Lee Siegel (a television critic for The New Republic) had some rather "interesting" things to say about Jon Stewart. His rant is sort of towards all comedians that have are attacking politicians while standing from a specific view point. Lee contends that comedians should just rip apart public figures but express no political views themselfs. To quote him: The marriage of comedy and politics is even more unhealthy than the marriage of church and state.
He goes on to say: Laughter is the essence of individuality. Sobs sound alike, so do moans of pleasure and pain, so do terrified screams; but each person has his or her own laugh. A horror of individuation is why Stalin asked a group of Polish communists how Comrade Z was, and when they stared at the ground in silence, he burst into laughter because he and they knew that he had had Comrade Z killed a few days before; it is why the Uruguayan junta called the prison where it tortured and killed suspected leftists Libertad--those were instances of politics pursuing and catching laughter, and then having the Last--the eschatologically last--Laugh. Politics hates the naked unbridled ego that laughter sets free; it hates it with the intensity with which laughter heaps its furies on the naked unbridled ego that hides behind the highflown sentiments of politics. When American presidential candidates make the by-now obligatory pilgrimage to the late-night comedy shows, and grovel, and pander, and even humiliate themselves, it's not just because they want to reassure some anxious voters that, in this particular case, they shouldn't worry about feeling diminished by a leader who is dignified, intelligent, and true to his or her individual self. It's also because they've sensed that the comedians have put laughter in the service of highflown sentiments and gotten it under control. I'm not really sure what he is saying here, but it is clear that he wants up to equate Jon Stewart with Stalin.
Posted by pqbon at April 12, 2004 6:46 PM | TrackBack