Thank You Stephen Colbert.
Thank You Stephen Colbert. :
“A comedian emerges as the Edward R. Murrow of our day.” – between Colbert and Jon Stewart, this statement is completely true. I think that between blogs and the daily show, we’re seeing a radical shift in the way our country views media and power.
In a way, being a political comedian is “safe”. The people being lampooned get it, but can brush it off because it is “just a comedian”. The people who agree with the message don’t need to be sold on it. What we really need is a Edward R. Murrow figure. Someone real, someone with gravitas (and not in Stephen’s sense of the word) who can say everything that Stephen did, but seriously.
I loved what Stephen said and I’m terrifically in awe of the cojones it took to do it, but because he is a comedian he is too easily dismissed and ignored.
People easily dismiss and ignore comedy, when in fact comedy is the quickest way to a visceral reaction which is what leads to systemic change.
The best of what humanity has to offer is exposed when we have the polar reactions of laughing and crying. Andy Kaufman, Lenny Bruch, George Carlin, et al. Comedy is in my view, one of the highest forms of Art.