EPISODE NUMBER: 5122 (September 24, 2009)
GUEST: Ken Burns
SEGMENTS: 1-888-OOPS-JEW, The WØRD: Blackwashing, Easter Under Attack
VIDEOS: Thursday, September 24, 2009
I know Stephen was making a joke when he talked about his hair having loft, but I have to admit, I have missed the loft *so much*. When I watch old ‘Colbert Report’ videos, the first thing I notice is that luscious head of hair he has.
Oh my gosh, the WØRD? Everything wonderful about Stephen at his most bitingly satiric. Every sentence made me cringe harder and harder, and when he got to the point of black shoe polish, my jaw literally dropped. The audience guffawed when he pulled the polish out as if to say, oh man, he really went there. You could hear their hesitancy to laugh at the joke, because it was such a shocking ending to a very hard-hitting segment. And just when I thought he couldn’t go any farther with the joke, he took the picture of Glenn and Rush and painted it in black face. I absolutely love when he cloaks himself in his character to bring to light the absolute darkest in the American psyche.
What a fantastic ending to a short but sweet week. What did you all enjoy about the show tonight?
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| The Word – Blackwashing | ||||
| ||||
- Larry! Did you get the suspender cream I sent you?
- Actually, Larry, no one knows about that yet.
- You know why, because that’s disgusting. This is an unspeakable carnival of depravity, it’s a hideous human debasement that would surely end your career.
- A racist would say it’s a secret plot to steal white people’s women.
- But sadly, every time a racist criticizes the president, someone cries “Racism”.
- People tell me I’m white and I believe them because I get pretty good service at the Cracker Barrel.
- The same way Jews can tell Jewish jokes, and the Irish can tell Irish jokes [And Late Night Liberals Can Tell Gay Jokes]
- Having an African-American on your side whitewashes, or in this case, blackwashes your racism. [Stephen Has No Black Writers]
- If Jesus had wanted us to spend Good Friday in Cancun, at the Last Supper he would have served Jello Shots.
- Yes, Peeps, the most delicious symbol of our salvation.
- *Statement not provided by Aimco
- That is the most terrifying movie I have ever seen.
- I’ve been to the Everglades, they’re … damp at best.
- Have you been to Old Faithful? It’s kind of Geiserworld. You can buy a Dove bar there.
that ‘The Word’ segment was simply amazing, and truly highlighted the cajones that Stephen is so well-known for.
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The Word was actually a little cringy, but so well done. It was like watching the Formidable Opponent he had done in Iraq. Everything he said was absolutely right and needed to be said.
And I love seeing that his hair is returning. It might have taken a few months, but shortly it’ll be back to its normal length with plenty of product keeping it in place.
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I couldn’t believe Stephen was “going there” with The Word. I cringed and jaw-dropped, but I agree with what others have been saying: It needed to be said and was extremely well-done. I highly doubt anyone else (except maybe – and this is a big maybe – Jon or anyone at TDS) could do that and not get slammed.
This whole episode was made of win. I loved the Ken Burns interview; I was so glad to see that. I have to admit, though, when the first clip of the bears came on, I didn’t realize the humor there until about 2/3ds of the way through ^_^;; Fantastic interview; can’t wait to see the documentary!
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The Word was unbelievably amazing. It was hands down my favorite part of the show. The message he was putting across was so utterly true and I really appreciated how well-crafted and bitingly satirical it was. That Stephen truly has balls of titanium hahaha. :)
I loved the comment about his hair regaining some of its loft, because I was just thinking the same thing like, 3 seconds before he said it. And that tie he was wearing was fantastic! Loved the “Easter Under Attack” segment, too – I was stil laughing long after the commercial break. :D
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I agree with Bri that the Word was right up there with the Formidable Opponents from Iraq. It only underscores the fact that there is no place Stephen isn’t willing to go for great satire. But the shoe polish did make me cringe a bit. I always enjoy Ken Burns’ work & I’m glad he’s bringing our beautiful national parks into focus. And YES, the hair definitely has more fluff. They must be teasing it:)
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Wow the Word was great! One of the show’s best.
Okay, I’m going to stop worrying about the loss of Silverman because that was A-1 top-notch gold.
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Throughout the years the writers of TCR have taken The Word to new heights of brilliance. This last year especially has had some AMAZING Words and last night’s was no exception. They’d better at least get a best writing Emmy next year!
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The Word was excellent! Certainly among the best. I also found the Easter Under Attack segment hilarious and enjoyed the interview with Ken Burns. The documentary looks beautiful.
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I agree, by the end of it I had my jaw to the floor. It did need to be said though, for sure. It was kinda like the Dinner moment.
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The WORD was just wow! He said it all. Plus I LMAO’d at the peeps court case, nice juxatapositioning.
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First thing that came out of my mouth in the Intro was “Ooh, look, his hair’s finally got some loft again!” And then a minute later he made the same exact observation, so funny!
But wow, kudos to Stephen & the writers for the fantastic The WORD. Intelligent, funny, biting. TCR at its best.
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I got a big laugh at the “Last Supper w/ Jello Shots” picture.
But the WORD was… words fail me. It was so much to absorb I had to watch it twice. It was absolutely edgy on all levels. I agree that few other people could have done it. The ending couple sentences drove the point home hard.
