Long ago and far away, there was a time when network television poked fun at power. It was a time when light hearted satire skewered cold-hearted politics. It was a time when Saturday Night Live was still funny, and SCTV made Canadians laugh ’til they cried.
Sadly, those times are gone. Network TV has ruled out funny in favor of stupid, or harmful, or propagandistic:
This past November, U.S. Army Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan, the dean of the United States Military Academy at West Point, flew to Southern California to meet with the creative team behind “24.” Finnegan, who was accompanied by three of the most experienced military and F.B.I. interrogators in the country, arrived on the set as the crew was filming. At first, Finnegan-wearing an immaculate Army uniform, his chest covered in ribbons and medals-aroused confusion: he was taken for an actor and was asked by someone what time his “call” was.
In fact, Finnegan and the others had come to voice their concern that the show’s central political premise-that the letter of American law must be sacrificed for the country’s security-was having a toxic effect. In their view, the show promoted unethical and illegal behavior and had adversely affected the training and performance of real American soldiers. “I’d like them to stop,” Finnegan said of the show’s producers. “They should do a show where torture backfires.”
But in the dark recesses of a network known mostly for it’s special blend of “stupid” and “propaganda,” there comes an occasional spark. Fox, the progenitor of what some call Faux News, has brought us this little satirical gem:
So whaddaya think folks? Isn’t it about time Apple cuts the funding for the iRack?
More seriously, the skit’s reference to “No Exit (plan)” calls to mind Sartre’s play about hell, coincidentally titled “No Exit.” In the play, hell’s not really so bad, it’s just that there’s no way out. The condemned are consigned for eternity to to stay right where they are. They can handle it … for a while .. but then the endlessness of the situation begins to take its toll.
This administration intentionally failed to devise an exit for the Iraq war, and as a result, created a hell on earth.
Let’s hope that the Democratic House and Senate use all the best tools in their toolbox to craft an exit that is really a way out. And be sure not to leave loopholes that allow the President to pull the sort of dishonest shenanigans that are his hallmark. Shenanigans such as, perhaps, relabelling all the “combat” troops as “support” troops, and leaving them right where they are, leaving them once again, with No Exit.