I appreciate this article, Dok, because it's circling around the thing that brought us to this poisonous moment. I'm 75, and I remember when "National Lampoon" started publishing. Because men laughed at it, its pedophilia, its animal cruelty, its inhumanity to man, it grew. It was stupid but it grew. And it led to "Animal House" and "SNL" and any number of "comedians" whose central joke was "ain't we stupid?!" So the left has to share blame for the lionization of stupid, and the jokes made by Donald Trump's supporters are disturbing echoes of "National Lampoon". I don't know what the option would have been or how exactly cultural history horse-shoed itself into this permutation; I just want to point out that it happened and is still happening.
John Stewart has been reminding me more and more lately of that cartoon dog sitting in a room that's on fire, saying, "This is fine".
It's like he doesn't seem to really understand how deeply dangerous this moment in history is and still keeps trying to poke both sides as if they were equal. I used to be an ardent fan of his. But now I am finding him increasingly hard to watch; especially when he makes lame excuses for a hate monger in comics' clothing while giggling at flagrantly bigoted smears as if he were a seven year-old laughing at the sound of a fart.
He reduced his appearances to just Mondays since he returned. As far as I'm concerned, he can reduce them down to zero.
If the argument is that he was a roast comedian doing what a roast comedian does, he should have roasted the Guest of Honor of the event, as it always is.
Yeah, to borrow Carlin's line about, what? Politicians, journalists, billionaires? Eh, doesn't matter really: "there's a club, and you're not in it" applies to comedians too. There's an unwritten code of "hey, I'm just tellin' jokes here" that is supported by every person who gets paid to stand in front of a brick wall and force peopele to laugh. Rape jokes are the traditional litmus test. There's a whole genre of being deliberately over-the-top offensive for laughs, but there's a little craft involved in making it funny. That guy was sent out there to push buttons, not get laughs, and that's what he did. Stewart giving him props was not just immoral, it was unprofessional. The guy sucked at being a comedian that night. A guy like Dennis Miller can be morally offensive but (occasionally) funny, though lacking the self-denegration that all offensive comics use as a shield, like Don Rickle's little speech at the end of every show where he explained they're all jokes and he loves everybody.
The "roast" started out, kids, as a private event at a men's club in NYC called The Friars Club, limited to professional comedians mostly, show biz people at the top. They'd honor one of their own at a dinner where they took turns insulting him for laughs. I think it was Dean Martin who institutionalized it for the public as a regular TV show when he got tired of doing a variety show. The context of close friends who knew each other intimately and shared a worldview got stripped away, and it became famous people gently insulting each other. If you're not famous, you amp it up to get attention, and because its a "roast" and you're the famous target, you're supposed to grin and bear it. You don't "roast" nations or ethnic groups, you insult them to get the crowd worked up.
Jon Stewart's coy thing where he pretends to crack up at his own hilarity has gotten so strained and so drawn out that it is revolting narcissism, and his refusal to be humorously partisan when America is on the brink of lethal self-harming has been ... I don't know the word. He should just watch what Jimmy Kimmel has been doing in his monolog, and hang up his own self-adoring smirk.
I haven't read through all the non-comments yet so pardon me if this was already said. The fact that Beyonce, a notoriously private person who often lets her music speak for itself instead of doing interviews and stuff, came out and spoke in Houston is really a BFD. Bigger than if she sang "Freedom" since she doesn't really do stuff like this often.
I watched that clip the other day while waiting for Colbert's monologue, and had the same reaction. When Jon was giggling at the clip, and then said he found Hinchcliffe very funny, I'm like, yeah I remember why I stopped watching Stewart.
That said, he did have a few really good words at the end for those people who are ok with the horrible deportation bullshit.
The thing about Hinchcliffe is this. I think he sucks as a comedian. He's so not funny and the clips they showed on The Daily Show did not make me laugh. I don't understand why he gets bookings on roasts. The difference is, when he is at a roast, he is roasting a single person to their face who signed up to be on stage with him.
It's a lot different than standing in front of the American public and denigrating multiple populations who did not ask to be "roasted".
Jordan Klepper on MSNBC also said that Hinchcliffe was just doing what Hinchcliffe does, and it was the stupidity of booking him at such an event that is noteworthy.
But what everyone should concentrate on is that after four days, the proven rapist and hater of the American military still hasn't come out against what Hinchcliffe said. He hasn't even thrown any paper towels at him.
I'm so tired of 'comedians' defending other 'comedians'.
It's just juvenile, selfish, bros before hoes nonsense.
If someone punches down and just throws insults, they are not a comedian, they are just an asshole.
There are so many jokes (even bigoted ones!) that actually are jokes and are funny. Like some of those 3 types of people walk into a bar jokes.
Calling Puerto Ricans garbages isn't a joke, just like me yelling "you suck and are ugly!" at someone isn't a joke either. It's just an insult.
