Colbert, reprise

[dwenius]

The Google video folks struck a deal with C-Span (or so I learned from Kos) to make the full Colbert speech at the White House Correspondents Dinner available. You can now watch the whole thing in glorious, broadband, wide-screen format. I've been circulating this link and talking about it often. Last night in discussion with pal C., he wagered that people will be talking about this 100 years from now. I tend to agree with him. I'm not saying that Colbert is the Mencken, or Swift, or Twain of our time, but this particular performance is so amazing that I think it will become part and parcel of this administration's legacy.

Every time I watch it, I am amazed at multiple points. The overall pacing and delivery is not so smooth, but the isolation of each segment adds to the overall effect; you get to hear the stone silence in the room from the midpoint of the speech onwards. Consider the Jesse Jackson tangent, and the double-whammy punchline that follows it. That right there is the very essence of comedy. The "spokesman audition video" at the end, I can take or leave, but everything leading up to it is awe-inspiring.

Can you think of a more biting, relevant bit of satire in recent times? Never mind the fact that this was done under the most impressive circumstances possible, with the President and First Lady not 10 feet away; who in the last 25 years has done anything of this caliber, even in print? I'm coming up empty.

Comments

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

Richard Cohen of the 'Post decided to deride it as being "not funny", and at the same time criticise freedom of speech itself by saying that Colbert only did what he did because he knew he couldn't get punished for it, as if that was a bad thing. I never sent him my reply (http://acroyear70.livejournal.com/346671.html) as reading his followups I knew he doesn't give a crap.

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

semi-OT, but having tried the physics thing briefly, you might appreciate this paper (http://www.cs.wisc.edu/%7Ekovar/hall.html).

[dwenius.livejournal.com]

Saw it, forwarded it, many laughs were shared.

[timquestionmark.livejournal.com]

I kind of see it as a kind of continuation of Jon Stewarts indictment of the Media on Crossfire.

[megasus4.livejournal.com]

I agree, yet at the same time, the magnitude of the risk Colbert was taking was far, far greater. It is very possible that Bush didn't even know who Colbert was before this; someone, Colin Powell I think? told Stewart that Bush didn't know who *he* was.

I was rather shocked that Colbert was even invited to speak, but the fact that he took the opportunity to say all this in front of the President...well, it's a feather in the cap of free speech, that's for sure.

Hmmm...would you say this rivals "Modest Proposal"?

[dwenius.livejournal.com]

Well, just in terms of length, no, a "Modest Proposal" still stands close to the top of the heap, along with Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court", the film "Dr. Strangelove", and Erasmus' "Praise of Folly".

But in terms of significance, sure, it may rival any of those. Honestly, even the best satire often has no net effect on opinions; "Dr. Strangelove" was a nearly perfect satire of cold war jingoism that has had approximately zero net effect on U.S. foreign policy. Colbert's speech may just be more preaching to the converted. Time will tell.

[dwenius.livejournal.com]

I can see that, but I'd propose to you that John Stewart playing himself on Crossfire is less impressive than Colbert staying in character through this whole piece. Different ballgames entirely.

[waider.livejournal.com]

What really blew me away was that he looked the president in the eye, and didn't shy away while laying into him so hard that even Bush knew he was being laid into.

[sequentialscott.livejournal.com]

The Huffington Post had a bit today about Colbert keeping completely away from any media coverage and concentrating just on doing his show.

The silence in the room was probably tough to deal with, but I imagine that he also expected it.

[ottobeatriscuit.livejournal.com]

ifilm has a clip of Bush's face during the "audition video". I don't know if you've seen it, but I found it quite interesting. The camera is focused solely on his face for the duration. And he knows it.