Of all weekends not to have the internet (but more on that later), I had to pick the one where everyone who was anyone was talking about Stephen Colbert’s turn at the White House Correspondents Dinner on Saturday. Rather than going all over the ‘net and gathering a collection of links proving that other people have already said all of this better, I’m just going to point out the transcript here, and the video here. Go ahead and read/watch. I’ll wait.
There has been a wholly predictable split between Left and Right over this: a split largely along the lines of “Colbert is the bravest man in America” vs. “That wasn’t funny! Did you hear how nobody laughed? That’s because it wasn’t funny!” It’s become de rigeur to counter this claim by listing a half-dozen moments that were, in fact, funny; I shall not do this.*
Instead, I will agree. It wasn’t funny – not really at all. It was the truth. See, here’s the thing about satire: it’s not nice. It’s not sitcommy. It’s about confronting those in power and informing those who lack power. But it’s not about – and never has been about – simple setup-punchline jokes. “A Modest Proposal” isn’t funny. It’s bracing and brilliant, but not funny. Dr. Strangelove is funny, but it’s the sort of laughter that comes from the knowledge that not to laugh ends with insanity.
It is the privilege of the court fool to say things to the king that no-one else would dare. If the king laughs, it is not because he possesses self-awareness, but because he misses the joke. The king was not laughing Saturday night (we can assume; after a short time, CSPAN quit cutting to the president, who was clearly not enjoying himself). The crowd laughed sporadically, but there was a chill in the air that you can feel right through the TV screen.
Colbert had to know this was coming. Which is why success here didn’t depend on getting the audience to laugh, nor even on getting the television viewers to laugh. Success here was a matter of standing ten feet from the president and telling him the truth. Success was turning on the media that invited him, and telling the men and women of the media that we know they’ve allowed this to happen. Success was walking into a room full of enemies and telling them everything they didn’t want to hear, and getting away with it because he’s just a comedian.
Stephen Colbert is the bravest man in America right now.
Oh, yeah, and all that said, Justice Scalia clearly got the joke and enjoyed it. But you don’t get to the Supreme Court without being pretty goddamn smart, so I’ll let that one slide.
*Okay, here are my favorite half-dozen moments:
-“That’s where the truth lies, right down here in the gut. Do you know you have more nerve endings in your gut than you have in your head? You can look it up. I know some of you are going to say I did look it up, and that’s not true. That’s cause you looked it up in a book. Next time, look it up in your gut. I did. My gut tells me that’s how our nervous system works.”
-“Number one, I believe in America. I believe it exists. My gut tells me I live there. I feel that it extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and I strongly believe it has 50 states. And I cannot wait to see how the Washington Post spins that one tomorrow.”
-“I believe the government that governs best is the government that governs least. And by these standards, we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq.”
-“I believe that everyone has the right to their own religion, be you Hindu, Jewish or Muslim. I believe there are infinite paths to accepting Jesus Christ as your personal savior.”
-“No matter what happens to America, she will always rebound with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world.”
-“But the rest of you, what are you thinking, reporting on NSA wiretapping or secret prisons in eastern Europe? Those things are secret for a very important reason: they’re super-depressing.”