In a week that saw the idea of satire honored by millions after a terrorist attack on a provocative French weekly, it’s worth noting that satire is thriving on American TV.
But it’s a gentler kind of humor that mostly tiptoes around religion.
Sure, Russell Brand, Chelsea Handler and Bill Maher go there. John Oliver gets away with smart and profane satire on cable. But the target of American broadcast network satire is more often the American broadcast networks.
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are proof, hosting the Golden Globes on Sunday and, it’s safe to assume they’ll continue their tradition of skewering the industry, the process and NBC.
Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert (soon on a grander platform) exercise free speech, brilliantly. Like it or not, they’re all now enlisted as combatants in the war on terror. What will they do with that power?
On the scripted comedy and drama side, satire is thriving. Everyone’s got a zinger, “SNL” to Comedy Central to ” to Twitter. Current events bubble to the surface faster than ever. Raise a pen in solidarity.
Still, it’s easier to take potshots at a TV network or a divided Congress (especially while making big bucks) than to work for a low-circulation weekly satirizing fundamentalist religions.
Most American media outlets chose not to republish cartoon depictions of Mohammed this week, describing the images instead. (Three images of Charlie Hebdo covers appeared in Thursday’s Denver Post.) It’s worth noting Charlie Hebdo, whose staff was attacked in Paris, has regularly run provocative images offensive to various religious factions — but they are equal-opportunity offenders.
Going forward, might American TV satire veer more toward the daringly political? Or, worse, might the default impulse be to tiptoe after the terror attack? Audiences will listen for any shift in tone.
Media on media
Media making fun of media has always been a rich, if easy, vein for satire. Such low-hanging fruit.
Narrow slices of the entertainment-industrial complex have been examined in recent series to comic effect: “Newsroom” was an uneven, self-indulgent sendup of the frantic pace and financial realities of cable TV news. Lisa Kudrow’s just-completed season of “The Comeback” was a painfully funny peek at the TV industry, fame and the narcissism of stars.
Notable new efforts similarly master the art of biting the hand that feeds, probing in new directions to update the humor and address serious topical issues.
The entertaining which returns for season 4 Sunday on Showtime, and the more seriously engaging drama which launched last week on Sundance, do their share to expose media hypocrisy and reveal the true relationship between government and media.
Whether they’re shaming network TV desperation, knocking the naivete of a government “communications specialist” or highlighting the corporate greed behind decisions in the entertainment sphere, they confirm our worst suspicions.
The comedy “Episodes,” starring Mat Le Blanc as a despicable version of himself, concerns an aging prima donna, two British sitcom writers sucked into the Hollywood system, and an array of narcissistic industry types. (Showtime has a free preview weekend running through Sunday, aimed at non-subscribers.)
The sight of the agent at her treadmill desk, on speakerphone, while endlessly marching in a black dress and heels, never gets old.
“Babylon”
The heavier “Babylon,” from Oscar winner Danny Boyle (“Slumdog Millionaire,” “Trainspotting”) is a dark satire of a particular culture clash: the world’s oldest police force adapting to modern media technology. The grizzled London police chief and a fresh young American PR woman clash brilliantly over what information to convey to the public and how, debating whether openness is a workable strategy for those with the impossible task of law enforcement. This is Boyle’s first television venture since “Inspector Morse” and he goes dark and deep at a fast pace.
Boyle sends up the relationship between media and government — also between a young innocent with grand ideas about transparency and the police veterans. The six-part series, airing Thursdays on Sundance, deserves serious attention.
Liz Garvey (played by Brit Marling, a favorite of the indie film world) is the new media expert with a successful TED talk to her credit, hired by London Police Commissioner Richard Miller (James Nesbitt) to update the stodgy UK police press relations department.
Marling (“Another Earth,” “Sound of My Voice,” “The East”) and Nesbitt (“The Hobbit,” “The Missing”) are great sparring partners. And Liz’s rival for the job, Finn, played by Bertie Carvel, consistently undermines her. He sees her optimism as weakness.
What happens when word of a bomb threat goes viral? PR strategy starts dictating police response and tail wags dog.
In an uncomfortably relevant storyline for the U.S. audience, when an unarmed black teenager is killed by police, violence erupts. Liz attempts to stick to an agenda, deal openly with the clamoring news crews and control the flow of information. It doesn’t go well.
Joanne Ostrow: 303-954-1830, jostrow@denverpost.com or twitter.com/ostrowdp
