Recently a classmate of mine blogged about an article on the Huffington Post entitled, "Colbert Study: Conservatives Don't Know He's Joking". The article references a study conducted at the Ohio State University which found that many conservatives seem to think that Stephen Colbert is actually an extreme right-wing conservative, and not just playing one on television. My first impression upon seeing this article was that those being surveyed must have been truly stupid people to not immediately recognize the over the top antics of Colbert as an act. Besides the fact the Colbert Report is on a network called Comedy Central, some of the things that Colbert says cannot possibly be taking seriously. (For instance, on the clip posted on my classmate’s blog, Colbert mentions that we should have seen Swine Flu coming because of Porky the Pig’s catchphrase, “That’s All Folks!”)
In her response, my classmate expresses some minor concerns that those who think Colbert is serious will take his message seriously, thus provoking them to take some kind of extreme action. Although Colbert in the past has been very successful in getting his audience to do stupid things, such as voting for his name to adorn a new module on the International Space Station, I do not think that anything said on the Colbert Report will lead to people doing anything that could cause actual harm to society. My classmate also suggests that Comedy Central make it clearer that Colbert is not serious about the things he says. Although this would not do any harm, I do not think it is necessary because, as my classmate also points out, anyone who is unsophisticated enough to think that Colbert’s show is serious probably won’t be able to have any real impact on American society.
In her response, my classmate expresses some minor concerns that those who think Colbert is serious will take his message seriously, thus provoking them to take some kind of extreme action. Although Colbert in the past has been very successful in getting his audience to do stupid things, such as voting for his name to adorn a new module on the International Space Station, I do not think that anything said on the Colbert Report will lead to people doing anything that could cause actual harm to society. My classmate also suggests that Comedy Central make it clearer that Colbert is not serious about the things he says. Although this would not do any harm, I do not think it is necessary because, as my classmate also points out, anyone who is unsophisticated enough to think that Colbert’s show is serious probably won’t be able to have any real impact on American society.
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