Often in these pages I include a Gotta-Laugh-to-Keep-From-Crying moment. Laughter is our salve for the harsh realities of the times we live in. As much as I am a news junkie, I am a satire junkie. Satire is like the ice pack and massage after the brutal 12-round champion fight. Laughter really is the best medicine.
Political satire has been around forever, since the days of the Greeks. And it continues to this day, in many forms. Political satire can be a form of dissent. It can comment, protest, offend, support, inspire, inform, and entertain. I view political satire as an essential part of the fabric of our Democracy. And in these days, wow, there is a lot, and a lot of it is simply brilliant!
Politcal Cartoons Satire!
If you've read many of my posts, you know I admire editorial cartoonists. In just one panel they can neatly analyze and give commentary on the situation of the day. Biting satire and art on a daily basis. Incredible! If you love political cartoons, here is a great place to get a good daily dose: The Week. There are so many sharp cartoonists out there -- but my favorite is Pulitzer-Prize winner Tom Toles of the Washington Post.
Memes!
Internet Memes are the common-man's political cartoon. There are a lot of creative people out there. I <3 Americans! Thanks to my sister resisters Karen, Pagrs, BobBIE!, and Annette for pointing me to these great memes!
Press play:
— Norma Bell (@bellgirls2) January 9, 2019
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| Future contestant on Ru Paul's Drag Race |
These Obama/Biden conversation memes were great! Here's one and here's a link to more!
...and I made one with a nod to Lonely Island's Cool Guys Don't Look at Explosions!
Years ago, before the Days o' Russia, I saw the Capitol Steps live in concert. Originally a group of Senate staffers, today most of them are still former congressional staffers who write and perform smart political parody songs. Good stuff. Catch 'em in your town. In the meantime, here's their YouTube channel.
Bald Piano Guy regularly produces some catchy song parodies!
But my absolute favorite musical satirist is Randy Rainbow. He's amazing! He is able to turn around a topic and shoot a flawless video within days. He has so many good songs, so I'll just share his latest. He is simply brilliant. And brutal.
Print Journalism Satire!
Has it struck you, too, that over and over the past couple years that news satire is becoming indistinguishable from reality? Frequently I see a headline and think, "Oh, there goes The Onion again!" only to realize on double-take that it's the truth. Or vice-versa. Yikes.
Real Headline or The Onion? Click to find out!
Trump Insists That Now, More Than Ever, Americans Must Stand Strong In Face Of Empathy
Trump Says You Can Call His Wall "Peaches" For All He Cares
Trump Gives Intelligence Agencies Their Daily Briefing
South Carolina Congressman Stopped From Entering House Floor With 6-pack of Beer in Hand
Supreme Court On Gay Marriage: 'Sure, Who Cares'
Steve King Asks How Terms 'White Nationalist' and 'White Supremacist' Became Offensive
Andy Borowitz, with his Borowitz Report in the New Yorker, is also a master of blending news and satire into almost indistinguishable cookie mash.
Sketch Comedy Satire!
Sometimes Saturday Night Live sketches seem to be clones of the real situation -- it's astonishing and a little bit scary!
For example, SNL's treatment of the Kavanaugh hearings. If you are like me and were glued to the TV for the the real-life hearings, you reacted with an amazed howl when SNL got it SO right! We are living in the upside down! I wish I had time to do a mash-up to show the real scene next to the satire. The sad -- and the funny -- thing is that the SNL satire looks not like make-believe sketch comedy, but like a true crime show re-enactment.
If you watched the entire Ford/Kavenaugh hearings, you'll know what I mean.
Here is the whole thing...
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And here is SNL's re-enactment.
And Sean Spicer..... so good!
The real Spicey:
Then the satire.
Kate McKinnon is my favorite comedian, and she is a master impersonator. All of her TЯUMP era impersonations are on point. She's done Hillary Clinton, Angela Merkel, Theresa May, Betsy De Vos, FAUX news personality Laura Ingraham, Whitewash House advisor Kelly Anne Conway, Rudy Giuliani, Sen. Lindsay Graham, and Li'l Elf Attorney General Jeff Sessions. It's hard to pick a favorite. But here is Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg:
(I must nod to Tina Fey here too.... Talk about Art Imitating Life!)
Television News Satire!
Oh the delight! Is it news or satire? Yes.
Some people deride the attempts of The Daily Show, The Colbert Report (morphed into The Late Show), Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and others, as being satire and not news. P'shaw! They wrestle the real news, spin it 'round, and keep us in stitches. Late night shows are factual, are brutal, and they're great fun.
Political satire in all forms is delicious. It is intelligent, funny, and above all, truthful. Satire drags the truth out of dark holes, eviscerates it neatly, and pulls out its guts. And it makes us laugh.
But as Timothy Egan notes in his New York Times piece, We Need to Keep Laughing (thanks Sister Resister Karen for the article!), laughing at -- not with -- the Toddler-in-Chief just may be not only our salve but our salvation. He hates ridicule and "looking foolish" and chipping at his ego can not only feel good but may be our greatest weapon.
Indeed, he feels the stings. He hates being mocked. In 2013 Drumpf moved to sue Bill Maher for a bad joke about orangutan sex, later withdrawing the lawsuit. Michael Cohen sent a cease-and-desist letter to The Onion the same year, following the publication of this article with a Donald Trump by-line: When You're Feeling Low, Just Remember I'll Be Dead In About 15 Or 20 Years. Talk about reality mish-mash: Years later, Cohen claimed that his letter was satire. And just last month, Trumplethinskin, opined that SNL should be "tested in court" when he found their Christmas It's a Wonderful Life parody cut a little too close to home. 45 doesn't like this sketch. So, let's be sure to share it far and wide!
Unfortunately, some of his sycophants have indeed worked to silence satirists. An editorial cartoonist from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was fired after 25 years at the paper for drawing too many cartoons criticizing the President*. Read this link and see the cartoons that the paper refused to publish. Support Freedom of Speech. Support political satirists.
The days of Trump are ripe for parody, but believe it or not, it's difficult for many satirists, because The Orange Buffoon is already a buffoon, already a self-parody, and there's just too much low-hanging fruit. Besides that, it's hard to make fun of Dangerous Donald's ugly hate and vitriol. Read this sobering analysis by Zócalo Public Square. He's already huge, he's already offensive, and poking fun at a despot can be dangerous.
But we're Americans. We thrive and grow through opinion and truth-telling. The First Amendment isn't first for no reason! Let's continue to mock and satirize, in words, in pictures, in music, and on the screen. Satirical speech is a cornerstone of the First Amendment, and can be a powerful weapon against wrong. And it makes us feel so darn good.
Keep laughing, America. Keep laughing.
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