Comedy The Daily Show Thread

[Matt]

Which formed these opinions for you? Breitbart or World News Daily? I'd say Fox News, but that'd be too cliché, and you seem to not want to be a cliché...maybe.

Neither. My view is shaped by a journalism degree from the Medill School of Journalism of Northwestern University. My view is shaped as someone who bought what Stewart was saying in 2004 (very valid critiques of the media), only to become disgusted and disillusioned when he became the very thing he criticized.

 

[Kane52630]

Here you go, Matt.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/News_satire

 

[carrrnuttt]

Neither. My view is shaped by a journalism degree from the Medill School of Journalism of Northwestern University. My view is shaped as someone who bought what Stewart was saying in 2004 (very valid critiques of the media), only to become disgusted and disillusioned when he became the very thing he criticized.

I got you wrong.

You weren't taking Jon too seriously.

You're taking YOURSELF too seriously.

 

[Tanin]

That is not what I think at all. I think a man who writes books criticizing the media for not showing accountability and responsibility to their viewers, ought to do the same. Especially when he embraced all of the perks that came with being one of them.

I'll agree with you, when he isn't doing a comedy show on a comedy network, and still pulls the same BS.

 

[Travesty]

Neither. My view is shaped by a journalism degree from the Medill School of Journalism of Northwestern University. My view is shaped as someone who bought what Stewart was saying in 2004 (very valid critiques of the media), only to become disgusted and disillusioned when he became the very thing he criticized.

The Daily Show isn't comprised of journalists, so why are you judging them on their journalism? You should be judging it based on its entertainment value, because that's all it's trying to be.

Did you complain this way about Anchorman?

 

[Kane52630]

 

[Travesty]

Oh wow, its starting quick. I thought they would take about a good 5-6 months off.

I'm interested to see what format they're going to use with Trevor. I'm sure it'll be somewhat similar, but I heard they're not going to be going after the news stations as much.

 

[Shikamaru]

At some point that becomes bull ****. There was a very clear and obvious cultural shift in 2004, when young Americans started looking to The Daily Show for news. And when that shift happened, Stewart never said, "No! You shouldn't listen to me, I am just a comedian!"

Instead Stewart embraced that role. He ran with it. He used his position and platform to influence the political discourse in this country. He used the position and platform to criticize politicians and the media. He used the position and platform to write books, critique the cultural and become a voice capable of shaping the dialogue. But he did not say, "Don't listen to me, I'm just a comedian." Instead, he did the opposite...he shaped the dialogue. He used his position and platform to inform and shape the political ideology of an entire generation.

Then around 2006, he started using that position and platform to shape the discourse in a way that is advantageous to his own view point. He would skew facts. He would pull punches when he agreed with someone, ideologically. He would heavily edit interviews to destroy those with whom he disagreed. He would shape the discussion as he saw fit, for an entire generation, while showing no restraint or neutrality and exercising no accountability. This is the very thing he LITERALLY wrote a book criticizing the media for. He claimed they have a responsibility and accountability. He embraced the influence that came with being one of them, but when it came time to embrace the same responsibility that he DEMANDED that they embrace, he hid behind the easy guise of, "Well I'm just a comedian."

But that excuse really doesn't hold up. "Just a comedian," does not get to interview the President of the United States more than any other pundit. "Just a comedian," doesn't get to sit down with Senators and leaders of industry and presidential candidates. "Just a comedian," does not organize and lead political marches on DC. Stewart became a political/media figure. And this was a role that he actively embraced when shaping the dialogue and wielding the influence. He embraced the role and influence all while criticizing others in that role, with similar influence, for not holding it with accountability and responsibility. Yet when it came time to have the accountability and responsibility that comes with being a political/media figure that can exert influence and shape the dialogue, he shrank away and said, "I'm just a comedian." That is hypocrisy, plain and simple.

Stewart already addressed this issue multiple times. The only reason he's been given so much credibility, according to him at least (though I do agree with him), is because the real news media itself became a complete joke. Satire is an art which points out the absurdity that exists in the real world and The Daily Show did better job at pointing that out than any cable media in the past 20 years. However, it's not something you can blame Stewart for as it was a direct result of the failure of the American media and had that not been the case, everyone would have understood he's "just a comedian".

