----- Original Message ----- From: <info at pulpculture.org>
> i realize it was vicious in context. I wrote that in my first post, but it
> wasn't vicious on the terms that I'd wanted to see: a George Carlin going
> off on his and the media's ass would have been stupendous. And yes, it was
> boring and long.
I suppose the delivery could have been a bit more polished, but I also think we're expecting a little too much. He should have known that it would be re-broadcast endlessly, but it was originally on CSpan. Two years ago (before Youtube, torrents, Tivo, etc.) few of us would have seen it--and the mainstream snapshots of Colbert would be all most of us would ever have seen (or, likely, read) of the event. That is, unless you normally sit at home on Saturday night and watch Cspan.
Still, I don't see how you can talk about vicious except in a context. Carlin might have been vulgar and possibly even pointed, but I think some of Colbert's jokes were much more focused on his audience--not making them laugh but making them squirm. Much of what Carlin might say could be dismissed as done for the sake of a vicious joke; little of what Colbert pointed out (at least in the first half) is irrelevant to the future of the country. And he said it about ten feet from a president who has never had a real public event--using the essence of the president's arguments to make him look even more foolish and bankrupt than he already does.
I think part of what makes his routine less funny is that, in the end, the things he points out are pretty sad statements and the character he affects is all too common. I only rarely have a belly laugh at this kind of humor--usually it has a deeper critical function. Sort of like reading Celine. Genius is definitely pushing it, but he excels in his medium.
I also think that, if you're expecting it to be the best thing ever, you're going to be disappointed. Sort of like capitalism.
-s