Last night on The Daily Show, correspondent John Oliver did a piece on Obama's father's birthplace, Kenya and interviewed the ambassador. Oliver, who is British, then began offering to "take Kenya back" under the mantle of British rule causing the ambassador, after overcoming his incredulousness, to become amiably angry, something I didn't think possible.
Certain comedians can get away with saying racist-type things, as long as they portray themselves as obvious buffoons. Borat can do this, and the French James Bond spoof OSS 117: Cairo Nest of Spies (hilarious, btw) is a feature-length version of this joke.
John Oliver did not do this. His personae's haughty British stereotype was put to ill use haranging the Kenyan ambassador about the awesome things that the British colonial occupation left beind, like railroads.
I don't know. Maybe I'm being too sensitive...judge for yourself.
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3 months ago
i thought it was a little funny. do you think he was just trying for the New Comedy angle (i.e., anything that makes you feel uncomfortable has got to be funny)?
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