It's for the same reason Edward Snowden chose to be interviewed by John Oliver as opposed to an actual reporter. When the journalists and politicians themselves become a joke, comedians end up being taken the most seriously.

 

[Kane52630]

Oh wow, its starting quick. I thought they would take about a good 5-6 months off.

I was actually expecting it to be a little sooner considering the election coverage.

 

[carrrnuttt]

I can't wait to hear his take on American politics.

He's the very definition of "worldly-wise" and will bring a unique view of the USA and the World in his segments.

[YT]GgZYCj39M38[/YT]

[YT]QDk5ajNDgZc[/YT]

 

[Travesty]

I was actually expecting it to be a little sooner considering the election coverage.

That's a good point. I didn't even think of that.

 

[Sithborg]

Yeah, they are missing some prime Trump content.

 

[Matt Mortem]

Still not sold on Trevor Noah. He seems way, way too smug.

 

[Thundercrack85]

Still not sold on Trevor Noah. He seems way, way too smug.

Agreed. Considering he is a nobody, and had no real presence on the show.

They missed a real opportunity with John Oliver.

It's funny, because I remember Jon Stewart mocked CNN for replacing Larry King with a "a British guy nobody's heard of". That came to mind with this announcement (yes, I know Noah is South African).

[YT]KWJBRK2cnmg[/YT]

But I'll give him a chance.

 

[runawayboulder]

It's going to take him a while to get going. It took Jon Stewart a few years to make the show how he wanted it and getting the staff he wanted in place. Noah may have a head start on it in that regard but he's already made it clear he wants to do something a little different. He said recently he was planning on cutting back on all the Fox News/CNN bashing, which I understand.

 

[ThePhantasm]

Still not sold on Trevor Noah. He seems way, way too smug.

Stewart was smug as **** tho

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

So this guy Trevor was the best replacement they could find to fill Jon Stewart's shoes?

Really?

 

[Matt Mortem]

Stewart was smug as **** tho

Stewarts was a different kind though. I can't explain it, just something about Noah rubs me the wrong way.

 

[Travesty]

You can't really judge him by how he acts in real life, or what his stand-up is like. He'll more than likely have his own kind of persona on the show that'll be different. Like how Colbert isn't going to have the same persona he used on The Colbert Report for Late Night.

We just have to wait and see.

 

[Matt Mortem]

You can't really judge him by how he acts in real life, or what his stand-up is like. He'll more than likely have his own kind of persona on the show that'll be different. Like how Colbert isn't going to have the same persona he used on The Colbert Report for Late Night.

We just have to wait and see.

I'll definitely tune in and give him a shot. I'm just not 100% sold. Wish I had HBO because what John Oliver is doing surpasses the last few years of Stewarts run.

 

[Pink Ranger]

So this guy Trevor was the best replacement they could find to fill Jon Stewart's shoes?

Really?

A lot of people had the same reaction when Conan replaced Letterman. Conan was even more obscure, as he was mainly a writer back then.

 

[Kane52630]

I guess I'm one of the few who still enjoyed the Daily Show on its final few years. I never had a problem with it, if anything, Jon's run later on was a lot more focused and pressing. The extended interviews was always great.

 

[Travesty]

I never had a problem with it. It never dipped in quality, for me.

 

[carrrnuttt]

What a lot of people don't know is that Trevor is USED to running this kind of show.

He had decades of experience hosting and helping to run radio talk shows and various TV shows, including a late night show dubbed "Tonight with Trevor Noah."

And frankly, I'd love to hear a highly international point of view of our politics. I understand John Oliver is also that, but he's not nearly as worldly as a mixed race man who grew up in Apartheid who speaks and/or understands various African and European languages.

 

[Pink Ranger]

For some people who think a foreigner lacks credibility when speaking about American political issues, do a bit of research into how many Canadians have worked as major American news anchors and reporters in the past few decades.