Everyone Loves a Comedian...Or Do They?
Unfortunately, TV audiences in the midst of a writers' strike aren't the only ones short on new material these days. So is political comedian Stephen Colbert. In his recent 'knee-slapping,' 'laugh-out-loud-funny' shenanigan, he veered into Robin Williams Man of the Year territory and attempted a mock run for the presidency (in this case only planning to caucus in his home state of South Carolina). Guess Barry Levinson was too busy dealing with union woes to step up and claim piracy.
But seriously folks.. Colbert for President's plot may not get the chance to thicken, as the South Carolina Democratic Party overwhelmingly refused his application last week. It appears that the comedian opted against running as a Republican when he discovered that the registration fee was a drop-in-the-Halliburton-bucket of $35,000 (versus a $2,500 bargain on the Dems' side). But, hey there's always the Independent ticket. Or better yet, that quirky Libertarian Party; they're always good for a laugh (ask Howard Stern, Penn and Teller, or Drew Carey...).
Some of Colbert's fans claim that the faux-run would bring much-needed levity to an otherwise somber endeavor. Democratic hopeful and fellow S.C. native John Edwards seemed to think the stunt would be a hoot, and shared in the joke claiming that Colbert and his Doritos-sponsored campaign were "stained by corporate corruption and nacho cheese." This is after all the era of post-modern pranksterism -- Generation Jackass. Its political branch, by virtue of its subject matter, aims at taking it to a higher-brow level (one might hope). Certainly, in the past Colbert has used his media muscle to make savvy political commentaries like when he delivered a facetious speech in the presence of W. at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner last year.
But, the recent "campy campaign" has arguably not been one of his finer, smarter comedic moments. From a mildly entertaining 'truthiness' to the true political arena, he seems to have overstepped his bounds. And the context, in my humble opinion, wouldn't make for side-splitting one-liners: an unpopular ongoing war, a climate crisis spurring floods, wildfires, hurricanes and tsunamis, and skyrocketing gas prices.
The current mendacious administration has already blurred the lines between truth and fiction to such a degree that it is breeding a whole new generation of mentally unstable conspiracy theorists. If politicians have already made a mockery of the system, then perhaps a joke campaign by Colbert was, not just in bad taste, but superfluous. All SNL appearances and Kucinich UFO jokes aside, maybe, it is time to start taking something as important as who becomes the leader of the free world, just a little bit seriously, lest we, uh, die laughing.
Of course, in times of censorship, government surveillance and the like, comedy, may well be the final frontier of freedom of expression. But as many comedians would agree, timing is everything. Certainly there's a time and a place for political levity.
Well-liked comedians like Bill Maher and Jon Stewart share their bouillabaisse of humor, truth and irony via their TV panel/talk shows and public appearances. And Maher participated in his own parody version of the heartland's Christian' Hell Houses' redeeming L.A.'s so-called heathen lifestyle in the name of innovative Halloween entertainment. Lewis Black did a comedy special, "Red, White and Screwed," for HBO. Conversely, multi-tasking comedian Al Franken has made no joke about his earnest run for U.S. Senator of Minnesota in 2008.
But getting back to the comedy of campaigning, who can forget those Surreal Life Goes to Sacramento would-be governors during the California Recall Election of 2003? The partial roster of hopefuls read like a bad bar joke: a porn star, a pornographer, a sumo wrestler and petite former '80s child star-turned-security-guard walk into a bar.. These sorts of high kitsch antics, intended to provoke a media-blitz, fall more under the category of "inadvertent political comedy," "media circus" and/or "publicity stunt." Of course, sometimes camp humor prevails, as was the case with Italian porn star "Cicciolina," who became a member of the Italian parliament. Great script. Note to casting agent and writer: forget Robin Williams; get Pamela Anderson, cast her as the porn queen and call it Woman of the Year.
Then there is a wing of political comedians who fall under the sub-category of "activist humorists," my personal favorites. These include East Coast duo, The Yes Men (stars of the 2003 documentary film by the same name) who pose as members of the World Trade Organization and the like at conferences and on air where they give over-the-top phony presentations outlining hypocrisies and failed policies. A group of so-called culture jammers who hate the Bush administration, called Billionaires for Bush dress up in posh attire carrying picket signs which read: "Small Government, Big Wars," and "It's A Class War, And We're Winning."
Last but not least, there is the brilliant Sacha Baron Cohen (a.k.a. 'Borat' and 'Ali G.'), practically in a league all his own, who we've seen cleverly interview political officials and others, posing pointed yet idiotic questions, resulting in responses that speak volumes about his subjects.
