Posted on 08/07/2022 4:49:42 AM PDT by ToxicMasculinity
The Monty Python legend says political correctness is ruining creativity in all aspects of human activity.
From shows and movies ranging from Monty Python's Flying Circus and Fawlty Towers to Life of Brian and A Fish Called Wanda, the comedian John Cleese has uproariously and relentlessly satirized politics and religion while stretching the boundaries of decorum and good taste like so many silly walks.
Now 82, Cleese—who studied law at Cambridge—has recently set his sights on political correctness and wokeism, which he says are the enemy not only of humor but of creative thinking in all areas of human activity.
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Cleese is still a loonie lefty. He’s just upset that it’s finally his ox that’s getting gored.
So? He’s a master craftsman at inducing laughter. That’s what interests me, not his antiquated world view.
#42.
#42.
Tom Lehrer was a gifted satirist, whose songs sometimes still resonate. The fact that he was a leftard homo is irrelevant.
And what he said during the interview about not having to be solemn just because you’re serious describes Trump to a T.
I miss Mark Russell, I would never miss his PBS Specials, he pretty much skewered everybody.
The guys a poncey git.
So? Don’t invite him over for tea, but learn how to mock and satirize from him. Rabbi Meir continued to study under Elisha ben Avuya (Aher) even after the latter became a heretic and an informer, because he had something of value to impart, and because Rabbi Meir could winnow out the chaff and take the grain of Aher’s wisdom with caution.
And along those lines, we should use Alinsky tactics on the Left. It’s not as if he invented them. But especially Ridicule, it works!
Absolutely. The Athenians’ Aristophanes was a past master.
Spot on.
Nope.
Like any other bunch of leftist twits they made fun of things they did not understand. Because that is how leftist twits do.
Now it turns out that all those things they were so eager to tear down were indeed what was keeping them safe from the wolves. The wolves they were sure were snuggle puppies.
Now they are screaming as they are being torn limb from limb for us to save them.
How about... no.
The unfortunate thing is that people like Cleese will never learn from their past mistakes. They just don’t have it in them to admit they might have gotten a few things wrong.
True. And you certainly won’t hear any mea culpas from the likes of such third rate talents as Stephen Colbert. But Stephen Colbert can’t teach you anything about humor, because he knows nothing about it. Cleese, however, definitely does, and as a result people of every political stripe still enjoy Monty Python or the Life of Brian.
Robin Williams was always pretty far left. But he was also a comic genius. The difference is, you can disagree with a good-and certainly a great-comic when he makes a political dig, and still laugh at the joke. A mediocre comic, you either agree with his politics, and like him, or you disagree and hate him, and he won’t let you get around it. A real comic talent can tease you without insulting you, he can make you laugh at yourself and still be yourself, still feel a friendship with the comic for making you laugh in spite of the political digs, unless you’re so fixated on yourself that you can’t possibly accept any jest made at your expense. Cleese is one of the greats, certainly not the greatest, but up there.
So comedy is a potential bridge to liberals who are not fanatical hard cases. It can burn the self-fixated narcissists, who richly deserve it, while simultaneously reaching across ideologies to those for whom there is still hope.
Since mockery is the leftards’ kryptonite, we must learn more about how to make it, and make more of it. It can also make one rich. Money is one of my favorite things. If Cleese can help us in this endeavor, he’ll have served his purpose.
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