There’s been a lot of hand-wringing over the past few days about whether comedy will suffer under an Obama presidency because comics (especially the all-white corps of late-night hosts) will feel squeamish making jokes about the new president. I find such talk irksome; it assumes that the president-elect lacks the capacity to make or enjoy jokes at his own expense (clearly not true, given his recent remark that his daughters’ new puppy should be "a mutt, like me"), and that his presidency will usher in an era of no-fun-allowed political correctness in which dissenting voices will be silenced. I think fears of comedic censorship (or self-censorship) are overblown and unrealistic, but it will be tricky to make Obama jokes, though maybe not for the reasons the hand-wringers expect.
Granted, we’ve not heard a lot of Obama jokes so far; the ones floating around since the election, as this Gawker post points out, have mostly been about assassination fears. (Of course, that’s more a joke about pervasive American racial paranoia than about Obama specifically; in fact, Eddie Murphy was making similar jokes about Jesse Jackson 25 years ago, and Gawker has found the NSFW clip to prove it.) The reason, however, isn’t political correctness but rather the difficulty of finding something in Obama himself to make fun of. He hasn’t done anything yet, so he can’t be lampooned for his gaffes in office, and he hasn’t revealed the personal idiosyncracies that would be easy for comics to caricature. (Poor Fred Armisen on Saturday Night Live, pictured, has successfully mimicked some of Obama’s oratorical tics, but beyond that, his Obama has been the straight man in sketches about other politicians with traits that are easier to ridicule.) If there’s one positive effect that an Obama presidency will have on comedy, as Gawker suggests, it’s that it’ll force comics to be more creative and clever in order to find something spoof-worthy about Obama; they won’t be able to rely, as they have for the past 30 years, on cheap and easy jokes about, say, Reagan’s dottiness or Clinton’s libido or W.’s dimwittedness.
I’m not worried that comedians will shrink from the challenge. If Denis Leary can make jokes about autism, or Sarah Silverman can make jokes about any taboo subject she can think of, do you really think they’re going to avoid taking on the new president? Comedy is usually about attacking the powerful rather than the underdog (which is what Obama was until the last few weeks of the campaign), but as D.L. Hughley points out to the Associated Press, Obama is now the most powerful man on the planet; which comic could resist that target? Besides, as Tracy Morgan tells the New York Times, white comics who avoid riffing on the president risk seeming irrelevant. They should feel free to joke about Obama, Morgan says — but the jokes had better be funny.
Don’t forget, also, that The Daily Show, despite its liberal bent, is about making fun of the media as well as politicians; as long as TV news continues to do a shoddy and superficial job covering things that matter, Jon Stewart will have plenty to mock. His show is also about catching politicians when they contradict themselves. As soon as President Obama does something hypocritical or disappointing (that is, as soon as he proves himself as human and fallible as any other politician), the Daily Show crew will be there to call him on it.
Besides, if all else fails, as Jay Leno notes, there’s always Joe Biden.
More on Barack Obama:
Dave Karger’s Oscar Watch: Obama’s effect on the Oscar race
Barack Obama: My pop culture favorites
Addicted to election TV: What do we do now?
DJ Mick Boogie cooks up an Obama inauguration playlist
Jon Stewart grills Barack Obama on The Daily Show
Comments (1-30) of 83 Add your comment
Can’t we just continue to make fun of McCain, Palin and Elisabeth Hasselbeck? They provide so much good material, it’s hard to let go of them just yet.
With Joe Biden, Jason Sudeikis will definitely be gainfully (and hilariously) employed for at least four seasons. Obama – and Armisen – will have to settle for playing the straight man. Not that there’s anything wrong with that…
I think Gary pretty much laid it out in his second paragraph. Yes, of course you can make jokes about Obama…it’s just hard to find things to ridicule or exaggerate. He seems to have a good sense of humor, which is nice. I do think the comics have their work cut out for them, but I’m sure they’ll manage.
Why do comedians think they have to attack/disdain/ridicule our presidents? They should be held in some sort of regard due their high position. I think whaling away on them all the time causes people to began to distrust and disdain our leaders. Let’s have a bit of respect here! Or is that not possible?
shutup,this is obama’sday.Ypu are under him.no comedy business in Obama’s name.
