News Satire Roundup: November 24th

Sunday, November 24 – Only Patriot Act was new this week, but it was a goodun. Hasan examined the fast fashion industry, which churns out lower-quality designer knockoffs at a fraction of the cost – his prime example was a dress Kim Kardashanian wore on a red carpet, which was given the fast-fashion treatment within two days. We looked a lot at the tremendous environmental impact all of this has and companies’ efforts to counteract that with the image of sustainability, not necessarily tangible action. The various ways companies mislead consumers about their environmental impact was gross, but luckily, Hasan was there with his own fast-fashion popup, where clothing tags were stamped with a rating of 1-3 “trucks full of clothes on fire.” His commentary on one company’s nebulous “sustainability” ad was great too. “Quick, they’re buying used! Someone put a model on a tractor!”

Last Week Tonight is done for the season, but I do want to take a moment and mention my love for the And Now This segments. The way the show is set up, with the main story taking up the brunt of each episode, it makes sense to throw in a quick palate cleanser between the “quick recap of the week” and the main attraction, and another in the event that the show has an additional short story at the end. It’s a nice way to mentally reset and transition to the next part of the show.

And they’re just so much fun! A good supercut is always good for a laugh, and Last Week Tonight has a particular flair for it. Some reoccurring favorites of mine include “up next on Inside Edition” blurbs, 60 Minutes hosts fishing for soundbites, and, of course, the local reporter who delivers his segments with a quasi-beat-poetry delivery. In general, the show mines gold from local news footage. Any montage of local news hosts acting ridiculous on a holiday is also good, and I love anything involving a disgruntled weatherperson.

Every now and then, they’re used as a continuation from a previous story, getting in a few extra jokes on a particular topic. One that comes to mind was used after the weekly recap discussed Paul Manafort’s indictment, and a big feature of the bit was all the absurd wardrobe items Manafort paid an obscene amount of money for. John shared some choice ridiculous-attire jokes during the story, but the And Now This that followed was nothing but pictures and descriptions of wild items found in Manafort’s closet.

One thing that the show doesn’t seem to do much anymore is use And Now This for an entertaining lesson rather than a supercut, typically under the separate name How is This Still a Thing? I know there have never been many of these, but I’ve always liked them, and it would be nice to see them pop up again once in a while. Their video on whitewashing is excellent, and I always flash back to their bit on Daylight Savings Time whenever someone (incorrectly) states that it was implemented “for the farmers.”

Jojo Rabbit (2019, PG-13)

This movie intrigued me as soon as I first heard about it, and as soon as I saw the first trailer, I was 100% onboard and not-so-patiently waiting for it to come to my general area. I finally had a chance to get down to the Cities and see it, and it is just so, so good (premise spoilers.)

Jojo is a 10-year-old boy living in Nazi Germany toward the end of the war. A devoted Hitler Youth, he believes every bit of propaganda his country has taught him about Jews and daydreams about joining Hitler’s personal guard. When he discovers a Jewish girl hidden in his attic, he takes it upon himself to write a definitive guide on Jews but is perplexed when the girl, Elsa, isn’t as he expects her to be.

I enjoyed Thor: Ragnarok a lot, but even though this is only the second Taika Waititi film I’ve seen, I get the sense that this is much more undiluted Waititi. The film is so excellently put together, an incredible mix of audacious humor, savage satire, and piercing drama. Waititi knows just how far to push it with the jokes and when to pull back and get real. The opening sequence, in which Jojo cheerily runs down the street yelling, “Heil Hitler!” to passersby while a German version of “I Want to Hold Your Hand” plays over Hitler appearing at rallies to Beatlemania-esque shrieks, feels like such a succinct depiction of what it was like to live in that place at that time.

This is hardly the first film that looks at the horrors of the Nazis through the eyes of a child, but the perspective we get here is really intriguing. As a young boy, Jojo trusts what the adults in his life tell him, and everyone except his mother is telling him that Jews are monsters, Hitler is somewhere between a superhero and a god, and there’s no greater honor than dying in battle for the Nazi cause. He doesn’t think of it as ideology – to him, it just is. It isn’t until he actually comes face-to-face with a real live Jew that he starts to see the cracks. It’s an interesting way to explore white supremacy and facism.

