Adventures in Celebrity Profiles
Your fans are insufferable, sir.Can I be the first person who says that Stephen Colbert needs to be taken down a notch? He may not need it personally- but the profile writers need to calm down. Yes, Colbert is fantastic - really the only working political satirist on television. But the cover story in New York magazine which touts itself as having some insight into the coming election - is absurd. Colbert's show makes fun of the white guy who has "my black friend." But every time I read a profile of Colbert I feel like the journalist is saying "Hey look, this is my church-going-from the South--Catholic friend."
This has been a very good year for Stephen Colbert, both the 42-year-old, God-fearing, Catholic Church–attending comedian and his even-more-God-fearing, lefty-baiting, fact-averse TV alter ego. He’s about to celebrate the first anniversary of his show, The Colbert Report, on the very first episode of which he coined truthiness, a term that’s been embraced as the summarizing concept of our age. - Adam Sternbergh
Yikes. But the worst is yet to come.
So to anyone who worried that Colbert would wither as a one-note parody, stunted by The Daily Show’s shadow, take heed: He now stands astride the political landscape, his mob of followers at the ready. Colbertisms ring throughout the land—and not just from the mouth of Colbert. The best testament to the triumph of the Colbertocracy is that you can now hear a Colbert line like “I believe the government that governs best is the government that governs least, and by these standards, we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq” and, devoid of context, you might genuinely wonder if it came from a parodist, a pundit, or from the president himself. - Adam Sternbergh
I was worried man. But, uh - isn't that what a parodist supposed to do? Colbert is supposed to sound like the person he is parodying but give you the subtle wink or verbal cue that lets you know how absurd it all is. That's his job. He's effective at it. Great stuff.
Michael Brendan Dougherty
in Culture
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He thrusts his arms out in mock triumph. The audience roars. He offers a couple of V-for-victory gestures that are part Richard Nixon and part chest-thumping, peace-out-homey sign. Then he motions for everyone to quiet down and asks, “Do you have any questions? Anything you want to know about me before I go into character and start saying these terrible things?”
Reader Comments (4)
There is plenty of fun making to go around considering that your average leftist seems to get their worldview from "The Real World" and the average rightist seems to get theirs from Rush Limbaugh but there is little point in satirizing the people who are not in power.