One thing I would enjoy from comedians is if they stopped seeing themselves as the philosophers of our age and just went back to being funny. For one thing its not 2021 anymore, I know the anti-woke (or pro-woke) grift is a lucrative one and a lot of completely talentless people are terrified of the idea they might actually have to say something new and interesting or people might return them to the obscurity they so richly deserve, but sadly for them the calendar continues to move only in one direction, that is forwards and the woke/anti-woke culture war has had its day.
A bunch of left wingers thought the tide of history was t their back and got well out over their skis and there was a reactionary backlash that just like the PC wars of the 90s helped to return things to an equilibrium that made more sense. However unlike the 90s there are substack subscriptions that need to keep rolling in or Youtube subscribers that must keep sending donations otherwise a lot of one trick ponies are going to have to go and actually work for a living, from writers to comedians this is proving a terrifying prospect so the desperation on both sides to keep the culture war flames flickering now has a financial incentive that will not allow it to just die its natural death.
We have a land war in Europe now, we have a US President that is on the side of the enemies of Liberal Democracy upending the entire security architecture that the west has relied on for 80 years, China is flexing its muscle in the Sth China sea with its warships battering Philippine fishing boats, the successor to the Wagner group is kicking France out of the Sahel and propping up murderous dictators in the famine capital of the globe. This is a time for grown-ups not comedians masquerading as philosphers of the Free Press types to be raking in subscription dollars writing the same article with different names for the 3 thousandth time.
This is a time for people to buy the Economist or to watch the news part of the news channels not the Opinion Screamers at 10pm, its a time where page 6-12 of the paper not the opinion pages are what historians will be looking back on in 40 years time as they try to work out what happened, only going to the opinion pages to find out what was happening at the circus as the people screamed for bread. It is 2024 a time for adults, let's leave the woke v anti-woke crusades back in 2021 when we still had the free bandwidth to tolerate the tantrums of children
What security architecture has the US president overturned? The one in which Europe sits under the defensive umbrella and lavishes its social programs? And the last time I looked, the Economist was as woke as the New York Times. Pretty spot-on, otherwise.
I didn't see the Gervaise special, but you're spot on about the Chapelle specials. I was reminded of the legendary Lenny Bruce while watching, and later in seeing reactions. It was that kind of moment where the "tolerant ones" showed their true selves.
As we used to say when I was a kid, "Geesh, man...can't you take a joke?"
Bless the poor tormented souls at the Guardian....are they still on strike? Does anyone care? I am unfamiliar with Chapelle and can stomach only modest doses of Gervais - his popularity is bemusing to me. He went missing during convid and has not once addressed the lunacy in any of his "specials"....I forget who said it, but it's been commented that this omission was like Arthur Askey playing the Palladium during WW2 and not talking about the war.
I think humour, mocking, sarcastic, piss taking, is what's required to pull people back into the real world. From the bizarre dystopia they've fallen into where men are women because they say they are, etc. Once you point out the absurdities of life, people open their eyes, it's like a switch is flicked in their brain. Unless they work for the Guardian, obvs.
One thing I would enjoy from comedians is if they stopped seeing themselves as the philosophers of our age and just went back to being funny. For one thing its not 2021 anymore, I know the anti-woke (or pro-woke) grift is a lucrative one and a lot of completely talentless people are terrified of the idea they might actually have to say something new and interesting or people might return them to the obscurity they so richly deserve, but sadly for them the calendar continues to move only in one direction, that is forwards and the woke/anti-woke culture war has had its day.
A bunch of left wingers thought the tide of history was t their back and got well out over their skis and there was a reactionary backlash that just like the PC wars of the 90s helped to return things to an equilibrium that made more sense. However unlike the 90s there are substack subscriptions that need to keep rolling in or Youtube subscribers that must keep sending donations otherwise a lot of one trick ponies are going to have to go and actually work for a living, from writers to comedians this is proving a terrifying prospect so the desperation on both sides to keep the culture war flames flickering now has a financial incentive that will not allow it to just die its natural death.
We have a land war in Europe now, we have a US President that is on the side of the enemies of Liberal Democracy upending the entire security architecture that the west has relied on for 80 years, China is flexing its muscle in the Sth China sea with its warships battering Philippine fishing boats, the successor to the Wagner group is kicking France out of the Sahel and propping up murderous dictators in the famine capital of the globe. This is a time for grown-ups not comedians masquerading as philosphers of the Free Press types to be raking in subscription dollars writing the same article with different names for the 3 thousandth time.
This is a time for people to buy the Economist or to watch the news part of the news channels not the Opinion Screamers at 10pm, its a time where page 6-12 of the paper not the opinion pages are what historians will be looking back on in 40 years time as they try to work out what happened, only going to the opinion pages to find out what was happening at the circus as the people screamed for bread. It is 2024 a time for adults, let's leave the woke v anti-woke crusades back in 2021 when we still had the free bandwidth to tolerate the tantrums of children
What security architecture has the US president overturned? The one in which Europe sits under the defensive umbrella and lavishes its social programs? And the last time I looked, the Economist was as woke as the New York Times. Pretty spot-on, otherwise.
Small point Lee....it's 2025 🤭 Other than that, great points well made....
Yeah I was writing in rant mode, I’m just glad there was only one glaringly obvious error! 😀
The 4 and 5 are just SO CLOSE on the keyboard 🤣😂
Well that, or despite it being 20% into the year already I really did forget for a second, mid-rant, that it’s not 2024 anymore!! 😞😞🤣🤣😞😞
The setup the squall of birth, the punchline the sigh of death. Damn.
I didn't see the Gervaise special, but you're spot on about the Chapelle specials. I was reminded of the legendary Lenny Bruce while watching, and later in seeing reactions. It was that kind of moment where the "tolerant ones" showed their true selves.
As we used to say when I was a kid, "Geesh, man...can't you take a joke?"
Bless the poor tormented souls at the Guardian....are they still on strike? Does anyone care? I am unfamiliar with Chapelle and can stomach only modest doses of Gervais - his popularity is bemusing to me. He went missing during convid and has not once addressed the lunacy in any of his "specials"....I forget who said it, but it's been commented that this omission was like Arthur Askey playing the Palladium during WW2 and not talking about the war.
I think humour, mocking, sarcastic, piss taking, is what's required to pull people back into the real world. From the bizarre dystopia they've fallen into where men are women because they say they are, etc. Once you point out the absurdities of life, people open their eyes, it's like a switch is flicked in their brain. Unless they work for the Guardian, obvs.