Yes, but we took it to untold heights (the correct way to view this post is against a background tiled with bald eagles, each shedding a single tear)!
2 Likes
Unā¦what?
4 Likes
Disinclined to accept amicable criticism from foreigners, you say??? Well screw you! Stay where you came from, pal - weāre doing just fine without you!
Itās that guy from QI!
I think thats the point, it shouldnāt be too easy.
1 Like
Is it too late to get Kal Penn? Heās funny, and he knows politics.
1 Like
Iām sorry you have to listen to the occasional foreigner telling you that some Americans are as dumb as dirt. But hearing what someone from outside the US thinks about (some of) you might give you others an insight into how it feels when you joke about, condemn, judge, bomb and invade the rest of us.
Looking forward to this. Never heard of him before he showed up on The Daily Show, but I really like him.
2 Likes
I actually only knew of him from a couple (I guess thatās actually a majority) of appearances he had on the Daily Show. Watching the videos Xeni linked to reinforced my opinion that Trevor is a fantastic pick.
Yes, I live in the āstatesā.
1 Like
I think heās building up to the point where Americans give up and ask the UK to take them back.
1 Like
Was I so unclear?
What I meant was that not only do people of the US complain about criticism by actual āforeignersā, but that many will unironically insist that other US people must be foreign if they deeply refuse to identify with what one says. I have had people angrily get in my face and tell me that my views donāt count because I am British, or immigrant, when I am neither. Itās as if the whole tribal us-versus-them outlook is so blinkered that it is easier for some to say that my outlook is not really Merkun than it is to refute any points or observations I may make.
There is, unfortunately, a long tradition of this sort of thing. For example, there used to be an official body called the āHouse Un-American Activities Committeeā, which one might suppose is a weird idea for a supposedly democratic country. Arenāt a citizenās views automatically part of the collective whole? Otherwise itās a blatant statement of a selective refusal of representation. But this hasnāt only existed at an institutional level, it can be encountered in informal public discourse as well.
1 Like
Love Kristen Schaal, but I get the idea of bringing in someone virtually unknown to the audience. If you bring in someone who was a regular, you have the burden of audience expectations.
Iād be thrilled if Schaal got her own show though. I think it would be better if it was a vehicle specifically for her, or something she took over from the outside.
1 Like
Interesting choice. He certainly can do stand-upāhas a great stage presenceāand looks like heās got the expressiveness. I worry a bit about whatever he does being too Stewart-like, which is why I think someone like Tina Fey, who would (I think) have taken it in a completely different direction, would have been a great choice. I also agree that the appearances Iāve actually seen of his on the show he came across as smug and not particularly likable, but that might have been more the setup of the bits as he played off Jonās baiting questions.
Oh, and now thereās this:
Trevor Noah: Jon Stewartās replacement faces online criticism over āanti-Semiticā tweets
To preface, I have a pretty low opinion of American political comedy, and now that Colbert has left and Stewart is leaving, itās about to get even worse. So, while I canāt say I find those tweets particularly funny, seeing people lashing out against Trevor Noahās criticism of Israel makes me more hopeful about his candidacy, rather than less.
Well, it wasnāt just āIsraelā jokes, was it? In fact, I only read one. Most were your typical jokes about Jewish people, along with some jokes about women and fat people for good measure. From what Iāve seen, people are being a bit over sensitiveāheās a comedian after allāand thereās no cause for disqualifying him from the job based on anything I sawābut I donāt think itās his Israel joke thatās generating all the backlash here.
I think, āReplace Jon Stewart?!? Never!ā 5 minutes watching Trevor Noah, āOK.ā
1 Like
Never said it was. I canāt tell how much of backlash his tweets are actually generating, but two of the (four) most negative responses quoted in the linked article specifically mentioned the Israel joke.
Humor based on stereotypes is pretty lazy, but Iāve seen enough of his stand-up to know that heās capable of more, so Iāll give him the benefit of the doubt.
John Oliverās been living and working in this country since 2006, got a green card in 2009, married a US citizen, and is now a naturalized US citizen.
2 Likes
He has made a point to mention numerous times that he has become a U.S. citizen and feels he is, in fact, āone of usā.
That is supposed to be the ideal: recent immigrants get to be equal citizens, not outsiders-for-life.
4 Likes
Hah! Guess I should have read to the end of the thread before responding.