As Jojo, young Roman Griffin Davis carries the film with surprisingly-steady shoulders, and his peers Thomasin McKenzie (as Elsa) and Archie Yates (as Jojo’s friend Yorki) also acquit themselves well. They’re surrounded by an able adult cast, many of whom are asked to juggle both extremely-dark satire and earnest drama and handle both deftly. I especially want to highlight Scarlett Johansson as Jojo’s mom Rosie and Sam Rockwell as Hitler Youth instructor Captain K. And of course, I can’t leave without mentioning Waititi’s own performance as the imaginary Hitler in Jojo’s mind. In Waititi’s hands, imaginary-friend Hitler is petulant, dumb, and ridiculous, but at the same time, he carries a menace that flashes out when Jojo least expects it. Plus, there’s just something so satisfying about a buffoonish Hitler being played by someone who’s both Jewish and Maori.

Warnings

Strong thematic elements, language (including anti-Semetic insults,) drinking/smoking, violence, disturbing images, and irreverent humor about an intense subject.

The Book of Rannells: The Simpsons: Season 27, Episode 18 – “How Lisa Got Her Marge Back” (2016)

I feel like most actors (and plenty of non-acting public figures) end up on The Simpsons at one point or another.  In Andrew Rannells’s case, he’s playing a satirical version of himself.  I enjoy celebrities being good sports, and Rannells is pretty game here.

When Lisa overhears Marge complaining about jazz, she’s heartbroken to realize her mother has only been pretending to like Lisa’s music.  Marge is in turn dismayed to have Lisa so upset with her, and she takes Lisa on a mother/daughter trip to Capital City to try and mend fences.  Meanwhile, Bart has fallen into a rut with his pranks; all his usual suckers seem to see through him.  It’s not until he teams up with Maggie that he gets his mojo back.

For later-seasons Simpsons, it’s pretty enjoyable.  I love Maggie, and it’s cute to watch Bart bonding with her – Maggie’s got kind of a sly streak, so it makes sense that they’d make a good team.  And even though it’s frustrating to see Lisa be so myopic with Marge, it’s realistic.  Lisa is quite mature for her age, but she’s also very sensitive, and I get that she would be hurt to discover Marge’s well-intentioned white lies.

Rannells enters the picture during the Capital City trip, performing in one of the city’s terrible “Broadway-caliber” shows.  He’s starring in Bad News Bears:  The Musical, which Marge takes Lisa to see, and sings a bit in a montage of the show’s tacky, schmaltzy songs.  I got a kick out of the posters outside the theatre promoting him – the “Google him – you’ll be impressed!” sign makes me laugh.  Besides performing in the show itself, Rannells inevitably winds up meeting Marge and Lisa.

The characterization used for him is a little all over ther place, but it’s still funny.  He’s portrayed as kind of a needy attention hog, giving unsolicited autographs, quoting his own reviews, and fishing for remarks on how famous he is.  He’s also played as both somewhat socially tone-deaf (blithing inviting himself to join Marge and Lisa for dinner after the show) and surprisingly perceptive (quickly idenitifying the source of Lisa’s conflict with Marge and addressing Lisa’s attitude about it.)  In short, he’s pretty much whatever the plot and/or the joke calls for him to be at any given moment.

Additionally, the storyline offers some fun Broadway jokes.  I love all the posters for the horrible Capital City shows (tons of musicals from movies, shameless plugs for D-list celebrities, etc.), and I like the gag that, no matter what each musical is about, they’re all really about falling in love.

Recommend?

In General – Sure.  It’s a solid enough episode – the jokes are amusing, I always enjoy when The Simpsons does theatre, and I like the Bart-Maggie plot.

Andrew Rannells – Maybe.  This cameo is fairly insubstantial and kind of scattered, but it’s fun, too, and I like watching actors poke fun at themselves.

Warnings

A little slapstick violence.