At the end of a class today on Democracy, the students and I were discussing the value of fiction in understanding politics. One objection was that fictional characters are too exaggerated and simplistic and distract from overall message. Thankfully, reality is more imaginative than fiction:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Chuck Grassley’s Debt and Deficit Dragon | ||||
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August 9, 2009 at 7:39 pm
Although often hilarious, I generally shy away from the Daily Show… or, ahem, I watch it but try to exclude myself from the liberal Jon Stewart worship that goes on. I, too, saw this absurdly ridiculous clip about the “Deficit Dragon” and wanted to vomit. But in the midst of my laughter I was reminded of Zizek’s critical words of political comedy and satire: we don’t just watch the Daily Show, we enjoy it. But what is at the root of our enjoyment?–a surrogacy or sorts. The Daily Show stands for and relays our frustration so we don’t have to. We can watch, laugh, and feel as though we have done our duty. There is a danger there.
August 13, 2009 at 12:01 am
Yes, and Colbert: from détournement (2006 White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner) to recuperation (Broadcasting from Camp Victory, Baghdad, Iraq, June 2008) in two years flat.