Amjien
sure it is. he made a joke of this election by hiding the truth the whole time. He will be a joke of a president.
Don’t make me laugh. Hollywood helped elect Obama. They’re never going to make fun of one of their own the way they made fun of Bush, Clinton etc.
Just as it’s not proper to joke about Christ, neither is it proper to joke about our Chosen One.
Joe Biden = one man gaff factory. If Obama turns out to be the greatest, Biden will at least say something really strange and/or contradictory that comics can latch on to. And if Obama’s not the greatest…well, who is? Comics can rest easy, they’ll be plenty to joke about in due time.
Chris, “Chosen One”? What’s the meaning behind that?
I think white comics could make fun of the Obama’s white half. Reagan was difficult to characterize since he was always aware of his appearance and reputation. FishDatingUSA. com
Josef: and Hollywood didn’t help Bush get elected? Yeah, right.
Leno’s already been joking about Obama and his “followers” Messiah complex. I imagine that there will continue to be plenty of material for the next four years.
I think you’re right that people are freaking out about this too much too soon, but I do think there will be an effect. Shows like “The Daily Show”, for example, that have a Democratic audience who is generally in love with Obama, are not going to want to hear someone go after him, for example. Did you see the William Ayers joke Jon Stewart made on election night? It completely bombed. These people don’t want holes poked in their hope.
At the same time, though, I’m sure we’ll all get comfortable enough with him in time that we’ll be able to find things to laugh at.
wHAT A CROCK. lOOKS LIKE THIS GUY GARY is doing all he can to stir up unneeded and unwarrented anger against obama. He won, gary. He’s the president now. you can stop your sabotage, buddy. The election is over.
the nazi republcains will say anthing, I guess. Whine cry and complain is their new mo. Divide and conquer for money and power. You can continue to whine and cry all day republcains. It is a new american. your false outrage and constant control attempts will fall on deaf ears. Your guilt trips only work if you have credibility. Sadly you have spent all your credibility destroying your country for money. Up your gary. Eat a D***.
no fun political correctness, huh? Like the dixie chicks? Like rosie? Like anyone who speaks bad about bush banned. Everyone who talked bad about the gop is, “unamerican”. How quickly the gop forgets. the gop has used gossip heresay and smears for years on obama. That is not comedy. It’s not funny. this is serious times. We could do without the republcvains sabotage for power and profit. Gary susman is a bought and paid for tool
it’s never safe to make a joke..there is always a risk of soemtone getting offended..some people(mostly in the south)would get offended when people called Bush a retard!!!The retarded people were also offended! hehehehehLOL
it’s never safe to make a joke..there is always a risk of soemtone getting offended..some people(mostly in the south)would get offended when people called Bush a retard!!!The retarded people were also offended! hehehehehLOL
Man, I hope the republicans get out of this pathetic whining phase. I hope they one day grow up and enter the grown up big boy and big girl world. We have major issue to work on as a country. You people are talking jokes and the funny. That’s what your worried about? If comics will crack on obama, as if they haven’t been as you pointed out in your post.
So your post is, “they are now cracking on obama and his supporters (whom are the majority in america)daily, will comics suffer”. What a waste of time. At least the republcains amuse themselves. Giggling like elementary school girls, at the thought of sabotaging their country.
I hope the republcains one day get out of their whining elementary school bully guilt trip phase. Grow up gary and the gop. time to enter the real world and stop being children.
Enough, I’m done. Go scre yourself, gary. This is just another in your long list whining attacks on liberals.
As long as our nation handles every non white with safety gloves, they’ll never fit right in. This is just more unnecessary precautions from some nervous person.
There were a million things to make fun of during the campaign, but as people have already mentioned, most of Hollywood is left leaning, so they focused their comedic bashing on the conservative candidates. They can make fun of his god-like complex, the media’s reverence for him, his potentially socialist agenda, and the ever lowering standard of the middle class. They could make fun of all the controversy surrounding his birth-place. Comedians and writers are much more creative than me, but they just love this guy too much to make fun of him. It is a bit like trying to make fun of Evangelical Christians…they are so passionate in their beliefs that they cannot always see the humor in their passion. (Discalaimer: I am a Christian, but see humor pretty well).
