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.”
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