Ian Fletcher, formerly the Head of the Olympic Deliverance Commission, has taken up the position of Head of Values at the BBC.
Starring: Hugh Bonneville, Monica Dolan, Jessica Hynes
Tag: satire
👓 Seashells Transform Suburban Bathroom Into Tropical Hideaway | The Onion
WOODMERE, OH—-A wicker basket filled with seashells and placed on top of a toilet tank has magically transformed Dale and Paula Watson's suburban bathroom into a serene tropical oasis, sources reported Thursday.
📺 "Black-ish" Black Like Us | ABC
Directed by Salli Richardson-Whitfield. With Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Marcus Scribner, Miles Brown. Dre and Bow are furious after Diane isn't lit properly in her class photo; Junior claims there is unspoken colorism within the family.
In this case, the ideas, while certainly interesting and worthwhile aren’t very new or unique to me, so I feel like they’re standing on a soap box and pontificating down to me. Perhaps worse, most of the cast of the show is very light skinned, and as a result the topic they’re presenting feels a bit white-washed as a result. I have to wonder if the cinematographers are lightening the characters on the show itself? While this show doesn’t often have guest stars, it would be nice to see some additional diversity on it so that it felt like the producers are occasionally practicing what they’re preaching. As a result, this particular episode, while gripping in parts, felt a bit stilted to me.
I also can’t help but notice that the “white” Greek chorus at Dre’s workplace don’t appear in this episode, and that actually makes the more specific point of how classically stereotyped those characters are in contrast. I’m left wondering why there are no positive portrayals of “white” people for the segment of viewers to know who to hold up up as potential role models. I’ve heard about studies of satire relating to politics that people too often see what they want reflected back to them, so those who are borderline (or even excessively) racist aren’t going to see this show and necessarily change their viewpoints because they won’t see the awkward boss or co-workers and actually think that they’re acting inappropriately. This may mean that the show’s producers aren’t having the impact that they might otherwise be out to have when doing these more dramatic, social change focused episodes.
This show has now got me thinking of things three levels deeper than any of the issues it was trying to more overtly raise… and then I find myself wondering where is the comedy and satire I actually sat down to experience here?!
I can just imagine the over-the-top descriptions the dictators could give in the recap interviews as we watched their half-assed handiwork. The chipper, but critical judging rounds could provide some serious satirical jabs. And after the commercial break, Ted Allen could pull back the cloche to reveal the severed head of the “chopped” dictator from that round.
“Judges I have prepared for you today, a jack-booted storm-trooper crowd suppression replete with hollow-point bullets, sides of cell phone jammers, armored tanks, and blood-spatter-proof anti-riot shields.”
Passingly I’ll note that unwittingly, Tufekci’s book might also serve as a useful playbook for dictatorial regimes.
🎵Revolution Will Not Be Televised by Gil Scott-Heron
👓 Is it possible to draw Serena Williams without being racist? | The Spectator
I have spent the morning trying to draw a cartoon of a black person without it being racist. It’s bloody difficult. Especially the lips. Make them too big and anti-racist people will accuse you of being a white supremacist peddling, in their words, the old ‘sambo’ myth. But too small and they don’t look like the lips of very many black people. It’s the same with the colour. At first, on my cartoon, I used a black felt-tip pen and so the figure came out very black indeed. ‘Sambo’ territory again, especially when I added big red lips and very white teeth. In the end I used cross-hatching with a pencil but this was, to my mind, unsatisfactory.
👓 Montessori School Of Dentistry Lets Students Discover Their Own Root Canal Procedures | The Onion
NEW YORK—Inside the Montessori School of Dentistry, you won't find any old-fashioned cotton swabs, or so-called periodontal charts, or even any amalgam fillings. That's because at this alternative-learning institution, students are being encouraged to break away from medical tradition and discover their very own root canal procedures.
👓 Dear Marketing by Email “Experts” I’m Serious About Messing With You | CogDogBlog
Hi, Hello. I was wondering whether you’d be interested in selling advertising space on Does the phrase “No, not even after hell freezes over” mean anything to you? The advertiseme…
👓 Lifefaker
Lifefaker.com is a new tech startup with a mission: to help you fake a perfect social profile, whoever you are. Life isn't perfect, your profile should be.
As a result, I’m thinking about buying the “I Can Be Arty And Deep” package or the “I Own All The Things” package. Maybe both at the same time? They’re so cheap and simple… Surely this will make my life better and happier!
🎧 Episode 10 The Satire Paradox | Revisionist History
In the political turmoil of mid-1990s Britain, a brilliant young comic named Harry Enfield set out to satirize the ideology and politics of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. His parodies became famous. He wrote and performed a vicious sendup of the typical Thatcherite nouveau riche buffoon. People loved it. And what happened? Exactly the opposite of what Enfield hoped would happen. In an age dominated by political comedy, “The Satire Paradox” asks whether laughter and social protest are friends or foes.
Some of this reminds me of the ideas relating to doublespeak that I’ve written about in the past, but here, it’s actually comprehensible and understandable.
References
📺 Michelle Wolf complete remarks at 2018 White House Correspondents’ Dinner | C-SPAN (YouTube)
From C-SPAN coverage, Michelle Wolf remarks at the 2018 White House Correspondents' Dinner. Watch the complete video here: https://cs.pn/2JxzkC2
Some have said that Wolf took Sarah Huckabee Sander’s appearance to task; the sad fact is that they’re just apparently not up enough on popular culture to have gotten some of the jokes. If anything Wolf was complimenting Sanders’ makeup technique.
Why are you guys making this about Sarah’s looks? I said she burns facts and uses the ash to create a *perfect* smoky eye. I complimented her eye makeup and her ingenuity of materials. https://t.co/slII9TYdYx
— Michelle Wolf (@michelleisawolf) April 29, 2018
On the other hand, if we want to beat someone up over taking people’s appearances to task, perhaps we should go back and do some better reporting on the President who says these things on a regular basis and not as part of an obvious comedy and satire routine? A real ad hominem appearance attack would sound something more like “With crazy hair, orange complexion, and bizarre makeup, I often wonder if Trump isn’t attempting to prove that he got just enough talent and votes to hold the office of “First Clown.” Apparently he wasn’t rich enough to buy the popular vote, but just like the sham of Trump University, he was able to afford the Electoral College. Can the voters get a settlement too?
At the end of the day it’s really Wolf who should be the most upset. The worst part of the whole performance was a painfully bad and poorly placed microphone that continually gave me nightmare flashbacks of Howard Dean’s Yahhh!! moment. Her material would have definitely done better with a more solid audio set up.
Now if the WHCA really wants to get righteously upset, maybe they should invite Jeffrey Ross to come? Perhaps he could toss off something tame along the lines of “I wouldn’t f@*k Trump with Sarah Huckabee Sander’s dick!” Maybe it would at least buy his redemption in Bea Arthur’s eyes?
👓 Dear Facebook user 752461218193242 | Vicki Boykis
h/t to @vboykis
Dear Mark,
Thank you for writing me that letter in the New York Times recently. I wrote you one, too.Sincerely,
(mostly former) Facebook User 752461218193242https://t.co/P0JbAXXn43— Vicki Boykis (@vboykis) March 30, 2018
📺 Coal: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) | YouTube
We’ve heard a lot of talk about coal miners in the last year, but what are the real issues surrounding coal? John Oliver and a giant squirrel look into it.
📺 Vaccines: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) | YouTube
The benefits of vaccines far outweigh the minuscule risks, but some parents still question their safety. John Oliver discusses why some people may still feel uncertainty about childhood vaccinations.