Jon Stewart Decides to Box with Fox:
If you're a swimmer you're likely to swallow a little pool water from time to time. It may not taste good, but what you are in gets inside of you even if it's not by choice. According to Jon Stewart in his interview with Fox News he rejects the proposed title of being labeled a partisan ideological activist stating that this is the soup Fox News swims in. In the political alphabet soup of today's news media we will find letter-shaped noodles such as ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, FOX, and other tasty treats that may contain MSG which I refer to as "Media Swayed Government". After I witnessed what almost seemed like a broadcast brawl in the Jon Stewart Fox News interview I would say that the interviewer and the interviewee could use some chicken soup for the journalist's soul. Jon Stewart had his boxing gloves on his tongue and there were more rounds in this interview than in the final scene of a Rocky film.
The interview with Jon Stewart on Fox News Sunday made me want to scream, "Where is the referee?"! They were talking over each other with their tongues drawn like swords in a fencing match. Jon Stewart, the proclaimed comedian, wasn't smiling or making anyone laugh during this interview. He did however imply that Fox is a joke. I have my own little joke. "Knock, knock. Who's there? Jon. Jon who? Jon you wanna report the facts while making people laugh?" Jon Stewart produces paramount parodies and I think it is laughable when he proclaims that what he does is not activism. Happiness is an emotion, and when you make people laugh about something you make a spectacle of they will remember it and it will influence them. If Jon Stewart looks in the mirror and sees anything less than a man that uses his comedic, news reporting skills to influence others' opinions he is probably legally blind when it comes to seeing himself. My favorite part of the Jon Stewart Fox News interview is how incredibly good Jon Stewart's hair looked that day. If all political news was as perfect as his hair, everything would be good in the journalistic hood.
Jon Stewart consistently disagreed with the painted perception of him, but never seemed to agree to disagree. Jon Stewart praises the creators of South Park. I wonder if the biased news should be produced in cartoon form. If so, at least the truth would be told bluntly and maybe we could all laugh while viewing the animated state of a nation as the Wile E. Coyotes of politics blow themselves up during the chase for the roadrunner of true and just American politics. Do we exist in a box where, "politicians are taken as a joke and comedians are received as serious?" Was there an attempt to de-legitimize Fox in order to validate Jon Stewart? I don't know, but I'm sure many would pay to see this again live in a boxing ring at Caesar's Palace in Vegas or anywhere else for that matter. While there are people/journalists that deride mainstream media, the question is why do they deride it and does anyone really get it? Whether it is for sensationalism, conflict, or partisanship, two very different sides still deride the media on these issues. There seems to be a liberal bias and conservative activism in the media. It is all there and we are all here. I don't know how much the Jon Stewart interview was edited, but he didn't seem to be projected as a man screaming as a little girl to me. The interview was bold; it was strong, and Jon Stewart was projected as serious as any comedian can be. Personally, I think he does influence politics even if he claims to be joking. Many jokes are serious business. "And so I have this friend..." Some people are laughing all the way to the bank.
De Bait:
Debates are always significant as they provide a platform on which candidates can preform. A debate is where the issues are aired and candidates argue their position. No argument is complete without a beginning and an end, and this debate lacked the latter. Well, it did have an end the end just wasn't aired. Even a lawyers case can be won by closing arguments, but we are witness to a debate where the last thirty minutes where not broadcast. The last thirty minutes still happened, what good are they if the public was not able to view them? Sure, some will look up and view the ending online, but many won't.
Debates are significant and the broadcast of a debate is as significant as the debate itself. Earlier I mentioned a boxing match. There are winners and there are losers. A debate is a verbal boxing match where the important issues that matter to the masses go head to head. Somebody is going down even if it is by a technical knock out. Debates are highly significant and voters will gravitate towards the candidate that is able to throw the most significant auditory blows allowing them to get more people in their corner. "De bait" a candidate uses can not only help them win the fight, it can empower them to catch more fish (voters).
A Perry Moment:
I don't think Perry's brain freeze is that big of a deal. It has happened to the best of us even under less stressful conditions. I must say that even though it's not nice to laugh at people I thought Herman Cain's brain freeze regarding a response to the question he was asked on Libya was hilarious. What's funnier is that the media doesn't call Cain's incident a brain freeze, they call it "a Perry moment". During President George W. Bush Jr.'s reign as president there seemed to be thousands of these types of events aired on The David Letterman Show. Whenever someone is in the public eye such as a presidential candidate these brain hiccups will always be over-dramatized.
The Perry incident will more than likely cause more laughs than harm to his campaign. I think Verizon Wireless should launch a new ad campaign featuring presidential candidates that have had brain freezes. In the commercials the candidates can say, "Can you hear me now? What was I saying? Ummm. Can you hear me now?" I don't know how much Perry's mistake will impact his campaign, but I know it has changed my life. At least three times a week I now say, "I'm sorry, I was having a Perry moment." Between political debates, a vigorous travel schedule, and the fight to win the race, all of the candidates may appear a little punch drunk every now and then though it isn't always caught on camera. Tissues and called Kleenex, petroleum jelly is commonly called Vaseline, all varieties of soft drinks are called Coke, and brain freezes are now called "a Perry moment". There is life in politics even after the infamous on-camera brain freeze, and I think we can all understand that running for office is a huge political freezie to sip from. I was going to say something else but I'm having "a Perry moment" right now so hopefully I remember before the next time Deneene Says...
I viewed this a bit different. I saw parts of this debate where the interviewer and John got along and stood on common ground. Then everything exploded. I will admit John lost his cool a couple times, but he soon regained his composure. He did so gracefully, even commenting to the interviewer that he had no beef with him and even going so far as to saying he felt the man interviewing him was a hard hitting fair guy. The rational side of John was certainly edited only to focus on his angered reactions to the interviewers very provoking comments and questions. He was completely goaded; then edited. The good thin good thing is, by doing this interview, John received fuel for the fire to use in more comedy bits against Fox news.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Perry's brain freeze is a huge deal either. I think that it happens to everyone and these candidates are under a huge amount of stress. Also, I think that so many other candidates and even former presidents have had brain freezes and have come through them fine (maybe a bit bruised from the laughter...).
ReplyDelete@Colleen Gorman...thank you for your comment. I think you are right...Jon did a good job keeping his cool now that I think about it and did offer compliments to the interviewer. I would also like to thank you for helping me see how the interview may have been edited inappropriately. It was a little racy and exciting...it was good media.
ReplyDeleteHi,Deneene!
ReplyDelete"Da Bait..." I love that! And extremely clever.
Regarding Jon Stewart's interview with Chris Wallace: I spent the first half of my professional career in the entertainment business as a Disc Jockey, Radio Host,and Videographer. I've interviewed many musicians. The most difficult one, I killed with kindness. I agree with your statement that Stewart is a political activist in disguise with the mask of comedy. However, I can tell you that despite the fact that Wallace was adversarial from the start, Stewart showed the highest form of integrity by complimenting Wallace as a "stand-up journalist." Had I been invited to that same interview, I would have walked off of the set.
Wallace had the network agenda tailoring his interview which was rampant with unwarranted austerity and visible envy.
"Loose lips sink ships," and good sportsmanship is still present among media magnates such as Stewart.
Great commentary!
@canncurtis...You are so right about Jon. I've thought over the interview in my head a few times and he really handled himself well especially considering what was being thrown at him. You've gotta love Jon Stewart...well you don't have to but he knows what he is doing and how to do it. Thank you so much for your comment and support. It sounds like you have a lot of great experience...are you ready to do another show?
ReplyDelete