enjoy having a shortcut for something they frequently communicate.” Elsewhere in the episode, Schumer highlights how easy it can be to purchase guns, and both issues use smart humor as a way of dealing with the grim violence occurring in society today.

Other episodes, like “Compliments” and “I’m So Bad”, work towards dismantling the slippery positions of power and privilege. Schumer manages to both showcase the safety and privilege that white women can have while also calling on the real violence against women that takes place so frequently. It's a skillful, effective balance, a way of making viewers laugh while also pointing out real, important truths.

For these reasons and so much more, I believe that Schumer should win an Emmy at this year's show, because to me, her performance this season was bigger and better than ever before. She used her platform to speak out about hard-hitting issues, both in Hollywood and in the regular world. She actively used the influence of her voice to talk about issues she cared about and felt mattered, and even if she doesn't get an Emmy this year, that is already a win in my book, especially considering how few people in her position of power do the same. As Schumer herself said in her June cover interview with Vogue , "I am very into making up my own rules. Like, I don’t want to play the game and succeed at it. I want to redefine it. That’s the only way I can deal with it. Maybe that’s naive."

In the wake of police brutality, hate crimes, a controversial election, and social and political unrest, Schumer delivers the comedy that helps us find laughter in what seem like senseless times. To see the industry respond to that with an Emmy award would be amazing and so well-deserved.

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