SNL could do a skit about Obama slowly revealing his “Christ complex” – not exactly making fun of him so much as some people’s opinions about him, but it could be a funny skit. Or they could do something about Obama having a self-confidence crisis because he’s just not a “funny guy” and doesn’t get lampooned in the media like Biden does, and deliberately trying to be hilarious or to out-Biden Biden in a press conference or something, and failing miserably. They could do a skit about him deliberately tanking his bowling score because he’s afraid everyone thinks he’s “too white” – they could score his final atrocious throw to “Chariots of Fire or something”, and show him jumping up and down in slow motion over his egregious loss. There’s tons of stuff they could do, really; it’s just not so much making fun of what Obama’s done as what he *could* do, or would do if he was the Obama of some people’s imaginations.
You people are pathetic. He won. Get over it. You fake world that george bush created for you is a fraud. He create a fascist police state with an enron economy. destroying the new president and his vision for america will not chang eyour reality. The gop has mislead you sad people.
Bush earned his anger and hate. Obama?
But rip him down before he gets in office. that is your right. That is why veterans die everyday. So you people can make jokes and rip your president to shreds for nothing.
you lost gop. Enjoy your sad pathetic existance the next 8 years. Whine cry and complain forever. Great life you’ve carved out gop. Sabotage all you want, gop. Destroy the president and america all you want. I hope it’s fun bloggers. I hope it gets some laughs. I hope sabotage and divide and conquer pay well, gary.
The gop is a party of party loyalist confederate sell-out traitors. Enjoy your 30 years of irrelevance traitors. You sure eanred it. Sad and pathetic.
Remember Pat Tillman
Rufus, I think you need to calm down buddy. I’m a very loyal fan of Obama, and I’ve been crying for a week that my candidate finally won. But there’s nothing in this article that’s objectionable. He’s not stirring up anti-Obama mania, and he’s basically stating that Obama has given comics little material to work with (ie, it’s hard to make fun of Obama). So, take a deep breath. Your guy won, now be gracious and help bridge the divide between those elated and those disenfranchised by the election.
I am pretty sure stepehn colbert has already made a joke or two. I hope he keeps it up. Everyone is so pc these days. Get over yourselves.
Let’s bring back the sacred cows and segregate them from the humans deemed worthy of ridicule.
There’s nothing wrong with making jokes about….anything in my opinion. For instance, did you hear that the new Giants Stadium is being insured by a company out of Berlin that also insured the Nazi camps back in the 40s? wait for it…….If I was playing a game there, I’d probably take my showers at home. badum-ch! See, comedy’s a good thing.
As a Former army infantry soldier I take great offense to this topic of discussion now at this time, and today on veterans day.
But that’s just me. You have the right to destroy obama and mock and make jokes. that is your right. I have rights also. I speak for the voiceless. Why do only therepublcains get free spech. they are free to lie. they are free to divide and conquer. they are free to sabotage. Am i not free to fight them? If not when do I get the same freedom’s as you gop? When will liberals get the same freedoms and right’s that the conservatives do? When will the street run both ways? Either it runs both ways or neither. Either the gop practices what they preach or they lose their ability to be above the law. They lose their ability to make laws for others to follow, while being above them themselves.
What if a conservative was silenced, like the dixie chicks or rosie or ward churchill (the cu tentured professor fired for his free speech)? Would they cry then?
Nathan… awesome. lol
“Your guy won, now be gracious and help bridge the divide between those elated and those disenfranchised by the election.
”
Impossible when people dividie and conquer for profit. Impossible when people get paid to divide america for money. Bridge the divide? Tell that to rush limbaugh. Tell that to sean hannity and bill o’reilly. they are still waging war like the election is still going on.
The gop and their propoganda arm declared war. WAR!. they declared war on the elderly they lie to daily. They declared war on liberals. they declared war on obama. they declared war on relaity itself. How can we decalre a cease fire? How can we decalre peace in america? the left did not wage this war ON america, using terrorism (threats of violence to acheive political means). the left cannot decalre peace. only those waging war on america for profit and or power can decalre peace. they do so by standing down and stopping their war on the elderly and reality. until then, it’s on.