Colbert’s Satire of Glenn Beck, and Why It Matters
In case you haven’t seen it yet, here’s Steven Colbert’s brilliant take-down of right-wing cuckoo-bananas demagogue Glenn Beck:
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| The 10/31 Project | ||||
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As you can see, Colbert makes mincemeat of the cherub-faced lunatic, who clearly sees himself as some sort of Howard Beale:
In an interview, Mr. Beck, who recently rewatched the 1976 film “Network,” said he identified with the character of Howard Beale, the unhinged TV news anchorman who declares on the air that he is “mad as hell.”
“I think that’s the way people feel,” Mr. Beck said. “That’s the way I feel.” In part because of Mr. Beck, Fox News — long identified as the favored channel for conservatives and Republican leaders — is enjoying a resurgence just two months into Mr. Obama’s term.
Colbert’s satire is an important blow, because Beck’s ratings are increasing, and with them legitimacy from sources like The New York Times, which recently glossed over all of Beck’s insane and inflammatory statements to portray him as just another TV entertainer: read the entire article, and you will see nothing of beck’s expressed hatred for the families of 9/11 victims, or his bizarre assertion that Ronald Reagan prevented the Apocalypse, or that Jesus and the 12th Imam are gonna battle it out like Godzilla versus Ghidra.
You can get a good snapshot of Beck’s “charisma” and the extent he goes to rile up his viewers through this mash-up which had Joe Scarborough laughing so hard he began crying…
…but it’s not at all funny. Beck’s apocalyptic fantasies need pushback, as he’s trying to foment insurrection and chaos:
While Mr. O’Reilly, the 8 p.m. host, paints himself as the outsider and Mr. Hannity, at 9, is more consistently ideological, Mr. Beck presents himself as a revivalist in a troubled land.
He preaches against politicians, hosts regular segments titled “Constitution Under Attack” and “Economic Apocalypse,” and occasionally breaks into tears…
Tapping into fear about the future, Mr. Beck also lingers over doomsday situations; in a series called “The War Room” last month he talked to experts about the possibility of global financial panic and widespread outbreaks of violence. He challenged viewers to “think the unthinkable” so that they would be prepared in case of emergency.
“The truth is — that you are the defender of liberty,” he said. “It’s not the government. It’s not an army or anybody else. It’s you. This is your country.”…
Mr. Beck says he believes every word he says on his TV show, and the radio show that he still hosts from 9 a.m. to noon each weekday.
He says that America is “on the road to socialism” and that “God and religion are under attack in the U.S.” He recently wondered aloud whether FEMA was setting up concentration camps, calling it a rumor that he was unable to debunk.
While his recent “We Surround Them” was met with derision and laughter on the Intertubes, it’s clear that Beck is exploiting fear and may well be inciting violence. And nowhere is this more clear than in the video posted at Booman Tribune, which apparently aired Wednesday evening to high ratings at FOX “News”:
Nazi imagery. Explicit fear-mongering. Us-versus-them. A tiny image of Glenn Beck, subbing in for the Everyman against a world of enemies. This is the kind of incitement that goes echoes the 1990s fantasies of black helicopters and detention camps (and which, incidentally came true during the Bush years and were fervently supported by people just like and including Glenn Beck). How did that turn out last time?
Glenn Beck needs to be discredited, disrespected, and discarded. His remarks go beyond the intemperate into the insane, from acceptable to unacceptable.
April 3rd, 2009 at 8:04 am
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