I'm voting republican

homelessmandril

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The irony is that actually WOULD make me vote Republican, simply because anti-Republicanism is now firmly associated (in my mind) with political satire, the laziest form of comedy.
 

B_VinylBoy

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The irony is that actually WOULD make me vote Republican, simply because anti-Republicanism is now firmly associated (in my mind) with political satire, the laziest form of comedy.

Well, we shouldn't have to resort to comedy. Unfortunately, many people don't even bother to listen to anything a politician says anymore without some kind of ridiculous fanfare or public display going on. We can't rely on any news media to release any detailed information on any worthy news story regarding the election. And we sure as hell can't get any politician to stay focused on the issues long enough so that rational thinking, undecided adults can analyze things thoroughly.

Besides, the Republican party does the same thing. Except they turn the comedy into a horror show and shove it down the the throats of Americans as fear mongering (check out The Obama File for more info). So take your pick. Do you want a laugh track or the theme from Psycho playing in your head when you vote in November? Either way, if you're dealing with American Politics you have to deal with the filler along the way.
 

homelessmandril

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Well, we shouldn't have to resort to comedy. Unfortunately, many people don't even bother to listen to anything a politician says anymore without some kind of ridiculous fanfare or public display going on. We can't rely on any news media to release any detailed information on any worthy news story regarding the election. And we sure as hell can't get any politician to stay focused on the issues long enough so that rational thinking, undecided adults can analyze things thoroughly.

You might have a point there. I'm in the UK and I was quite surprised recently to find out that The Daily Show runs on one of our domestic satellite channels.......yet if I flick to CNN we get the weird European sister station!

That said, I did see that interview Jon Stewart did on The O'Reilly Factor where it was suggested to him that he really ought to focus on presenting 'serious' news if he wanted to be politically engaged. Fair point, but I'm yet to be convinced The Daily Show is stealing viewers from the serious-news networks.
 

DC_DEEP

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I especially liked

"because women just can't be trusted to make decisions about their own bodies. Never, ever, ever!"

and

"because I need to be told who I can love..."
"I told you."
"Honey, I need the government to tell me."
"I just need them to tell me how I can best show a lifetime commitment."
 
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mindseye

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The irony is that actually WOULD make me vote Republican, simply because anti-Republicanism is now firmly associated (in my mind) with political satire, the laziest form of comedy.

Well-done satire is hardly lazy: it requires

  • careful observation of the subject being satired. We've all seen poor attempts at satire that were spoiled by a bad impersonation on the part of the satirist.
  • incisive understanding of what penetrates the audience. Anyone can get on stage and perform Bush the buffoon. Fish in a barrel; preaching to the choir. Good satire requires finding a deeper truism that the audience will connect with.
  • good timing. Nobody does Dukakis parodies anymore.
To suggest that political satire as a genre is "lazy" reflects a lack of understanding; to suggest that it's the "laziest" form of comedy, a profound lack.

Then again, anyone who'd cast a vote based on a YouTube video has deeper issues than their ability to assess comedy.
 

homelessmandril

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Well-done satire is hardly lazy: it requires

  • careful observation of the subject being satired. We've all seen poor attempts at satire that were spoiled by a bad impersonation on the part of the satirist.
  • incisive understanding of what penetrates the audience. Anyone can get on stage and perform Bush the buffoon. Fish in a barrel; preaching to the choir. Good satire requires finding a deeper truism that the audience will connect with.
  • good timing. Nobody does Dukakis parodies anymore.
To suggest that political satire as a genre is "lazy" reflects a lack of understanding; to suggest that it's the "laziest" form of comedy, a profound lack.

Then again, anyone who'd cast a vote based on a YouTube video has deeper issues than their ability to assess comedy.


hurrah, some antagonism at last!

An excellent summary of the fundamental principles of satire. Or, as you say, GOOD satire. I think that more or less sums up my opinion on this video. No offence DC_Deep, that's just my taste.

It is, after all, very easy to come up with a list of things you don't like about political party X, then get some actors to tell the camera how much they like those things. And yet a lot of people seem to like the video. That's why political satire is a lazy genre, because you can get a laugh with consummate ease. I don't mean, of course, to say that all political satire is rubbish: I do like for example that essay by Jonathan Swift where he suggests cannibalising babies as a solution to Ireland's famine. That's rather imaginative, I think, and therefore good. So there's my view of things.

but I didn't say I would cast a vote based on a youtube video. I would never say that......but I might think it......



PS incidentally i like your signature thing about fabric, that's GOOD satire.
 
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B_VinylBoy

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You might have a point there. I'm in the UK and I was quite surprised recently to find out that The Daily Show runs on one of our domestic satellite channels.......yet if I flick to CNN we get the weird European sister station!

That said, I did see that interview Jon Stewart did on The O'Reilly Factor where it was suggested to him that he really ought to focus on presenting 'serious' news if he wanted to be politically engaged. Fair point, but I'm yet to be convinced The Daily Show is stealing viewers from the serious-news networks.

You'd be surprised. The Daily Show is definitely "fake news", but the information they cover is very real. There wouldn't be a show if we had people in the spotlight that didn't do or say anything foolish to begin with. As for the laughter and the satire, sometimes I feel it's needed in order for us to deal with how screwed up things are.
 

DC_DEEP

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An excellent summary of the fundamental principles of satire. Or, as you say, GOOD satire. I think that more or less sums up my opinion on this video. No offence DC_Deep, that's just my taste.
No offense taken. But for those of us who live here, and are experiencing this particular political party first-hand, the points made actually are not lazy. They are very real. And for many of us, that actually makes it a pretty good satire.
 

homelessmandril

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You'd be surprised. The Daily Show is definitely "fake news", but the information they cover is very real. There wouldn't be a show if we had people in the spotlight that didn't do or say anything foolish to begin with. As for the laughter and the satire, sometimes I feel it's needed in order for us to deal with how screwed up things are.

oh yeah i realise they speak the truth, i'm a big fan of the show, it just serves to underline the point in question that The Daily Show is the most prominent 'news' programme from the US that we can get here (actually I'm lying, we do have CNBC, but it's buried between Bloomberg and the documentary channels somewhere). For a UK angle, did you know one of the BBC 'entertainment' channels has a stopwatch in the corner of the screen counting down to the end of the news bulletin? It makes me picture people across the country sitting there in a cold sweat counting down the seconds till the Jonathan Ross programme recommences....

Then I start feeling it's a bit hubristic to demand that everyone take an interest in current affairs. The BBC itself seems to be caught between a tendency towards populism, borne largely out of fear of falling back into the patrician attitudes of yesteryear, and a well-intentioned desire to keep everyone informed. Is it really a civic obligation to be politically aware?
 
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deleted3782

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Ya know...they do have a point...the sometimes the Constitution is just one big inconvenient big headache.

...and besides all other countries are inferior to us! :AR15firing:
 

No_Strings

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I like chain superstores over neighbourhood ones. I don't think there's anything wrong with classes of 30 students. Genetically modified food is a good thing. The constitution is an inconvenient headache. I'd like the world to be run by one big corporation, too.

And all this time I thought I would be a Dem! Hmmph!



On the subject of satire: Just like sarcasm, subtlety is the key - if you don't realise it's satire, then it's good satire. Fun video. :biggrin: