rowyn

I know what you're getting at. I've been through the same kind of thing, and the most helpful thing for converting these experiences from "OMG that was awful" to "so hilarious" in your own mind is to watch how other people do it. The British are especially good at this. PG Wodehouse's treatment of Roderick Spode in the Jeeves and Wooster books is one that pops to mind. If you're not familiar with the character, he's a British fascist who models his politics on Hitler and other fascists who were coming to prominence at the time. Now, that sounds like he's an awful person, but Wodehouse makes him into a figure of ridicule. (Note: Wodehouse wrote about Spode for the first time in 1938, before Great Britain entered WWII and it became clear just HOW bad Hitler was.)

Another example I can think of is Charlie Chaplin in The Great Dictator. Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie in A Bit of Fry and Laurie. I could go on, if it would help.