Praise And Criticism Of Colbert’s Satire Continue To Pour In
It has been several days now since his high-profile comedy gig at the White House Correspondent dinner but the hills are alive with the sound of talk about Stephen Colbert’s performance.
Did he step out of line and by implication is that a no-no in today’s Washington D.C? Must satire to a certain degree now be deferential? Did his satirical target President George Bush just sit there displeased or was Bush actually close to exploding? Should people send Colbert a message (whether they support him or not)?
And the overriding question is: Colbert was hired by somebody. He isn’t an unknown show business/comedy entity. What did they expect? That he’d do his act reading recycled jokes from Milton Berle’s Private Jokefile?
The New York Times enlightens us on that one:
Mark Smith, a reporter for The Associated Press who is president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, acknowledges that he had not seen much of Stephen Colbert on Comedy Central before he booked him as the main entertainment for the association’s annual black-tie dinner on Saturday night. But he says he knew enough about Mr. Colbert — “He not only skewers politicians, he skewers those of us in the media” — to expect that he would cause some good-natured discomfort among the 2,600 guests, many of them politicians and reporters.What Mr. Smith did not anticipate, he said, was that Mr. Colbert’s nearly 20-minute address would become one of the most hotly debated topics in the politically charged blogosphere. Mr. Colbert delivered his remarks in character as the Bill O’Reillyesque commentator he plays on “The Colbert Report,” although this time his principal foil, President Bush, was just a few feet away.
“There was nothing he said where I would have leapt up to say, ‘Stop,’ ” said Mr. Smith, who introduced Mr. Colbert and sat near him on the dais. “I thought he was very funny,” Mr. Smith added, though there was hardly consensus on that point yesterday.
As we’ve said in a previous post, Colbert’s well-known specialty is irony-heavy humor that came into the show business mainstream most notably with the advent of Saturday Night Live and David Letterman. It assumes shared assumptions on the part of the audience. And while some in the audience shared Colbert’s assumptions it was clear some didn’t and although some others may have as well, their sense of public proprietary (it it seemly for us to laugh at this in public?) could have been in play as well. So many people on the right insisted Colbert bombed; many on the left said he was a genius.
Fans have been vocal, sending thank yous to Colbert (more than 32,000 so far) through this website.
And the non-fans? Some talk to reporters:
Mary Matalin, a Republican who has served the Bush White House as assistant to the president and counselor to the vice president, had a different take.“This was predictable, Bush-bashing kind of humor,” Ms. Matalin, who was there, said in an interview. Of Mr. Colbert, she said, “Because he is who he is, and everyone likes him, I think this room thought he was going to be more sophisticated and creative.”
Others let their feelings be known to associates — who could then talk to reporters. Note this about one GOPer whose initials are GWB in U.S. News:
Comedy Central star Stephen Colbert’s biting routine at the White House Correspondents Association dinner won a rare silent protest from Bush aides and supporters Saturday when several independently left before he finished.“Colbert crossed the line,” said one top Bush aide, who rushed out of the hotel as soon as Colbert finished. Another said that the president was visibly angered by the sharp lines that kept coming.
“I’ve been there before, and I can see that he is [angry],” said a former top aide. “He’s got that look that he’s ready to blow.”
Colbert’s routine was similar to what he does on his show, the Colbert Report, but much longer on the topic of Bush, suggesting that the president is out of touch with reality. Aides and reporters, however, said that it did not overshadow Bush’s own funny routine, which featured an impersonator who told the audience what Bush was thinking when he spoke dull speech lines.
Colbert got slammed by a prominent Democrat, The Hill reports:
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) took on a rare role yesterday as a defender of President Bush.Hoyer came to the defense of the commander in chief after Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, where the president took a drubbing from comedian Stephen Colbert.
“I thought some of it was funny, but I think it got a little rough,� Hoyer said. “He is the president of the United States, and he deserves some respect.�
“I’m certainly not a defender of the administration,� Hoyer reassured stunned observers, but Colbert “crossed the line� with many jokes that were “in bad taste.�
Question: does Hoyer ever listen to hugely popular satire group The Capitol Steps? Some of their brilliant song parodies are as pointed (or moreso) than Colbert’s performance. Did politicos and partisans call it too disrespectful when the group they did their hilarious Clinton song “I’m Unzippin My Doo Dah” song during his presidency?
To many in the GOP, Colbert is a symbol of show business types just not getting it. To many Democrats, he’s a profile in courage. The blog Americablog has even urged its readers to contact Hoyer’s office and protest his suggestion that Colbert went too far.
Meanwhile, Colbert won praise from his former boss — also a known practitioner of irony humor:
Probably to no one’s surprise, Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central’s “Daily Show,” hailed the performance of his stablemate Stephen Colbert at Saturday night’s White House Correspondents dinner. Colbert’s lampooning of the president and the press has generated a good deal of praise and criticism.“It was balls-alicious,” Stewart said. “Apparently he was under the impression that they’d hired him to do what he does every night on television” — that is, make fun of conservatives, public officials, and the press in the guise of an O’Reillyesque talk show host.
