The velocity of certain actions – a swift kick to the seat of the pants, a high-speed Keystone pursuit, the sudden collision of face and patisserie – might almost persuade us otherwise, but slapstick is in truth sedulously devoted to the study of slowness.
Will Trump Help Make The Daily Show Great Again?
Trevor Noah may find his breakout moment during a presidency that promises to dismantle many of the established systems of American democracy.
.. Trevor Noah tends to be at his best—as a comedian, and as a political observer—when he can apply his perspective as a non-American to the assorted antics of the American political system. Noah’s extended riff on candidate Donald Trump’s resemblance to an African dictator might have been the most culturally enduring observation he made during his first year at the helm of The Daily Show;
.. He hasn’t been righteously angry, in the manner of Samantha Bee, or indignantly wonky, in the manner of John Oliver, or impishly cheeky, in the manner of Stephen Colbert and Jimmys Fallon and Kimmel.
.. Noah’s comment, here, was designed not necessarily to provoke guffaws or even outrage, but rather to provoke … thought. Critical assessment. It was wonkery in the guise of comedy.
.. And on the other, there’s the fact that Noah seems to be, much like Obama himself, constitutionally calm: His perspective is more observational
.. late-night audiences, the argument further goes, haven’t been looking to comedians to explain the world so much as they’ve been looking to them to channel its many outrages. They’ve been seeking catharsis, not analysis.
.. Trump’s victory has been called, by Trump himself, “Brexit plus plus plus.”.. Trevor Noah—the man who locates himself both outside the American system and within it—may be poised, as is traditional, to help his viewers rage at the world, and to help them laugh at it. Just importantly, though, he may also be poised to help them re-imagine it.
Saturday Night Live Hires Three New Cast Members
The fact that SNL has never employed a Latina performer in its 42 years perfectly illustrates how slow it’s been to acknowledge demographic changes in comedy.
.. Villaseñor, an L.A.-based comedian, was a competitor on America’s Got Talent in 2011, where she showed off her skills as an impressionist; she should prove a valuable addition for a show that often calls on its white performers to impersonate Latina women. From a demographic standpoint, the only surprising move among the hires was the lack of a younger black actor to replace Pharoah; his wide range of impressions, from Barack Obama to Will Smith to Jay Z, will be difficult to replace.
The Brilliant Ascendency of Jessica Williams
Stewart’s often-arch, despairing tone was perfect for the Bush era, when his time at The Daily Show sniping at the administration from the sidelines and mocking the ineffectual left turned him into a generation’s political conscience. But in the even more polarized times of 2016, where viral clips are the norm and viewers are more and more likely to tune in online rather than at 11 p.m., audiences are demanding passion from their late-night hosts. Full Frontal’s Samantha Bee, Late Night’s Seth Meyers, and Last Week Tonight’s John Oliver have jumped to the fore with a reliance on long-form segments that verge on the polemical, intensely “eviscerating” a certain issue or politician to cheers from an audience.