The political satire commentaries - Chris Rock

Comedians as political commentators will be the topic of the blog for a little while because I believe their influence on the public debate is insufficiently appreciated.

I'm going to spend some time and energy to show that there is a link between entertainment and politics. People in both fields tends to overlook the other. Policy analysts are dismissive of media writers and most of those in the arts pay little attention to what political wonks have to say.

Since I regard myself as a little bit of both (media/policy writer), I want to offer up some example of entertainers that have merged politics and comedy as examples of how combining the two can be done with great effect.

While I think Bill Hicks was the best political commentator of the past 20 years, the funniest one has been Chris Rock. Each stand-up set he has done has gotten more and more political up to the point where his 2008 special, "Shoot the Messenger" was primarily about the 2008 election and his views on McCain vs. Obama.

Rock has a signature approach to stand-up, pacing feverishly back and forth while screaming into the mic in a strained voice that combines disbelief and a type of plea for common sense. His view on partisanship, which is still in top gear, is crystal clear:

"We all got a gang mentality. Republicans are f@#$ing idiots, Democrats are f@#$ing idiots. Conservatives are idiots and liberals are idiots. Anyone that makes up their mind before they hear the issue is a f@#$ing fool, okay!?"

Not belonging to a political group and being able to snipe at both sides is the freedom that makes for great commentary (which can also be hilarious). This freedom is lacking in the forum of mainstream "real" political commentary. FOX, CNN and MSNBC push their own agendas. FOX is the most shameless, but objectivity in the American news is no longer seen as credible.

This is why comedians armed only with jokes and no allegiance to the party are the best source of unbaised opinion. Listen to Chris Rock's comedy specials in chronological order and see how much more political the material has become as the country has become more partisan. In addition to the laughs, Rock has supplied red flags to the amount of partisanship in the country. This is his greatest political contribution.