[lit-ideas] Re: Hitler/Stalin - Stewart/Colbert Tag Team
- From: "Mike Geary" <atlas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:55:50 -0500
The problem is more than political. It's the reinforcement of nihilism, of
irony-as-worldview with no positive counterargument.
How is it nihilism??? I'd say they exact opposite. Irony is positive, it
sees the way. Preaches it backhandedly. Rhetoric need not be preachy.
Comedy Central's main demographic audience, unlike Veronica, has no
understanding of any social, political, or economic issues.
I agree with Robert Paul. The audiences of Stewart and Colbert have to be
familiar with the issues to discern the humor in their presentation. Why
Eric assumes the audiences are stupid escapes me.
The conservative gasbags rely on outright verbal persuasion.
Interesting take on the gasbags and their audience. I'm of the opinion that
no one listens to the gasbags who isn't already chained to their opinions.
There's no persuasion, just shouts of Amen! As you should well know by now,
I'm a thorough going believer in prejudice. None of us believes what we
believe through reasoned discourse, but only through what our parents taught
us and if we loved our parents we know that's the truth, if not, we find
some other dogma to spite them. I sound a bit like Irene here, I know.
TV politicomedy disguised as news, on the other hand, bypasses the
critical faculties. A good joke, even if laden with faulty argument and
slander, is accepted as entertainment.
"Disguised as news?" Do you honestly think that the Colbert and Stewart
audiences are taken in, not knowing that the shows are satire??? Wow!
ironic nihilism only plays in favor of the ruling elite, whatever their
politics or agenda for the rest of us.
This statement completely eludes me. If anything ironic nihilism would
favor anarchism, never the ruling elite.
Well, that's my take on it anyway,
Mike Geary
Memphis
where politics is way beyond irony
----- Original Message -----
From: "Eric Yost" <mr.eric.yost@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, August 16, 2009 3:39 PM
Subject: [lit-ideas] Hitler/Stalin - Stewart/Colbert Tag Team
"Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert"
A few friends also rely on Comedy Central for news. I don't know what to
say to them about it, so I change the subject when those guys come up.
Here, I can vent.
Can't anyone see that something is terribly wrong with the popularity of
Stewart and Colbert? Maybe imagining them as right-wing comics would help.
Maybe not. The problem is more than political. It's the reinforcement of
nihilism, of irony-as-worldview with no positive counterargument.
Comedy Central's main demographic audience, unlike Veronica, has no
understanding of any social, political, or economic issues. Instead they
receive biases wrapped in jokes. The indoctrination is subliminal. Comedy
substituting for reading.
What about Limbaugh and the rest of the talk radio people? The
conservative gasbags rely on outright verbal persuasion. A listener can
accept or reject faulty arguments and slander using the critical thought
available to them. It's in-your-face politics, take it or leave it.
TV politicomedy disguised as news, on the other hand, bypasses the
critical faculties. A good joke, even if laden with faulty argument and
slander, is accepted as entertainment. Goes straight to the funny bone.
"It's just a joke. Lighten up." Hitler/Stalin could only dream about such
plausible deniability; lacking it, they had their secret police and prison
networks.
Sure I'm making too much of it ("It's just a joke. Lighten up.") but
ironic nihilism only plays in favor of the ruling elite, whatever their
politics or agenda for the rest of us.
Off my rocker,
Bonzo
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