I’ve talked before about how these “man in the street” interview segments are mainly done for entertainment value, with a lot of nutpicking and little real intent to educate or inform. That holds true for whoever’s conducting them, whether it’s a late-night comedy show or a regular news outlet. Getting an interviewee or viewer to change their mind or admit their hypocrisy has never been a goal of these efforts.
A large part of the reason the segments don’t work so well at the moment in the context of politics is due to society having reached a point where a lot of right-wing Americans take genuine open pride in their ignorance and lack of rationality.
There used to be a time when the majority of viewers watching a segment like this could be expected to react by thinking “wow, I’m glad I’m not that idiot!” or by feeling shame for seeing themselves in the interviewee. Now a distressingly large number of viewers proudly identify with them, and those numbers also translate into a realistic chance of imposing their idiocy on all of us.
Mockery can be an effective tool against fascist followers and assorted bigots and misogynists, but only when they feel shame or are trying to hide their views from maintstream society.
