Emmy Winners And Presenters Sneak In Political, Economic References

NY Times:

It's always a little disconcerting -- and even irritating -- when stars at awards shows, dripping in Chopard jewelry and self-regard, try to banter about current events. But there is at least one reassuring point to it: if television actors feel free to make light of dark events then things must not yet be that bad. It's when comedians stay silent that you know things are really dire -- think of the frothy escapist Busby Berkeley musicals and screwball comedies that distracted audiences during the Great Depression.

By that standard, then, Sunday night's 60th Primetime Emmy Awards were not all that reassuring. The funniest stars there -- Stephen Colbert, Ricky Gervais and Steve Martin -- were very funny but didn't make any jokes about the looming financial crisis. Even Alec Baldwin, not known for restraint, held back. Tina Fey did, though, thank NBC for sticking with her show despite "the turkey burger economy."

It was the unamusing Howie Mandel, the host of the NBC game show "Deal or No Deal," who took it head on.

He and his four fellow reality-show M.C.'s opened the show by telling the audience they had no prepared material. "It's like we are on Sarah Palin's Bridge to Nowhere," Mr. Mandel mugged. The audience laughed less when Mr. Mandel went on to the Treasury Department's $700 billion bail-out proposal -- the ultimate "Deal or No Deal" -- saying, "The government can't even bail us out of this."

Read the whole story: NY Times

Comments

[paulgfan2767]

I am really mad at the way they censored the stars from making statements.That is ridiculous.I am really mad at what they did from the writer Kirk Ellis who wrote for John adams.I mean come on he wrote about our founding fathers and they just him off in mid sentence

[trish74]

I'm guessing that if a star espoused a view for McCain he would be praised on Fox and vilified here and vice versa for those that praised Obama. My concern is the fact that hollywood stars at the emmys would be paying higher taxes under an Obama administration, yet, they seem to throw their support behind him. Is it that they're concerned about the direction of the country and have chosen to put COUNTRY FIRST?

[BluePride]

I shoulda figured it out when McCain said his favorite group is ABBA. The guy loves PALINDROMES. Picking Palin, though begs the question: DO GEESE SEE GOD?


Obama's vision w/ the Pointer Sisters' funk:
YES, WE CAN CAN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVwpMB8QAUU

[SouthPrairie]

Really. Could anybody expect corporate media to satirize corporate communism? Wake up America--the clock is running out.

[Emcye]

Cont'd - Emcye/Emmys
Anti-depressants are hardly the answer. Tom Cruise aside: Thank heavens Edith Piaf never took anti-depressants. Or Will Rogers.¨We don"t stop laughing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop laughing. And singing, story-telling. Without laughing, singing and story-telling, we grow old - inside - and weak.¨¨

Hah! - Did someone steal Tina"s Fey"s purse from under her seat when she went up to take one of her many awards? By now, her cell phonebook and scribbled script ideas have been smuggled to the GOP or posted on some interWeb. Come on! It"s a plot from Casablanca. The economy is headed toward a distopic scenario straight from Road Warriors.¨

What"s happening in our nation is no laughing matter. But it"s happening because of masterful storytelling. Good old American bogosity. Fiction or fact, the American masses have been soaking up the material.¨This is a war of minds. But notice, we're seeing remakes; old plotlines are holding sway.¨

And Hollywood"s "got nothing?" (Ironic, when you think where all this good old American story-telling came from.)¨It"s pilot season. Enough awfulizing - it"s worse than nothing.¨¨
Cue the new guy - and no more remakes.

[Emcye]

That"s entertainment? Thud.
How to explain the torpor of last night"s television awards? Sure, you could "use the news." (Ironic, when you think where the news comes from.) But the election, the economy and the wars can be credited only in part for for the cringe-ful travesty that was the Emmy"s.¨The elephant in THAT room was anti-depressants.
Such talent. And not one shimmering moment - no whimsy nor sharp flick of wit. The expectation on contender"s faces as they watched from the audience seemed not for their own glory or recognition - but for an instant of emotional relief.
From John Adams to Mr. Warmth to the TV-classics show sets, clips and music, every hopeful moment was derived from the past.
Tommy Smothers dolefully tried to remind us what it was to be feisty. That opening bit - "we got nothing" - was Harvey Mandel"s furtive, furtive attempt at political satire.
And the big gag of the night was Captain Kirk stripping the SUIT off a good-looking, go-getting, got-it-all Gal.
Clearly, the fresh, future-y narrative of Sarah Palin has kicked the industry"s ass; it"s fallen and it can"t get up.

[Melissa]

Who wants to watch a bunch of celebraties give their opinion and political views on an entertainment show? That is the main reason I did not watch and evidently a lot of people felt the same.

[yngcelt]

There's just something disingenuous about a bunch of overpaid celebrities who live in the lap of luxury with multiple homes, platinum credit cards, personal assistants, fleets of high end cars, vacation villas and the constant income of residuals pissing and moaning about the economy. Like any of them really sweat over high gas prices, increased prices at the supermarket and increased airfare while they drive around in their $500,000.00 Ferrari or overpriced hybrid sipping their double chai green tea iced mocha latte and jet setting to NY and LA for meetings with directors and their agents to demand more money for their jobs that really only take about four months of "work" out of the year.

[JNagarya]

Interesting, and amazingly extended, STEREOTYPE from a BIGOT criticizing those he doesn't actually know, and doesn't actually know if they fit the stereotype.

Ain't it great to be a morally superior hate-mongering "conservative" BIGOT?

While overlooking the fact that hate is IMMORAL?

[sammy50]

Shut up JN!

You are a dullard.

[yngcelt]

Sure sounds like a lot of hate coming from you JN while you claim to be preaching against HATE. typical liberal hypocrisy. Just stay in line with the other liberal sheep and go drink your moonbat koolaid!

