Sunday, April 8, 2007

You Can Know A Coward by His Tools

“I must confess that I've never trusted the Web. I've always seen it as a coward's tool. Where does it live? How do you hold it personally responsible? Can you put a distributed network of fiber-optic cable "on notice"? And is it male or female? In other words, can I challenge it to a fight? --Stephen Colbert

Every few years there is talk about the death of Irony. Yet, like Sinbad’s the rumors of its death are greatly exaggerated. For that, I am incredibly grateful. Most of the people reading this either know or can guess with a fair level of certainty my personal and political leanings. That has little bearing on my appreciation of Stephen Colbert Report's dry wit. Stephen Colbert may be the best fisker outside of the internet. It is always fun to watch the public, press and pundits get tweaked. I enjoy this show most, however, because of the service it provides to me. ,

The best episodes of the Colbert Report like all really good satire remind me that the idea of infallibility has no place in politics. The paradox of demorcacy is that it is most trustworthy. When its citizens act distrustful. Sometimes, however, the authority that must be questioned are your own assumptions. That’s why the best episodes of the Colbert Report leave me uncertain as to who or what is being mocked.

An excellent example of this can be found in the sketch he did on Wikipedia. Wikipedia was clearly the primary subject of this satire. who gets to be the informational gatekeeper is of incredible relevance to everyone. Yet it cannot be forgotten that the show has an important message at its core.

Although, The Colbert Report is a funhouse mirror of cable news channels, it is still a mirror. Each show,is a satire of the way the press deals with complex issues. These issues are treated as raw material for an industry that will use the 24 hour news cycle to chew these complex issues into sound bites. Which the Bill O'Reillys and Al Frankens of the world will present for consumption. These news shows present a reality based less on facts and more on marketing and economics. Colbert spoke of information management in this sketch. This idea is increasingly less funny in a universe that according to the Pew Foundation ensures that the more you watch Fox news the less informed you are likely to be. Incidentally, This same report indicated that the viewers who are the most informed largely watched...The Daily Show. Which the parent show of the Colbert Report

So in the end who is Colbert really mocking? Those people who get their information from Wikipedia or people who get their information from News shows.


2 comments:

Caroline Maun said...

Hi Ian,

This is a good post. Lots to think about. I thought Colbert was using Wikipedia to attack the dominant Republican-style rhetoric. I loved the phrase "bringing democracy to language," which is just the sort of thing we've been hearing (or at least a similar construction) for the last six years or so (e.g., changing "hearts and minds" of Iraqis, when what we really mean is bombing them to the third century BC and building permanent military bases in order to control resources). I think Colbert knows he is being unfair to Wikipedia to make the larger point. The Bush II regime seems to employ the same strategy that Colbert identifies, which is if something is said enough times it becomes "truth." I find that satire is one of the most difficult things to teach. I can see playing the video to make a point about Wikipedia, but since at root I don't think it is primarily about that, I don't think I would do so without exploring what it is in fact about. Wikipedia is a symptom.

Anonymous said...

Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!