Stewart/Colbert: Falling flat?

[tomspug]

As much as I love these shows, I can never watch them during election seasons because there is so little that is funny.

It's fine to make fun of McCain, but when the length of time between jokes about Obama is a matter of weeks, the funny stops. It's one thing to write jokes and another thing to base a show around your own political agenda. Perhaps these men see themselves as a kind of front against "right-wing media", I don't know. All I know is that every time there is an election, the shows stop being funny. Why? I think it's because they take themselves too seriously.

I remember back when the Report first started, what a huge breath of fresh air it was from the Daily Show. Here was an honest departure, using satire as a means to prove your points, rather than shoving them down your throat. I remember laughing out loud at practically everything that came out of Stephen's mouth. But now the two shows are practically indistinguishable during this election season. The audience is like a laugh track, incapable of not finding everything hilarious, even if the jokes fall flat. The most telling sign is how often Colbert drops the satire, which ruins the act, for the purpose of hammering home the political point he is trying to make.

The point is, when Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert aren't taking themselves, or the news, seriously, it's hilarious. We, the audience, can distinguish the real news for ourselves. There is no need for anyone to force us to draw a conclusion. But when they become personally invested in the politics, the humor is wasted. It is neither genuinely funny nor smart. The laughter that comes is only from stigma, not from actual thought.

[mball1297]

I don't notice any difference. I don't watch them all the time, but every time I do, they're funny. They have an agenda...to show the lunacy behind politics, and the world in general. If they make points that make them seem to have another agenda to you, it's probably because a certain side tends to do more ridiculous things that warrant being made fun of. It doesn't seem to me, though, that they take themselves seriously or take either side. They just go with whatever's funniest.

[Jeremy Mason]

Originally Posted by tomspug

As much as I love these shows, I can never watch them during election seasons because there is so little that is funny.

It's fine to make fun of McCain, but when the length of time between jokes about Obama is a matter of weeks, the funny stops. It's one thing to write jokes and another thing to base a show around your own political agenda. Perhaps these men see themselves as a kind of front against "right-wing media", I don't know. All I know is that every time there is an election, the shows stop being funny. Why? I think it's because they take themselves too seriously.

Maybe it's because most people in the "arts" are of a liberal mind set. plus the Republican often set themselves up for ridicule.

Originally Posted by tomspug

The point is, when Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert aren't taking themselves, or the news, seriously, it's hilarious. We, the audience, can distinguish the real news for ourselves. There is no need for anyone to force us to draw a conclusion. But when they become personally invested in the politics, the humor is wasted. It is neither genuinely funny nor smart. The laughter that comes is only from stigma, not from actual thought.

I think the shows have always pointed out the follies of politics.

[LittlePinky82]

They're comedians. They go where the joke is not their political views. I personally have been enjoying them. I adore Colbert! My mother does too.

[tomspug]

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE Colbert. But it's also obvious that he loves Obama. The only time he ever makes jokes concerning him is when he makes fun of the people who talk about Obama. Is Obama really incapable of being made jokes about?

[Jeremy Mason]

Originally Posted by tomspug

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE Colbert. But it's also obvious that he loves Obama. The only time he ever makes jokes concerning him is when he makes fun of the people who talk about Obama. Is Obama really incapable of being made jokes about?

At this time, I think he is the poster child of a positive thing and the whole world, IMO, is cutting him some slack.