“We’ve never been prouder of him, but HOLY —-,” Stewart added.
He also described the annual dinner as “where the President and the press corps consummate their loveless marriage.”
On his own show, the report goes on to say, Colbert told viewers that since the room was filled with power players he fit right in:
“Best of all, I got to meet my main man, President Bush,” he said, and even had a chance to shake his hand. “He has very soft hands,” Colbert revealed, “which was surprising. He must wear gloves when he is clearing brush.”
Colbert made fun of his mixed reception at the dinner, re-running the tape of one of his jokes with the audience barely reacting. He described this as “very respectful silence,” and said that actually the crowd loved him.
“They practically carried me out on their shoulders,” he said, “even though I wasn’t ready to go.”
So did Colbert “not get it?” Actually, it still seems a case of part of the audience not “getting it” (the style of comedy) and resentful because in terms of content Bush and the administration “got it.” In other words: the right and the left now have a new poster boy for (you fill in your own catchphrase). And Colbert will probably note an increase in his ratings…as the clip of his appearance gets played over and over on the Internet and becomes part of 21st Century America’s polarized political culture.
MANY WEBLOGS ARE STILL WRITING ABOUT COLBERT. HERE ARE A FEW OF THEM (read trackbacks on this post for more opinions):
The Queen of All Evil, Just One Minute, Ann Althouse, PSoTD,
22 Responses to “Praise And Criticism Of Colbert’s Satire Continue To Pour In”
I talked with some fans of a local radio show about this earlier – one point came to mind. The more this gets discussed in these sort of venues, the less it becomes about his actual acting job.
It’s becoming increasingly harder to parse the partisan opinion out of how well he -actually- did.
I watched it on C-SPAN, and I admit, I thought it was funny – not for its content, necessarily, but the character and delivery method that I enjoy so much on The Colbert Report.
Also, it’s not wrong to be red or blue – but please learn that it’s okay to make fun of yourself. It’s the same spirit of infallibility that makes a lot of people fight each other for very, very stupid reasons.
Good run-down Joe and I thought you’re conclusion was particularly apt. Having viewed the piece again I still think Colbert used the perfect set-up for his real audience who “get it”. The fact that many in the crowd – and in the media – didn’t “get it” is half the joke (and tragedy in some cases).
I am fairly well known as an overall Bush supporter on this site, but even I have to say for those who are miffed to get over it.
Political humor is supposed to be uncomfortable, especially for those in power. It was a very funny, pointed routine, and if it make you feel uncomfortable, then perhaps it is making you admit areas you are uncomfortable about wiht Bush himself.
I found it to be good, tough, but very fair satire. And I cannot believe that ‘they didn’t know what to expect’. Pluease!
Although I’m generally a Bush supporter, I thought Colbert’s satire was brilliant and funny. You don’t have to agree with his assumptions (I don’t agree with most of them) to appreciate his wit. All the vapid chatter about Colbert “exposing the Truth” confuses satire for evidence.
A head’s up at Bloggedygook, Joe, which has a Colbert post that’s stirred around 150 comments.
Joe- Bloggedygook has a Colbert post that’s stirred up around 150 comments.
Colbert only did what many in the MSM should have been doing all along. Except, of course, if those in the MSM had been doing so, they’d not be part of the press anymore. They’ve been running scared and afraid to tell the truth.
Now, all we have to do is take bets or odds on how long Colbert keeps his show on Comedy Central. I’d say this will be his last season. Or, at the very least, he’ll have the IRS on his ass before CS is forced to cancel his show. You watch. That’s what will happen.
Colbert plays a character….dont these people get that?
I think Colbert is becoming this decade’s Swift. And his performance was painfully hilarious, which is the best kind of satire.
I linked to that post on Bloggedygook in my original roundup. It’s a great post (if you haven’t seen it go to my first post on Colbert and you’ll see I had it as a MUST READ)
“if it makes you feel uncomfortable, then perhaps it is making you admit areas you are uncomfortable about with Bush himself. ”
Austin, I do believe you have hit the nail on the head. Yes his supporters are very uncomfterble with Bush, because he is an unmitigated disaster and it can’t be hidden anymore. Colbert just pulled the curtain back on how it’s been spun, and hidden by the administration, and the lap dog press, so they both got upset. Well boo friggen hoo for their poor wittle ego’s.
This is a painful period for Bush and for Americans, as 2/3 think his presidency has been a failure. Colbert’s routine was too close to the unfortunate and inconvenient truth,that is reality, which may not be that funny right now. Courageous, honest, yes but funny,no. Its like pulling off a bandaid, and revealing a large ugly scar. It may not have been the correct place or time, but it did take guts, so I applaud him (Colbert not Bush).
Just hope that the right doesn’t organize some kind of O’Reilly style boycott, as I love The Colbert Report.
