ANN ARBOR, Mich. “”mdash; I hate Jon Stewart. I imagine
criticizing him will inspire the vitriol of numerous readers,
provoking them to write to the paper in caustic defense. I can take
that; I obviously will have brought that fate upon myself.
But please, imagine my horror ““ imagine the unsolicited
blow ““ of seeing the preview for a movie, “Man of the
Year,” just dripping with encouragement for and lionization
of the likes of Jon Stewart.
The premise: Tom Dobbs, played by Robin Williams, is a comic
newscaster running for president (and, according to the trailers,
seemingly winning). Ever the likable comic, Stewart ““ oops, I
mean Dobbs ““ pokes fun at politicians in the pseudo-serious
manner we’ve become accustomed to seeing on “The Daily
Show” and “The Colbert Report.” Seeing a news
story on the current fad of “Stewart/Colbert ’08″
T-shirts only compounded my anxiety. Could this actually be
happening? Despite Stewart’s denial that he’s running,
will my peers be casting votes for a Stewart ticket in the near
future?
What’s my beef with the lovable Daily Show host? In the
first place, Jon Stewart always wants it both ways. In many
respects, the show plays like “Saturday Night
Live’s” Weekend Update, offering fictitious or skewed
news with comic appeal. But whereas “SNL” would feature
a fake interview with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf ““
with, say, Darrell Hammond as the mustached Pakistani leader
““ Jon Stewart has the bona fide Musharraf sitting right next
to him.
To be sure, Musharraf appeared on the show as an author (his new
memoir “In the Line of Fire” was released the day
before his appearance on “The Daily Show”), and Stewart
conducted the show as if he were interviewing any other writer
attempting to publicize a book launch. But if you’re going to
be a “real enough” newscaster to host a real world
leader, shouldn’t there be a concomitant responsibility to
ask insightful questions?
What’s more, I don’t believe Stewart’s
self-deprecating approach to be sincere. Though he loves to
highlight his own lack of credibility or his belief that his
audience doesn’t actually get its news from “The Daily
Show,” his Peabody Award and ratings speak otherwise.
Calling “The Daily Show” for this article, I was
informed that Musharraf approached Stewart for the interview, not
vice versa. Lack of credibility? Hardly. Should we expect Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad next?
Where does the comedy stop and the serious political commentary
begin? The problem with “The Daily Show” is that you
can never be sure. From show to show, Stewart goes anywhere from
insightful and incisive to fatuous and flattering. It’s a
thrust-and-defend move: Attack easy political targets and then hide
behind a reputation for comic flippancy. It certainly works for Jay
Leno and the rest of the late-night comics, though I have an
inkling Stewart would be offended by that comparison.
But Stewart knows the audience he commands and the power he
wields; with them, he’s inherited the prerogative to instruct
other broadcasters. When I see him patronize a fawning Ted Koppel,
when I see him excoriate Tucker Carlson (admittedly a pathetic joke
of a broadcaster himself) without substance or serious critique,
but instead merely feeding off a bored and easily engaged audience,
I lose faith in my generation. Isn’t the act a little trite?
A bit of satire makes for devastating critique, but isn’t a
daily version a little hackneyed by now?
To any Daily Show fans: Haven’t you discovered an ability
to predict the laughs? Not that I think “The Daily
Show” audience is dumb, just a little uninspired.
They’ve given Stewart the gravitas he’s always denied
possessing, and gaze at him in reverence.
Here’s a suggestion: If you want witty take-downs of
unscrupulous figures, read Jack Lessenberry’s columns. If you
want pithy satires scant on content, take a gander at
Newsweek’s cartoon section. But Jon Stewart goes long on form
without corresponding substance. Call me an jerk, call me a
dilettante ““ at least I’m a gadfly, which is more than
Stewart can say, peddling a show soft on material to an apathetic
audience.
Martina is a columnist for the Michigan Daily, a newspaper
for the University of Michigan.