Sunday, July 2 – John started with
Trump’s latest controversial tweets, pointing out the smoke screen they’re
forming against bigger news, like parts of the travel ban being
reinstated. The main story was on the
Sinclair Broadcast Group, a media corporation that’s been buying up local news
stations around the country. John
provided copious evidence of the group’s far-right bent, which they force on
the stations they own through must-run pieces made by their headquarters and
copy they’ve written to introduce stories with a certain bias. I was particularly appalled by the daily
“Terrorism Alert Desk” – especially egregious was the fact that, when there’s
no terrorism news to report, they simply fill the segment with other “Muslim-related”
news. Fortunately, we ended on a high
note with the show’s recent acquisition of five wax replicas of US presidents,
complete with a trailer for a biopic starring their replica of Warren G.
Harding.
Another Daily Show-less week – back soon! This week, I want to appreciate just how much
of an asset I think Trevor’s nationality is to the show. It was naturally a topic of discussion before
the show rebooted and a ways into Trevor’s first season – the “African
perspective,” is Trevor well-versed enough on US politics to cover an election cycle,
and so on and so forth. But really, I
think that African perspective brings so much to the show, both in general and
in the specific political climate.
The
“Trump = African dictator” piece ran in one of Trevor’s first few episodes, and
it was an early indicator of the slant he could bring to the show. Very
early in the game, he recognized those similarities between Trump and several
prominent African dictators. Sure, the
segment was peppered with joke inclusions, like the montage of Trump and Idi
Amin both talking about their “excellent brains,” but it highlighted more
troubling similarities as well.
Throughout the campaign, the show kept leaning into this view of Trump –
making fun of him, of course, but also acknowledging him as the potential threat
he was and never losing sight of the possibility that he could actually win the
election. I feel like The Daily Show saw this long before
other shows, both comedy and straight news, and it’s in no small part due to
Trevor’s experience in having lived under presidents like that.
I also
really enjoy the Africa jokes sprinkled in here and there. Whether they’re putting things in perspective
(#ThirdWorldProblems) or exposing ignorance (Africa jokes: because you can’t tell if I’m kidding,) they’re
entertaining, clever, and most importantly, unique. There’s no one like Trevor on late-night, and
that opens the door for humorous insights that other shows either don’t see or
don’t have the knowledge to make. Where
else are you gonna find a late-night host delivering a punch line in Xhosa?
Finally,
Trevor’s experience as a relative newcomer to America helps shed a different
light on stories people who were born here can become numb to. Part of the reason Trevor’s commentary on,
say, gun control and mass shootings is so sharp, is because he’s coming at it
from a vantage point of just how supremely messed-up this problem is, and his
coverage of racism in America, while incisive enough on its own, gains even
more weight when you stop and think about how this is someone who lived through
the tail-end of apartheid.
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