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I am in awe of the writing staff! They are brilliant at what they do and last night was a perfect example. I love it when anything Stephen does makes me squirm uneasily–it means he is saying or doing something that needs to be said or done–and he is doing it in a manner only he can. A true talent! [as if we didn't know that! ;) ]
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The Word was just amazing. I don’t know why everyone is so surprised that Stephen went there; after all this is the guy who made fun of President Bush TO HIS FACE. The best comedy is that which tells the truth, and Stephen is the most hilarious truth-teller around.
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Welcome to No Fact Zone, futureguy!
First, trust me when I say that the readers of this blog are fully aware of the size of Colbert’s coinpurse, and his very dark sense of satire. And I don’t think anyone used the word “surprised” per se.
I think it’s more that the direction in which he got his message across was particularly shocking, which drove the point home in ways that even hard-core fans such as the ones who frequent this site found to be seriously stark. In a very good way, of course.
You are completely right though – the best comedy really is that which tells the truth, and I think the element of this humor that was so funny is that it really brought out how uncomfortable it is for most people to talk about racism.
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Wow. The Word was amazing. I admit I squirmed when he pulled out the shoe polish as I feared he might actually put it on himself! I recently saw an episode of Mad Men where Roger wore blackface which was incredibly upsetting. The Word was tough to watch, but well-done.
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You know, I had been afraid Stephen would do the same thing… until I saw the pics of Glenn & Rush – then I knew where that polish was going.
That segment was brilliant.
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I loved The Word. When the Bullet, pointed out that Stephen had no black writers. I laughed so hard.
Plus, that picture of Rush and Glenn with the shoe polish kinda scared me though. XD
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‘The gun, the bullet…that is on its own’, absolutely perfect! And then, the Kiwi, Oh my God. It’s going to take me a while to get over the shock.
I’m sorry that Obama had to deny the prejudice. And so damn happy that Colbert did expound on Carter’s statement.
Since November, the Southern attitude has evolved from expressing angry outrage to then quiet seething resentment, and now empowered by U.S. Senators, to voicing loud declarations of their superior knowledge over an ‘obviously’ lying President (about everything, not just healthcare). It is the watercooler talk at my job, and I just have to walk away from it…until today. I hadn’t even seen this show yet, but so entirely fed up with the constant ridicule of Obama, I did the same of Bush. He had done no better, our economy in fact collapsed on his watch, and can’t be expected to recover in a mere seven months, despite their more ‘knowledgeable’ expectations; ‘we the people’ seem completely at the mercy of politicians and lobbyists trading money for laws, with no hope for real true reform to help citizens that need it and deserve it. Meanwhile Blue Cross’s CEO is vacationing at his third home on the Gulf, CitiGroup is doling out multi-million dollar bonuses again only because our taxes bailed them out and saved their jobs; so if Obama is the stinking, lying enemy, what about these other guys? How are these CEOs and their lobbyists strengthening our economy and helping our hurting business recover our losses and stop the bleeding? So I lost a ‘friend’…
Thank God for Colbert, no one does it better.
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You tell ‘em, Susie! I am sorry you lost a friend, though.
I was raised in Chicago but have lived in the deep South over 12 years. I understand you don’t mean to paint the entire South with this image of hypocritical recalcitrance. However, I do know what you mean. What I’ve found more noticeable about these politicians, many of whom are Southern, is they are white men of affluence who profess a very strong conservative, often fundamentalist Christianity. Although the majority of African-Americans are of Christian faith, the conservative Christian churches and organizations that these obstructionist politicians belong to are almost uniformly white. There’s a deeply segregated thinking of “us vs. them” in their religious environment that fits naturally to the have and have-not psychology of Big Capitalism. And that’s what greases their political careers.
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“Hypocritical recalcitrance”, nailed it!
Indeed you are right, not all Southern attitudes reflect what is at my current job. There are even a few bold progressives here seeking to bring our still segregated churches together. No deal for the super-rich mega churches, though… their Jesus will always be the soft long- haired white guy. Endowed with their riches, their thinking will never need to change, it seems.
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I absolutely LOVED “The Word” — audacious, brilliant, fearless. And as much as I also like Jon Stewart, this segment shows why it should NOT have been The Daily Show that won the writing Emmy, but The Colbert Report. More and more this year, Stephen’s been going right to the edge, delivering hard-hitting commentary, holding back nothing. He seems freer and happier than ever, and willing to risk more. And this was one of the best.
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Agreed on all counts.
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Hi Wren. When did he say the “loft” thing? I watched all the clips from this episode and I don’t hear this part. :(
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You probably have to watch the full episode, since it’s right at the beginning. The individual clips usually start with the scripted part of the show, and cut off the audience’s initial ovation and Stephen’s banter with them.
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The Word: Blackwashing
Just need to say something about this absolutely fantastically written segment. Anyone who has ever had to argue both sides of an issue for practice, for instance, no matter what you believe (like for a speech class or law class) knows how difficult such an undertaking is, and to make your argument clever and funny besides seems outrageously impossible for anyone, especially someone like me. I rarely comment about this segment in the show, but I’m always captivated by its artistry from a writing and delivery standpoint. Do TCR writers take turns doing this segment? How many writers work on it at a time? I’m just in awe at what it must take to present this “split screen” argument and commentary, plus Stephen’s ability to carry off the whole thing. So, so wonderful an undertaking almost every time and this particular segment was totally superb.
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