Stephen Colbert in the Zeitgeist (April 11,2008)
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It’s been forever since I’ve done one of these and I almost blush to call it one, as this is really just a collection of a few odds and ends that have been sitting in my inbox, bookmarks or the back of my head. Please don’t compare this with one of Jennie’s great Zeitgeist posts (it will suffer dreadfully), but do indulge me and enjoy the following.
Regarding that study on the ‘Colbert Bump’ …
- As we noted earlier, James Fowler’s study on the ‘Colbert Bump’ is getting a lot of media attention these days. I’m not going to link to all the stories, but this bit from NPR made me laugh:
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A huge fan of Colbert, Fowler admits that he would be happy if the study turned into a guest appearance on the Colbert Report. “Stephen Colbert, have a hot dog with me!” he offers.
Hee! Good luck, Prof. Fowler.
More critiques of political comedy, but praise for Colbert
- We blogged last week about Russell L. Peterson’s book, Strange Bedfellows: How Late-Night Comedy Turns Democracy Into a Joke. Arguing along very similar lines, Slate’s Troy Patterson noted the ‘flabbiness’ of today’s political satire. He followed up with a Q&A in yesterday’s Washington Post. I rather liked this exchange:
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Chicago: I have to agree that the state of political satire in the county is anything but strong, with, as you say, the startling exceptions of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert …
Troy Patterson: Hi, Chicago. You make an excellent point about Stewart and Colbert. I’d add that it’s important to realize that those shows are able to indulge in genuine political satire—as opposed to topical jokes about political personalities—because they air on Comedy Central. Appealing to a niche market of about one million households a night, they’re able to present sharp and substantive material …
On the National Treasure that is Stephen Colbert
- Just a reminder that it’s your last weekend to visit Stephen Colbert’s portrait — and those other “Treasures” — at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. The exhibit closes after April 13th.
And on a related note
- I saw this teaser in the Washington City Paper for its upcoming “Best of D.C.” issue. Polling has now closed, but in reading through the entries, the paper said this:
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“Best Exhibit” Without naming the overall winner or even the runners-up, we can reveal that Ansel Adams was soundly beaten by Stephen Colbert.
Stephen Colbert is still running for President in this alternate universe
- You may recall that Marvel Comics Editor Joe Quesada told us that Stephen is still running for President in the Marvel Universe. I don’t know how many of you have been keeping up with the Comedy Central Indecision 2008 blog, but they have full coverage of the ongoing campaign. Marvel’s “Daily Bugle” shows Stephen with a comfortable lead in one recent and rather narrowly-targeted poll.
And in the imagined world of “Popoganda” …
- Artist Nicholas Graham (yes, the founder of the Joe Boxer brand), recently had an exhibition of his paintings, “Popoganda: Images from the Early 21st Century of New China.” According to artnet.com (emphasis added):
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Graham appropriates the visual motifs of Maoist Chinese political propaganda and mixes them up with icons of 21st-century global capitalism. Under his hand, everyone from Angelina Jolie and Rachel Ray to George W. and Steve Jobs don the colorfully idealized vestments of the Cultural Revolution … Turning the tables on one of our best known political satirists, Stephen Colbert, Graham depicts him as a smiling Chinese girl sitting at the feet of a skull-capped Bill Clinton.
I managed to track down a photo of what appears to be the painting referenced over at artbusiness.com; see what you think about it here. If nothing else, he’s in some interesting company; I’m thinking he wouldn’t mind being seen with some of them during next week’s shows.
Props to DB, Jennie and WordsWithGrace for several of these links!
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1 Comments
April 12th, 2008 at 10:40 am
:O wooooahh.
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