For my taste, the more sophisticated, poignant and purposeful the joke or ploy, the better the performance. If it makes you think AND it makes you laugh, then it has served a higher purpose. However, if the humor is low-brow, self-serving and unconstructive what's the point? Hee-Haw on The Hill?
In the case of Colbert's fake campaign, we have to ask ourselves whether the punch line is packed with a purpose. His 'character joke' allegedly paints the picture of a right wing candidate with a larger-than-life ego. One wonders if that ego has bled through from Stephen Colbert the character to Stephen Colbert the man. Was his plan to humorously serve the people, exposing some rarely exposed truth, or simply to use the American voters' platform to promote his new book, I am America (And So Can You)? Ultimately, is there really a humorous thinking/talking point in running for president under a fake persona and touting your greatness? Or is that just politics as usual?
Read more thoughts about the strike on Huffington Post's writers' strike opinion page.
Follow Shana Ting Lipton on Twitter: www.twitter.com/hindihollywood
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Shana Ting Lipton: But, the recent "campy campaign" has arguably not been one of his finer, smarter comedic moments. From a mildly entertaining 'truthiness' to the true political arena, he seems to have overstepped his bounds.
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"...has arguably not been one of his finer, smarter comedic moments."?
"...he seems to have overstepped his bounds."??
That's a good example of dorito-cheesy fence sitting language.
If you think he overstepped his bounds, just SAY IT...don't waffle and piffle.
You'd have been one of those who would have (perhaps) questioned Swift for (arguably) overstepping his bound in his MODEST PROPOSAL.
But you wouldn't want to SEEM to dogmatic about your disapproval (I guess).
Here's to having it both ways...may
Well you know the old saying - those who can do - those who can't become pop culture journalists and consultants.
By the way, now that Colbert dropped the campaign we never will know what these brilliant farceur's would have brought to this interminable Presidential campaign and this stifling, disasterous, hated, corrupt administration. Based upon what Colbert and Jon Stewart have done so far we don't have any idea where this might have gone.
We're lucky, we're at a moment in comedy where there are some awesome players out there, masters, Colbert, Stewart, Larry David, Bill Maher, Will Ferrell, Sasha Baron Cohen, Steve Carell, Ricky Gervais plus. Here's a new saying - Everybody knows Show Biz, Everybody knows Politics but everybody doesn't know Comedy - Of course surprise is a big part of comedy, Thank God.
unreal ... the only man in broadcast media to skewer the right wing blowhards like O'Reilly and Rush, the only one who clearly points out how utterly nuts this group is and can be, tries to take this routine on the road to the white house to a) sell more books and b) point out how utterly ridiculous the campaigning process really is and you ask why?
the fact is we need MORE people like Maher, like Stewart, like Olberman and especially like Colbert to remind us, in this frenzied election "clusterf*&%" to the white house that it should be policy, past performance, and an ability to rise above it all and lead that are what qualifies a person to be president - not whether you want to have beer with them, or whether they can out fox the other guy or have more balls or be more hawkish or less feminine or more black or a myriad of other horse shit being shoved down our collective throats by a seemingly brainless media.
If you Ms Lipton are content with the coverage of our current election, then yes, Colbert running for president would seem foolish. However, for anyone hoping to get some truthiness out both candidates and collaborators (most journalists), Colbert's run is more than welcome.
The only thing wrong with Colbert's schtick is it's apparently too subtle for many people. For instance, I haven't heard any comments about his appearance on Jon Stewart's show when he sat, put his feet up, and cracked open a beer.
Does no one get the joke? Remember the lame-brained Bush-shitting press who sold the scam that Bush was "the kinda guy you could have a beer with"?! As if what we need for the "leader of the free world" is a pot-belly, illiterate, beer guzzling sociopath?!
Get it now?!
I must say that I still enjoy Colbert. It was quite transparent that this was a complete stunt to sell more books. And I don't really care that it was his intention. He's a generous guy. (And went to Northwestern University. He is NOT a Game Cock.)
I do agree with your mention of the political satire of the Billionaires for Bush and the Yes Men.
Thanks for a well thought-out and well written commentary.
I love Stephen Colbert but was a little aghast when he announced he was running and was seriously attempting to get on the Dem/Rep/Whatever ticket in South Carolina. I believe you made the point the best when you cited the serious nature of this campaign due to current events which include major catastrophe with dire consequences at every turn. I'm afraid, there may be a time when humor most succomb to more somber thinking.
This election will determine, to a great extent, the future of the world and I, for one, would like to continue to hope that we can save it.