[Melissa]

The show received the lowest ratings ever. Enough said!

[ramal]

Who watches (or cares about) this sort of nonsense anyway?

[progressivelady]

I loved the political zinger's toward's the Right, but they might not have gotten the joke's, funny NO conservitive celebrity's spoke in favor of there old guy and there joke of a veep, celebrity's on the left do a lot for charitie's, AIds, Cancer, Katrina on and on and on, Laura Linney is my new favorite Actress loved her line about community organizer's. made my whole nite

[MoeSart]

"There"s nothing more scary than watching ignorance in action"

That's what I think every time I see the Obama fans on their knees.

[FORLOMC]

I feel so very very sad for you. How horrible it must be to live life so full of hate. I will pray for you.

[jgf654]

"There"s nothing more scary than watching ignorance in action"

I've been scared for the last eight years watching the bush dynasty.

[JNagarya]

MoeSart isn't Moe Smart, that is certain.

The son of the evandegical who founded the anti-abortion "movement" is making fun of, and criticizing, hate-mongering fools such as you. Repeating mindless anti-Americanisms -- which are both, also, anti-moral and anti-Christian -- makes you the problem, not the solution.

That's why you attack persons instead of issues: you haven't the ability to know the difference. But you do the job against yourself anyway: lie by avoiding the issue, and engaging in childish name-calling and personal attack.

You have nothing either constructive or of value to offer -- and hate-America is clearly not to be encouraged.

[walk0nwalls]

Or every time you look in the mirror.

[jukesgrrl]

Good on Tommy Smothers for his comments. It was a pleasure to see him being honored for his long history of speaking truth to power.

[longislandlol]

Laura L. Tom H. and Tom Hanks- and Tom S. all brilliantly reminded us of how low we've sunk--- a nation where excellence = eliticism and the cheerleaders that got a D in Economics can be pRES.

[GiggidyGeshmoygen]

"I want to be done playing this lady (Sarah Palin) Nov. 5," said Tina Fey as she celebrated her "30 Rock" Emmy triple play. "So if anybody can help me be done playing this lady Nov. 5, that would be good for me."

let's all work hard for the next 6 weeks to make sure Tina gets her wish --

that would be good for you, me and everyone in America and around the world --

we need a man of peace and wisdom in the White House --

pray to the one good lord of us all that the criminal Bush doesn't start killing people somewhere new around the last week of October in order to influence and even possibly derail the voting process ---

we don't need another man of war and criminal recklessness stealing another election ...............

[JNagarya]

To hell with the irresponsible, self-disempowering "good lord" nonsense: that's the sort of mindless stupidity that got us to where we are.

Try thinking for yourself for a change, instead of babbling borrowed nonsense.

[walk0nwalls]

Can't speak for other people but I have independently decided that your positions have no legitimacy and I have zero interest in hearing anything Republicans have to say.

That's not borrowed at all.

[RonNYC]

I thought the jokes were pretty tasteless and boring. I was expecting Alec Baldwin to say something when he won.

[ScandalousCandice]

Laura Linney had the best comment of the night. But I thought it was wrong that nearly everyone was taking political swipes and then the guy Tom Hooper who won Best Director for John Adams. He started to go a little political and they cued up the music on him. But I feel like more people should have taken shots. I know a lot of people find it annoying when stars get political. But sometimes it's really warranted.

[lizr]

If not appropriate now as Rome is melting down, not sure when it would be...

[dirtfreak]

Let's not think ABC has become MSNBC just yet. I thought it was a disgrace when Tom Hooper started to mention how the founding fathers of our nation could actually articulate in complete sentences, and ABC cut straight to a commercial! I'd like to hear how he finished his speech.

[JC1c1]

Yes I felt the same way. One I thought that was really rude esp when they allow their hosts to go on and on about nothing. What he had to say was actually interesting, vs the hosts.

Laura Linney also made me laugh when she thanked community service workers across the nation.

I like it when they take the shots. They are Americans just like we are, they have every right to speak thier mind. Not thier fault they get a bigger stage to say it on. Come on most of yall have to admit if you were given the time, place and location and told that you could make fun of Bush, McCain or the economy, and you were also told millions of people would be watching, you would do it.

[johnnyjust]

What's that old saying, opinions are like something or other, everybody's got one?

This show had a lot of 'em.

[ThermoChemist]

The quote: "Opinions are like bu**holes. Everyone has one, most of them stink, and no one wants to hear yours."

Differing opinions should'nt be the thing to be concerned about, but whether or not people can LOGICALLY defend them (logically -- NOT emotionally). Emotional arguments are pointless. The only arguments worth responses are logical ones. Emotions are nothing more than reflexive responses to stimuli/ideas (which may / may not have a logical basis). They are, however, subjective. Logic is pure. It is outside the realm of emotion. It is our only link to rationality.

The "logic" aspect is where I see current Conservative leadership lacking. I often (not always) "see" the points they're trying to make - but then they almost NEVER follow thru to a "logical" conclusion to their point(s). [as to the emotion aspect, the GOP plays on that to a large degree -- specifically fear].

Examples:
1. Bush tells us that 9/11 was supposedly the greatest tragedy to befall the US; yet continually put off the formation of a Committee to investigate this great tragedy. [makes no sense]
2. Instead of concentrating on Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, Bush does a 180 and attacks a country having nothing to do with 9/11.
3. A free market with little, to NO, regulations will take care of itself. [somewhat totally rejecting human greed]
4. IF you vote Democratic, you're told: we WILL get attacked again, your taxes WILL go up, your guns WILL be taken away.

[Russn3]

That's why it's called America.

[Geodesic17]

Actually, it is because of this Amerigo guy from several hundred years back.