I appreciate this article, Dok, because it's circling around the thing that brought us to this poisonous moment. I'm 75, and I remember when "National Lampoon" started publishing. Because men laughed at it, its pedophilia, its animal cruelty, its inhumanity to man, it grew. It was stupid but it grew. And it led to "Animal House" and "SNL" and any number of "comedians" whose central joke was "ain't we stupid?!" So the left has to share blame for the lionization of stupid, and the jokes made by Donald Trump's supporters are disturbing echoes of "National Lampoon". I don't know what the option would have been or how exactly cultural history horse-shoed itself into this permutation; I just want to point out that it happened and is still happening.
idk man. if half of the article is at odds with the headline maybe don't publish it?
I'm sorry Jon Stewart is still shit but I'm glad to hear that my judgment is sound in refusing to watch any clip of the Daily Show with him in it.
John Stewart has been reminding me more and more lately of that cartoon dog sitting in a room that's on fire, saying, "This is fine".
It's like he doesn't seem to really understand how deeply dangerous this moment in history is and still keeps trying to poke both sides as if they were equal. I used to be an ardent fan of his. But now I am finding him increasingly hard to watch; especially when he makes lame excuses for a hate monger in comics' clothing while giggling at flagrantly bigoted smears as if he were a seven year-old laughing at the sound of a fart.
He reduced his appearances to just Mondays since he returned. As far as I'm concerned, he can reduce them down to zero.
Ta, Dok.
The joke might almost have been funny if it went more like, "It's where all the human garbage winds up. It's called Grand Cayman..."
Almost.
'Utter trash:' Jon Stewart is under fire for defending Tony Hinchcliffe | The Mary Sue
https://www.themarysue.com/utter-trash-jon-stewart-is-under-fire-for-defending-tony-hinchcliffe/
If the argument is that he was a roast comedian doing what a roast comedian does, he should have roasted the Guest of Honor of the event, as it always is.
In this case, Donald J. Chump.
Related thing I read earlier today: https://substack.com/home/post/p-150894138?selection=42f38066-b9a8-4e68-b61a-7c33c55c0efc#:~:text=It%E2%80%99s%20disingenuous%20to%20claim%20that%20Hinchcliffe%20was%20%E2%80%9Croasting%E2%80%9D%20Puerto%20Ricans%2C%20Jews%2C%20and%20Black%20people
Yeah, to borrow Carlin's line about, what? Politicians, journalists, billionaires? Eh, doesn't matter really: "there's a club, and you're not in it" applies to comedians too. There's an unwritten code of "hey, I'm just tellin' jokes here" that is supported by every person who gets paid to stand in front of a brick wall and force peopele to laugh. Rape jokes are the traditional litmus test. There's a whole genre of being deliberately over-the-top offensive for laughs, but there's a little craft involved in making it funny. That guy was sent out there to push buttons, not get laughs, and that's what he did. Stewart giving him props was not just immoral, it was unprofessional. The guy sucked at being a comedian that night. A guy like Dennis Miller can be morally offensive but (occasionally) funny, though lacking the self-denegration that all offensive comics use as a shield, like Don Rickle's little speech at the end of every show where he explained they're all jokes and he loves everybody.
The "roast" started out, kids, as a private event at a men's club in NYC called The Friars Club, limited to professional comedians mostly, show biz people at the top. They'd honor one of their own at a dinner where they took turns insulting him for laughs. I think it was Dean Martin who institutionalized it for the public as a regular TV show when he got tired of doing a variety show. The context of close friends who knew each other intimately and shared a worldview got stripped away, and it became famous people gently insulting each other. If you're not famous, you amp it up to get attention, and because its a "roast" and you're the famous target, you're supposed to grin and bear it. You don't "roast" nations or ethnic groups, you insult them to get the crowd worked up.
Jon Stewart's coy thing where he pretends to crack up at his own hilarity has gotten so strained and so drawn out that it is revolting narcissism, and his refusal to be humorously partisan when America is on the brink of lethal self-harming has been ... I don't know the word. He should just watch what Jimmy Kimmel has been doing in his monolog, and hang up his own self-adoring smirk.
I haven't read through all the non-comments yet so pardon me if this was already said. The fact that Beyonce, a notoriously private person who often lets her music speak for itself instead of doing interviews and stuff, came out and spoke in Houston is really a BFD. Bigger than if she sang "Freedom" since she doesn't really do stuff like this often.
I watched that clip the other day while waiting for Colbert's monologue, and had the same reaction. When Jon was giggling at the clip, and then said he found Hinchcliffe very funny, I'm like, yeah I remember why I stopped watching Stewart.
That said, he did have a few really good words at the end for those people who are ok with the horrible deportation bullshit.
The thing about Hinchcliffe is this. I think he sucks as a comedian. He's so not funny and the clips they showed on The Daily Show did not make me laugh. I don't understand why he gets bookings on roasts. The difference is, when he is at a roast, he is roasting a single person to their face who signed up to be on stage with him.
It's a lot different than standing in front of the American public and denigrating multiple populations who did not ask to be "roasted".
Jordan Klepper on MSNBC also said that Hinchcliffe was just doing what Hinchcliffe does, and it was the stupidity of booking him at such an event that is noteworthy.
But what everyone should concentrate on is that after four days, the proven rapist and hater of the American military still hasn't come out against what Hinchcliffe said. He hasn't even thrown any paper towels at him.