Whether he was “funny” or not is a non-issue and matter of opinion. Either way, someone standing up at a podium and saying what Colbert said in front of the president is news (if soft news). I think the media is attempting to turn the whole thing into a debate centered on “funniness” as a means to distract us from their initial non-coverage of the story, which still seems strange. If he did bomb (again, opinion) that’s even more interesting to people who weren’t there.
Personally, I think what Colbert did was courageous. Not in the “political dissident” way because (as often noted) he couldn’t be in any less danger, but rather like Gilbert Gottfreid (sp?) in The Aristocrats. Pure chutzpah.
Please, can people stop talking about those at the dinner ‘not getting it’. Everyone got it, hence the silence.
Joe, sorry I missed your first reference to bloggedlygook. I subsequently double posted after that. A miserable performance, two errors in an inning. Sorry, dude.
You’re suggesting that no one has ever not gotten a joke? People often don’t like a joke or they don’t get a joke. Irony as practiced in the age ushered in by Saturday Night Live is always more risky to perform because as I said in earlier posts it works best if there are shared assumptions between an audience and the performer. In this case, he had a diverse audience. Yet,
it is not universally said that he “bombed.” That phrase is being used more by people who did not like the CONTENT. Don Imus said to have bombed 10 years ago in his routine with Bill Clinton. ONe of my FAVORITE comedians is David Letterman; his use of irony when he hosted the Oscarcast clearly bombed. The audience apparently did not feel it fit the way they perceive that event and the way audience members should be addressed (“Uma…Oprah.”). If you watch it, also, he didn’t perform before total silence at all, either. What’s happening is that people who agree with him politically after often framing this one way and those who don’t agree with him are framing it another. Re-watch it on You Tube or Crooks and Liars. He got some solid laughs but either didn’t have with him or alienated by his content part of the audience. Actually, as a performer I can tell you that any kind of customized roast of a guest of honor can be risky. In the end, Colbert survived, angered some who didn’t like his content and probably gained a whole bunch of new viewers who didn’t know much about him but will want to watch him in the future.
Complaining about Colbert’s spot on performance is like complaining that Don Rickles was insulting everybody. That is his schtick. Deal with it and shut the fuck up!
Bloggedygook is indeed gook. Colbert is not humorless, though he is more than humorous. The video of his White House Correspondents Dinner performance had disappeared at the first 6 links I tried to load… This is devastating, like watching a strange play of some failed emperor as the court jester reveals all, and the drunken leader sits aloof and mumbles “not funny, not funny.â€? No, it’s pathetic and tragic. It will take decades for this country and the world to recover from the malicious mistakes of the Bush administration. And, portraying Helen Thomas as a gentle haunting spirit was a fitting tribute to her legacy in being one of the few journalists to openly pose questions. Bush should be tried as a war criminal in the World Court—Colbert’s roasting was gentle in comparison.
Hey, i must admit, there were some funny moments of Colbert’s bush bash. I am a 16 year old kid that does his best to get as much political information as he can. I am from a neutral family, and i would call myself neither liberal nor conservative, but i have to say, what colbert did was wrong. He bashes and humiliated the President of the United States of America in front of the world. Whether or not you agree with the presidents ideas/policies set aside, what is every other country supposed to think when the americans are bashing their president. He was voted into office, either support him or just sit tight for a couple more years. oh and colbert, i look forward to the day where your little kids are old enough to understand that their dad publically humiliated the president of the united states of america. That teaches a great lesson. Still being young myself, i can tell you that in grade school and even earlier, we learn that bashing anyone is wrong. If that rule applies to everyone else, as a 16 year old, i feel it should apply to the President as well. There is no person that deserves that sort of treatment. Thanks of reading, Email me to share your views.
Jerome.
The title, “Praise and Criticism Continue to Pour In”. What’s in the lead? The praise or the criticism.
From what I’ve been reading on a variety of blogs, more praise is coming in than criticism.
I am a long time fan of Stephen Colbert, watching his performance from that ‘dinner’ has made me a fan for life. I actually thought we had America back!
HE is what my father died for; HE is the reason I vote. “It’s about freedom stupid!” should be our new rallying cry!
Love live Stephen Colbert…a true AMERICAN AND PATRIOT.
What I find funny is criticism of Colbert from “a Bush aide”. Colbert let it all hang out, and openly aired some painful realities. But instead of being candid about their response, administration critics get their views published annonymously. If you can’t go on-the-record as disliking getting pissed on by a comedian, you can’t go on-the-record about anything. Some aspects of Washington culture desperately need skewering.
Colbert played the court jester. You know, the only person who can get away with mocking the King because his delivery is so zany that everyone else would think the King small-minded to punish the jester.
There’s a reason Celtic kings supposedly feared the satire of a bard as if the satire were a supernatural curse.
PING:
TITLE: Liberal Media Attacks Stephen Colbert
BLOG NAME: Jon Swift
Colbert attacked the liberal media and praised the President and for that he is being excoriated.