We should not be surprised to know that, in the search for real information about U.S. politics and similar goings-on around the world, many Americans turn to "Saturday Night Live" and the, back-to-back, fake news and punditry programming offered by "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report." As politicians and the mainstream media who cover them, too often, appear out of step with the concerns of most Americans, these shows fill an aching void. For those of us who have spent the last eight years alarmed by unwarranted war, torture, fired prosecutors, illegal wiretapping, botched hurricane relief, no-bid contracts, missing billions, and other outgrowths of corporate corruption and governmental malfeasance, Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, Loren Michaels and their crew of writers and performers are among an invaluable cohort of entertainers who remind the reality-based community that we are not alone.WGAE is holding an event on the subject in Washington tonight.
Friday, May 08, 2009
Comedy and politics
On The Huffington Post, Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) members and academics consider the relationship between comedy and politics. From Sabiyha Prince:
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Along with the New York Review of Books it showed the rest of the world that there was another America during the terrible years.
ReplyDeleteI believe the unique Amercian combination of comedy and politics shows like The Daily Show played a huge part in keeping people's hopes alive. Fear is very isolating and Comedy rejects victim status. I wish we had more shows like this but I fear our broadcasters do not have that confidence anymore. Anne Devlin. Writers Guild and PEN
You might be right about our broadcasters, Anne but think of The Thick Of It. Not sure that would get on a US network.
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