When
it was announced this month that comedian and actor Alec Baldwin will co-write
a book with public radio talk show host Kurt Anderson, offering a satirical
look at the Trump presidency, I first
thought it would be funny. After all,
Baldwin is hysterical in his portrayal on Saturday
Night Live of the bombastic, sexist, racist, novice president. But the Penguin Random House book, due out on
the anniversary of when America elected its demise-in-chief, may represent a
shift in how Americans deal with failed politics.
It’s
been a long-standing trend that Democrats and Liberals use humor, satire, and
comedy to highlight what’s wrong with the government, primarily the Republican
sides of the equation. Every late night
host relishes attacking Trump. Comedy Central built up its network
around The Daily Show, which uses
comedy to inform and soothe its viewers.
But is all of this joking around, from SNL to Stephen Colbert,
helping to change the political landscape?
One
would argue that the late-night liberal comedy set is unintentionally having
the opposite impact that it seeks.
Rather than Bill Maher or Rachel Maddow leading a revolt of activism,
their humor and obscene wit are giving us novocaine to dull the pain. Think
about it.
We
laugh at these jokes and agree with most of what they tell us – and yet the country
continues to vote more Republican than in a decade. Of course this has to do with many factors,
from whom the Democrats run for office to the track record of elected
Democrats, but it shouldn’t be lost that with the alleged liberal media bias
advantage, coupled with the late-night daily comedy barrage that favors a
liberal agenda 10-1, the country is getting more red by the minute.
How
do we solve this conundrum?
Do
liberals secretly like to just complain and laugh at disasters like Trump,
thus, enabling the nightmare reality to continue by supporting the alternate
reality of satirical TV shows and now books like Baldwin’s?
Don’t
get me wrong, one can do both – laugh and take action – but maybe we
unconsciously are letting laughter win.
It dulls us and serves our need to be understood and pitied. Maybe if we turn the crutch of comedy off and
turn away from the escape a book like Baldwin’s offers us, we’d be angry,
hungry, and irritated enough to find a way to truly end the suffering and vote
out these right-wing barbarians. I mean
it. The satire comedy is our candy bar
or ice cream. Whereas turning to junk
food doesn’t solve our problems, and one would say it enlarges them, turning to
comic relief doesn’t really help us pass good legislation or prosecute the
unethical or illegal acts of our leaders.
I’m
as guilty as anybody. I will likely buy
the audio version of You Can’t Spell
America Without Me: The Really Tremendous Inside Story of My Fantastic First
Year as President Donald J. Trump, because Baldwin will no doubt do a great
voice over to what should be belly-hurting comedy. But it will be so funny that it should make
me cry.
Did
people sit around during World War II to listen to a radio show that mocked Hitler? No, people went out and did what they could
to contribute to stopping this megalomaniacle monster.
Do
we have the courage to resist, not just the policies of a government that repeatedly
fails us, but the comic television and satirical books that make this ugly
reality permissible and tolerable?
DON”T MISS THESE!!!
Does Book Industry Need Its Own Snap Chat IPO?
When Our Dictionaries Make Us Dumber
Will YouTube Actually Save Or Kill All Books?
Really good quotes about books and writing
Prevent English Language Abuses; Love Wordplay
Why PEN America needs you and you need them!
Spring training is needed for writers, too
Celebrate March is Reading Month
2017 Book Publicity & Marketing
Toolkit For Writers Of All Genres
Which Of These 6 Reasons Inspires You To Write Books?
How To Craft Press Releases That Net Your Book Media Exposure
The right book marketing strategy for you
Overcoming Book Marketer's Block in 10
Easy Steps
Brian Feinblum’s
views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of
his employer. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him
at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the
third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog 2017©. Born and raised
in Brooklyn, now resides in Westchester. Named one of the best book
marketing blogs by Book Baby
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.