Iran was a big story this past week, the kind I'd like to take with either a dose of comedy or of oil. I feel like laughing at the terrifying possibility that the U.S. nearly went to war with Iran right now, so I'm going to do something I haven't done since April, check in with the late night comedians who aren't on HBO. I begin with the first to broadcast, Trevor Noah with Trump Brings U.S. to Brink of War with Iran.
Trump calls off a military strike against Iran minutes before launch, raising questions about when he was briefed on key issues surrounding the decision.Noah may have been the earliest comedian last night to mock Trump's mercurial decision-making, but he wasn't the last. Stephen Colbert kept it up, along with realizing that he actually had to admit that Trump did the right thing after first approving a bad idea in Trump Was 'Cocked And Loaded' To Strike Iran.
The President said the United States was 'cocked and loaded' to retaliate against Iran. That's not the expression.First, Noah called a drone a flying dildo, then Colbert made a thinly disguised dick joke. At least Seth Meyers kept it clean by turning it into a movie joke in Trump Almost Started a War with Iran: A Closer Look.
Seth takes a closer look at President Trump creating a bunch of problems and then turning around and pretending he “solved” those problems.Both Colbert and Meyers connected Trump's actions on Iran with those on illegal immigration. I think that's a good insight, even if it's an easy one. It reminds me that Samantha Bee is more likely to come up with unique comedic takes on situations than her male colleagues, although I might save her for a reaction to the debates, which start tomorrow. Time to find drinks and drinking games for the candidates!
Why do comedians have more journalistic integrity than Main Stream Media?
ReplyDeleteThat's a damned good question. I don't really know the answer, but I suspect it has to do with both the absurdity of the current political situation and the examples of Jon Stewart and Saturday Night Live in showing how to handle it. All of the comedians I featured are or were on The Daily Show or SNL.
DeleteIt's these guys who are now doing the kind of serious in-depth analysis we used to associate with the MSM. If they make it entertaining so more people will watch, I'm fine with that. Maybe this is how the media need to operate in the present age.
ReplyDeleteColbert made a thinly disguised dick joke
Yeah, but you have to admit, "tiny little mushroom cloud" was pretty appropriate.
Thank goodness war has been averted for now. But when we're in a situation where we're counting on Trump to be the voice of calm and restraint, we're in the wrong situation.
I think it is how the media need to operate nowadays. I recall a study about 10 years ago that the best informed television viewers were the ones who watched The Daily Show. The worst? No surprise, Fox News.
DeleteYes, "tiny mushroom cloud" was perfect both in its humor and in getting one past Standards and Practices.
Yes, we are in the wrong situation. All of this is gallows humor.