One wonders if that ego has bled through from Stephen Colbert the character to Stephen Colbert the man. Was his plan to humorously serve the people, exposing some rarely exposed truth, or simply to use the American voters' platform to promote his new book, I am America (And So Can You)? Ultimately, is there really a humorous thinking/talking point in running for president under a fake persona and touting your greatness? Or is that just politics as usual?"
I send my condolences for your loss of your sense of humour and truthiness.
Well, as the organizer of a Colbert-Stewart fancon,the move to nominate (or not began a year ago. on the Colboard,the Report's fan board. There already was a base of support.
As for Man of the Year are you so sure the Williams wasn't playing Colbert? He's never mentioned - Jon Stweart is.... Perhaps, the film was riding on the "What If" of a Colbert run? as for character ego filtering into the offstage man, I have had the opportunity to meet Dr. Colbert, and there is a complete differentiation.
As for a waiver? Why? and be forever known as a man who couldn't stomach a strike or support his fellow WGA wroters? That is for the likes of Vince Vauhghn and the cretins at the NY Times
Mock the Vote.
No Contract, No Drama. No Contract, No Joke
I support the WGA
we never got to see the culmination of colbert's campaign. it seems unfair to criticize the entire play when you walked out after the overture.
Geez, why did anyone take Colbert's presidential run seriously? He's selling a book! He's a comedian! Hello, MSM, does anyone in charge have the ability to decipher a stunt from reality? I really despair for this country.
I agree Jimjloehr, Shana doesn't get it. I think she needs to watch more of the show to understand the man behind the man.
"In the case of Colbert's fake campaign, we have to ask ourselves whether the punch line is packed with a purpose"
There was a purpose, absolutely. Steven Colbert lead us, the general public, into the hypocritical and often ridiculous realm of campaign and campaign finance law. Today, who doesn't know that the Republican party charge over 10x more money than the democratic party to let a candidate on the ballot? A fact which speaks volumes about party mentality. And despite the fact that the Democratic party has a much lower entry fee than the Republican party, their "everyman" democratic process is immediatly corrupted by having 13 people be the all-powerful gatemen, deciding who gets on the ballot in a primary. I couldn't have told you any of this before Steven Colberts ran. (And this is just the tip of the iceberg, I now know that a candidate needs to spend over $5,000 in order to have to report campaign financing, I now know that a corporation cannot outright sponsor a presidential campaign, but exactly how easy that is to get around - "Dorito Campaign 'Coverage'", etc..).
Steven Colberts presidentional campaign was a wonderful education tool. Had it continued, I'm sure we would have been exposed to many more ironies and straight out hypocracies of the election process. I'm glad he did it, and I wish he would have had a chance to do more of it.
She's missing several key points:
A TV comedian who's plugging his book and show (with the backing of Viacom, the parent company of Comedy Central) is being taken seriously as a candidate by the rest of the corporate media. Is it getting that boring to listen to candidates other than Hillary? They're tired of censoring Kucinich and Gravel. So now we'll highlight this guy instead?
Instead of using his fame/following to draw attention to how f****d up the system is, what does Colbert do? It's all about money and ratings. Which means that he's no different than any of the politicians. Name one other country in the world than spends over a billion dollars for perpetual political campaigns? But do the two parties give a s**t about this? Of course not. It's such a gravy train for all those concerned why would they? So the standard response to moves to change it is, that's the American way. If you don't like it, go somewhere else.
I've done that. I lived in the U.K. and Japan. In each place there are strict limits on campaigns. And as far as I know their systems still work just fine. But here in the States there's so much profit in it that nobody cares how ridiculous we look to the rest of the world. And I'll never understand that.
I am not so sure you get it. You noted a few things in your piece that can make your argument that Colbert is making the landscape worse that you should note.
How many people knew that they needed to raise so much money just to get the opportunity to get on the ballot and what the disparity is?
How many people actually thought about how absurd their chosen candidate's issues are until they are matched with those of a satirist playing a lunatic?
Hw many people really questioned the validity of the "truth" that they are getting from the media?
How many people were duped into thinking that columnists were more knowledgable about these things until you wrote this piece?
Colbert's run for office isn't the joke. It is a satirical attack on the ridiculous nature of our current system. It is the "sunlight as vaccine" that is needed in today's environment of lunacy.
It seems that we know now who didn't get the joke.
I agree that the donation was good, but I also agree that the campaign really stopped being good funny quite early. My friends and I all felt a sense of loss during the "campaign" because we missed the Word, we missed all the necessary skewering that was not happening while Colbert ranted about his election prospects. So hopefully after the strike we'll get back to some real truthiness.
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