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.”