Why oh why can’t we have satire like this?
By now you will have seen John Oliver’s devastating satire of John Key. It’s always uncomfortable realising that we don’t have the ability to actually critique our own culture with this level of ruthless intellect.
The closest we have to real political satire in NZ is Jeremy Well’s devastating mocking of Mike Hosking…
…and sure we have 7 Days, but that’s dick and bum jokes dressed up as clever news insights that aren’t so clever. Yes we have Steve Braunias’s genius once a week (his last weeks column was hilarious) and yes we get brilliance in Metro once a month, but other than a handful of quips on Ben & Jono at 10 (last weeks apology wine was one of the funniest things on TV this year), we ain’t got nuthin.
We can’t do real satire in NZ because the media outlets themselves are simply too invested with this government to allow any real criticism to occur and because most of our comedian stock view satire without any political compass, the jokes tend to kick the poor and marginalised rather than attacking the privileged and powerful.
Without an understanding of politics, we get limp satire that has no teeth. It’s a pity we have to constantly look offshore for it.
I think we can do much better than Oliver’s school yard bully tone which simply delights is making fun of people.
The weekly snippet of Corbett and Ego on The Nation is much better. In print – yes Steve Braunias but also Toby Manhire are doing great work. We certainly have the talent – just need a prime time platform.
Oliver’s is way better than Letterman’s piece on New Zealand, starring Mr Key: John Key on Lettermanl
Guy Williams is classic: Guy William’s classic satire
Or Jeremy Corbet in 7 Days Friday night 24th April, At minute 14.38 Corbett comments on John Key giving the waitress’2 bottles of Jk pinot, could have been worse he could have given him the semillon he had.’
So, no Michael, we have better satire here in NZ and it takes a lot more courage than Oliver to do. We can all see now how the John Key sycophants and paid-trolls try to downlpay the creepy Saville-Harris-Glitter behaviour of the PM and re-write the script to ‘just horsing around…blah blah, a few practical jokes..blah blah… the waitresses fault for flaunting her hair in a pony tail in front of the PM…blah blah left-wing conspiracy’.
I agree that serial tricophilia is no satirical matter Michael.
We used to have McPhail and Gadsby who would take the mickey out of anyone.
Many people say we don’t have satire because of excessive political correctness. However I think it is more about the eternal quest of the media moguls and corporates to dumb down society, reduce thinking about things other than in terms of dollar value. Satire is dangerous to the media moguls because they can’t control it. You can’t control satire, if you do then it is no longer satire.
Satire only really works if it is done by independent media, but this has largely been eliminated in this country by the Fairfax-APN cartel.
Yeah, but McPhail and Gadsby were pretty bloody limp, themselves. Let’s be honest.
I have a vague memory from the 90s of a M & G song-and-dance routine, with Gadsby purporting to be Finance Minister Bill Birch. Particularly banal lyrics, pointless, misdirected, soft-as-shit “satire” (in the immediate aftermath of the Richardson era), no attempt to even look or sound like Birch.
The polar opposite of sharp, focussed, hard-hitting. Just Gadsby having a bit of an old sing-along around the piano with his decidedly nasal accent. Dismal and desperate. I remember thinking: “Awww, for the love of Christ !!! Is this the best we can do ???”
Ummm, you do know which network the John Oliver show is broadcast on right? One of those evil corporations…
Martyn, important – When we click on the John Oliver comedy video link that you have, we can not bring it up. Also the Herald link does not work for us either. Maybe this is intentional, not sure. But the link below does work and you may want to check this out and replace your link if needed.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/68080709/pm-john-key-lampooned-on-us-comedy-show
Blame Sky TV….
I think a lot of New Zealand comedians soften their edgy satire to maintain jobs in the media that give them a voice. Some of them slip satirical prods into their seemingly mainstream work (Te Radar is excellent at this). The media is full of people employed full time to “tone down” comedians and make them bland and acceptable. It’s harder than you’d think to get a really sharp gag through the idiot blanket.
Perhaps a lot of people in New Zealand are quietly disgusted. Perhaps it’s time they became loudly and amusingly disgusted.
How would you handle satire about the left’s overreaction to “ponytailgate” ? – Probably tear the comedian to shreds and claim he was bullying the innocent waitress
You said it: Ruthless Intellect.
Anyone with half a brain realises that displaying those qualities in NZ leaves them exposed to mainstream evisceration; its a brave person that swims against the tide of public opinion; seeing their supporters watching curiously and dispassionately as they are left gasping for air.
For all the virtues of TDB, I do miss what Bradbury used to do with; Bomber’s Blog, on Triangle/Stratos. His later projects have been more worthy I suppose, but there’s been no one keen to fill that particular void since.
kiwi’s don’t like laughing at themselves or their own
Parcupial,
You wouldn’t know shit from clay.
I think Martyn is and has always done a sterling job of everything he has done to date and always will do, such as chasing all the twists & turns in the Whaleoil Gate saga Cameron Slater/Judith Collins debarkle as we remember do you?
cleangreen
I’m quite appreciative of the work that Bradbury has done with TDB and previously (eg on Tumeke). Also, you missed out his work in organizing (and streaming) the 2013 anti-spybill meetings in Auckland and Wellington, which surely has to be mentioned in any list of his accomplishments.
However, I do still miss his; war on news, show (Citizen A was good, but sometimes dragged a bit – while BB always had a good pace). Here’s the most recent one I could find on Youtube; a bit dated, but still entertaining:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUvpd4Hx6Q0
I don’t seriously suggest that he should go back to doing online TV, as his work running TDB is a most necessary addition to the NZ political discourse. But it’d have been good if someone else had taken on that role.
john perv approved jono and ben will run 7 month comedic campaign stalking john pervert key, catching him out at inconvenient times by pulling keys toupe off, key will totally see the humour in this, tv 3 ratings will go sky high which key also will fully support
I think it’s definitely a case of the vested interests in this country no longer tolerating dissent because they can get away with no longer having to.
The Right in the USA absolutely loathe Jon Stewart because he effortlessly obliterates them by turning their own ignorance, bigotry and venal self-interest against them. But even he’s admitted that after watching the same political train wrecks happen over and over again, it gets more than a little dispiriting, and you tend to feel as though you’re shovelling shit uphill.
I’d love to see some really merciless satire on NZ television, and I think the National Party alone gives comedians more than enough material to work with. Sadly, when all but a few avenues of expression have been captured by the very interests you’d be ridiculing, it does somewhat restrict opportunity.
“Why oh why can’t we have satire like this?”
Because our otherwise “casual” female hair loving “Fuehrer” and his servile spin masters and underlings do not want it, simple.
Yes…..I must say today’s media and its ‘ comedians ‘ members…. seem to have problems rising to the occasion on any issue at all no matter how serious and seem to stay in a perpetual state of being flaccidly limp….
One could only deduce that unlike some overseas examples… and by contrast the examples demonstrated by this current crop of comic artists in this country ….that today’s lot seem to be a very useless and impotent bunch.
Definite lack of hard news and comic satire in NZ .
That’s what neo liberalism does : creates a flaccid population and a castrated media with an inability to think with their heads , show some balls and stand up tall and proud against namby pamby hair pullers like wimpy John Key.
Martin,
You’ll be looking forward to my theoretical analysis of New Zealand’s news media and investigative journalism viewed through Theodore Adorno’s culture industry thesis and Hertbert Marcuse’s repressive desublimation thesis—a tantalising synthesis of Freud and Marx. Should be a good one. I’ve even thrown in an Oscar Wilde quote to liven things up!
Peace out.
What channel would show it?
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