One of the things that's oddest about comedy is the way that it can often make a point more deftly and truly than argument or drama ever can.
But that's only when you play by comedy's rules.
Below are two of the strangest clips I've ever seen. They're from "The 1/2 Hour News Hour," which is 24 Producer Joel Surnow's FOX News inspired take on the Daily Show.
Let's leave aside for a moment the truly weird meta-commentary at play here: the fact that, oh, I don't know, one of the hosts of this gabfest is Canadian (Jenn Robertson) and therefore not exactly ideologically committed to the cause. Then there's the fact that these bits feature the worst canned laughter in a generation...
...let's just look at the bits themselves.
Are you going to tell me that the Rush-ites are actually going to find this funny?
Mmm.
Okay, maybe they will. But that's neither here nor there. One of the interesting things about the Right Wing Dominance of U.S. government through the last few years was that even though they ran everything, they never stopped crying victim -- they were treated unfairly by the media, there were forces trying to subvert the president, blah blah blah.
Now you take this little show and you see, I think, the entire agenda of FOX News laid open and made the creepy thing it truly is -- way more than you ever could with Hannity or O'Reilly or any of the other screaming angries. Because this is supposed to be comedy, the fact that they start with the ideological and try to twist it funny is so telling. And not just because the jokes are so lame, that it seems even more like bad propaganda than Fox News itself.
Whether it's Weekend Update, or Daily Show, or 22 or Mercer in Canada, the great thing about topical comedy is that the joke is the thing that rules. Funny rules. You start with the joke, first. That sometimes means they roast Dems when they do something stupid. Jon Stewart is brilliant at this.
But this...well...
Is it just me, or does the whole thing smack more of the Leni Riefenstahl? Right down to the obedient, droning canned laughter, standing in for well-choreographed displays of obedience. In any case, nowhere is there room for real human reaction.
It's one thing to call yourself "fair and balanced" when you spin the news. And to say that you're doing it because the news has been spun that way for years. But somehow, at least to me, standing up there and saying, "look, isn't this funny?" when it so patently isn't (I mean, Rush Beating Howard Dean for President? Is 1998 calling or something?) is worse. Because at least the Fox newscasters are clothed in the garb of news. They look like they're from news.
This seems like a bunch of frat boys making fun of poor people. It's beyond ham fisted. It's beyond desperate.
Anyway, it's just bizarre. Enjoy.
3 comments:
That's weird... I feel like I've already seen a number of jokes about the democrats' slightly over-the-top embrace of Barack Obama.
Oh, right, of course... it was on the Daily Show. Jon Stewart's writers never thought of taking Obama's initials and making a B.O. joke though, so, hats off, 1/2 Hour News Hour. Well done.
Where to begin. I suppose we can't condemn the show entirely based on four minutes of material from the pilot, though it's tempting. Here's the thing: There's no point in pretending that the Daily Show DOESN'T appeal primarily to those slightly left-of-centre, or as they used to be known, "young people who watch late night television." So we're not gonna win that argument. And, yeah, there are times when Stewart's show devolves into the schtick of showing a clip of Bush saying something stupid, followed by a little mugging, followed by uproarious studio laughter.
But that's maybe 5% of that show. The rest of it, the vast majority of it, is simply breathtaking satire that is remarkably, astoundingly consistent. The show is kind of a miracle. So for this new show to take THAT show in its sights, well, that is balls-a-licious to say the least.
As I say, I have no doubt that the vast majority of Daily Show staffers vote Democrat and bring that sensibility to the table. Nevertheless, The Daily Show has never shied away from making fun of the democrats -- it's just the dems have been so invisible the past 5 years, and the current adminsistration so glaringly incompetent, that it follows logically that the balance has been tipped heavily in one direction.
But watch the show now. Ever since the Democrats took over the house (and especially since the leadership race kicked off), there has been plenty of jabs to go around for the likes of Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Obama, and plenty of others. The half-hour news show runs the danger of being irrelevent and redundant right out of the gate.
UNLESS, that is, they can step up and really give the Daily Show a run for its money. I'd like to see that show. It would be good for comedy, and good for democracy. As you say, Denis, funny rules. And based on these clips, the sin they're commiting has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with just plain lazy writing. I mean, c'mon... As if the Cindy Sheehan jokes were dated enough, they reach back into the vault to conjure MARION BARRY?
Wow. Let's see how the show plays out over the next few weeks before rendering final judgement, but yeah, based on this early stuff the whole execution looks to be dead in the water.
this show looks about as satirical as an episode of three's company.
never mind that stephen colbert is already the voice (albeit facetiously) of the neo-cons. colbert does it right. these guys are about as funny as a rapping grandma.
After watching that I think I need to visit the delousing chamber. Ick.
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