I miss Jon Stewart. He's back tomorrow with a new show (on Apple TV +, whatever that is)
Do you think there’s a sense in which these kinds of shows ultimately weren’t helpful? That they left viewers with a sense of complacency — if they’ve laughed at a problem they’ve done enough to solve it?
Boy, wouldn’t that be nice? It would make the Friars Club roast the most effective social movement of all time. I hope none of us have the delusion that this is an effective way of change. Did I have a pretty strong hand in ruining the way we talk? You certainly hope not. But there’s an awful lot that’s made of, oh, the smug liberals and they condescend and that’s what has driven conservatives. I think it’s a fable. I have an AM radio and I know that for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Democrats, liberals, New Yorkers, are portrayed not as dumb or as smug but as an enemy to American democracy that needs to be excised.
There’s a whole idea out there that there’s a real America that’s the opposite and antithesis of that, and it’s all just nonsense. I think late-night comedy is tame as [expletive] compared to right-wing media. Making a little fun and calling some names, this is patty-cake. But the hand-wringing that goes on around it is strategic on the part of people who want to discredit those types of thoughts. I don’t know what is the remedy to that poison that is pumped into the atmosphere by those outlets.
In your final monologue on “The Daily Show,” in which you warned that “bullshit is everywhere,” you advised viewers, “If you smell something, say something.” Does that actually accomplish anything?
People say pointing out hypocrisy does nothing. I don’t know that it does nothing, but it’s certainly not enough. The ethos of “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” that always spoke to me. The idea that when there was a group delusion or a spell to be broken, that you could break it with an honest assessment or a funny dagger or something along those lines. And you would say, “Hey man, this [expletive] is naked.” And everyone would go, “Oh my God, that’s right, the tyranny is over.” You never expect that you live in a world where the boy would say, “But the emperor is wearing no clothes!” And everyone would turn and say, “You’re the enemy of the people! That’s fake news! You run a pedophile ring out of a pizza shop!” You’re like, wait, what? You’re not prepared for that moment to have no impact.
More good stuff at the link which is one of those unlocked NYTimes articles.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/29/arts/television/jon-stewart.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuonUktbfqohkQVUZCibcR8Q86QGLgfXRwac9gXm5Li-TDC1ewvscGZTG-1vIYeArQeoP6AmhZY0LNq4zFrs1x_VDPkdpRk6mrJWIwcwJemA484jpGz5vjs2IVOAxoHqzNDjpIukklLOys0_MeCK9DvykpH4nIglup5BgZAvqjSROnvGZZ7Yzjtpu3v4hBoR4TSMAbESJufrqAxZ9O7aWf02Wq1l2C6wCB2alzZPL4KkAcQ5RFVrEUHt-hG4549pXM9sWV73tO7lONaoRPHNmiPu0YKaZhw&smid=url-share
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They make me laugh, which is much needed these days. Not to mention, their opening song is so darn catchy. 