For this week’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt, Linda G. Hill has challenged us to respond with the word “joke.”
Late night talk show hosts and stand-up comedians are not politicians, heads-of-state, captains of industry and commerce, or religious leaders. They’re friggin’ comedians. They try to make their audiences laugh a lot — and squirm a little. One of the greatest stand-up comedians of all time, George Carlin, said, “I think it’s the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately.”
Comedy, by definition, is meant to be somewhat controversial. The reality is that, for as long as there has been comedy, there has been “offensive” comedy (i.e., comedy that may offend some people).
Although not stand-up comics, humorists, philosophers, and writers like Mark Twain, Will Rogers, and H.L. Mencken were often biting in their witty social and political commentaries. In the Fifties and Sixties, political and social satire worked its way into small folk music and comedy clubs, where comedians like Mort Sahl and Lenny Bruce expanded both the language and boundaries of stand-up.
Today, it’s the comic talents of people like Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Jon Stewart, and John Oliver who are using political satire to speak truth to power. But power these days (e.g., Donald Trump) is so thin-skinned and insecure that he can’t take a joke where he happens to be the punchline. And then he uses his power, influence, and vindictiveness to get them fired. Kimmel’s show was pulled off the air for a week and Colbert’s show is ending next May.
If Trump had his way, any joke about him would result in jail time for the jokester. He has openly criticized late-night hosts and networks, using both social media and his administration to call for the cancellation or regulation of shows critical of him. He has made statements suggesting that late-night programming that criticizes him should face license revocation and further regulatory scrutiny.
Despite political and regulatory pressures, prominent hosts like Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and Jimmy Kimmel have made it clear through on-air commentary and guest appearances that they are unwilling to back down from political satire. There is a spirit of solidarity within the industry to defend free speech and resist overt political influence.
Trump’s war against political satire that is aimed at him is not funny. He may ultimately be successful at shutting down late-night comedy shows that have existed and made jokes about those in power from both parties for decades. But political satire and the impulse to lampoon those in power is likely to persist in new and evolving formats regardless of Trump’s efforts to shut them down.
America, just because Donald Trump can’t take a joke doesn’t mean that we need to give up our collective sense of humor and shy away from good political satire.
The main character in “Veep” was Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), a fictional Vice President of the United States. The series follows the personal life and political career of Meyer. Her party affiliation is never discussed, although it is hinted in the fourth season finale that it was Democratic. After Meyer was elected Vice President, her staff, upon whom she was almost totally reliant, includes chief of staff Amy Brookheimer (Anna Chlumsky), director of communications Mike McLintock (Matt Walsh), deputy director of communications Dan Egan (Reid Scott), body man Gary Walsh (Tony Hale), and personal secretary Sue Wilson (Sufe Bradshaw). Later additions to her team as president include White House Chief of Staff Ben Cafferty (Kevin Dunn) and political strategist Kent Davison (Gary Cole). Jonah Ryan (Timothy Simons), initially a White House liaison to the Vice President’s office and later a New Hampshire congressman, also features prominently.
It’s time for another installment of PCGuy’s 
As far as I’m concerned, it is the funniest movie ever. It is terribly clever and it always makes me laugh out loud whenever I see it, which is often.
This next film is one I consider to be in two genres: powerful dramas and psychological thrillers. There are so many movies in these two genres to choose from, but I’m going to select one that I consider to be the classic neo-noir psychological thriller and that I thought was ingeniously crafted. “Memento” was presented in reverse chronological order based upon the story of a man with short-term memory loss who attempts to track down his wife’s murderer. I had to watch it two or three times to see how brilliantly it was put together.
Anyone else care to join in the fun? What three movies best reflect your taste in movies?
Yes, our Cheerless Leader apparently feels that satirical comedy, especially when it satirizes him, is unfair and should not be legal.
Donald Trump has managed to make both the Republican majority in Congress and the swamp creatures he calls his Cabinet members complicit in his mission to undermine everything the United States has stood for since the Declaration of Independence was signed 242 years ago.
Facts, Fictions & Fantasies 