Boy, do I love John Stewart.
Last night at the Oscars he has all of Hollywood hanging on his every word, waiting -no, salivating!-for Bush jokes, and what does he do, instead? Attacks them.
Coming back from one break, Stewart pretended to be in mid-sentence. "And that is why I think Scientology is right, not just for this city, but for the country," he said, clearly mocking some stars' commitment to Scientology. Hollywood sat silent.It's an article of received wisdom among our friends on the right that John Stewart and the Daily Show are tools of the Democratic party, and that the right are always victims of the media.
An admitted and unashamed progressive himself, Stewart later made fun of the film industry's perceived liberalness, telling viewers the Oscars are a chance to "see all your favorite stars without having to donate any money to the Democratic party." Our favorite stars barely chuckled. Instructing the audience to not pirate films, Stewart referred to the rich and lavishly dressed audience and said, "These are the people you're stealing from." Those people did not find his remark funny.
So how do they explain an opening monologue that had just one joke about politics, and at least 5 about Hollywood pretentions?
The answer, really, is simple. Stewart isn't a liberal. He's a dissenter, someone who won't be conned and won'r conform. Tell him that something is good, and his kneejerk reaction is to show you why it isn't. (Incidently, the tendency to dissent is a traditionally Jewish tendency, as Stewart's enemies on the far right are fond of pointing out.)
Stewart doesn't oppose conservative politics, per se; he opposes arrogance, pretention and self-satisfied dishonesty, attributes that coincide most often with conservative politics, but aren't inherent to them. On his show, Stewart attacks self-inflated politicians and the lies they tell us. Last night, he went after self-inflated movie stars and the lies they tell themselves. And if the right wing was really as integrity-filled as they say they are, they would congratulate him for it.
[Note, I edited the post after watching the opening segment again, thanks to a link provided in the comments]
So what do Right wingers make of his performance last night at the Oscars?
Stewart's first two political jokes were anti-Hollywood (below) and those weren't the only jokes he made at his audience's expense.
After the "social justice" montage, he quipped: "And none of these things were ever problems again." Later, he made a direct attack on his audience: "A lot of people say that this town is too liberal. Out of touch with mainstream America. An atheistic pleasure dome. A modern-day beachfront Sodom and Gomorrah. A moral black hole where innocence is obliterated in an orgy of sexual gratification and greed. (Pause) I don't really have a joke here, I just thought you should know a lot of people are saying that."
The answer, really, is simple. Stewart isn't a liberal. He's a dissenter, someone who refuses to conform and refuses to be conned. (Incidently, the tendency to dissent is a traditionally Jewish tendency, as Stewart's enemies on the far right are fond of pointing out)
Stewart doesn't oppose conservative politics, per say; he opposes arrogance, pretention and self-satisfied dishonesty, attributes that most often coincide with conservative politics, but aren't inherent to them. On his show Stewart attacks self-inflated politicians and the lies they tell us. Last night, he went after self-inflated movie stars and the lies they tell themselves. And if the right wing was really as integrity-filled as they say they are, they would congratulate him for it.
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(1) The two opening political jokes: "Usually you can't see this many celebrities in one place unless you donate to the Democratic Party." and "But this is an exciting night. It's the first time many of you have ever voted for a winner."