Sunday, September 13, 2015

Stephen Colbert Creates a Different Lie

We all know Stephen Colbert as the guy who pretended to be a Republican pundit on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report. Some of us, of the more liberal persuasion, were comforted by the warmth of the satire. But that security blanket is gone and the honest persona has entered the scene, the real Stephen Colbert as brought about by The Late Show With Stephen Colber. However I think we were lucky to find that he's still funny and personable, I know I was excited to watch this new Stephen. But, to mimic the dramatic affect of Colbert's former character, we're still being lied to.

Back in August, Glamour magazine ran an article, written by Colbert and some of his writers, promising to make his new show a place where women would have a presence. It was called "Stephen Colbert Shares Why He Thinks Women Should Be in Charge of Everything". Colbert wrote impassioned about his quest to make sure The Late Show would be a feminist creative space, one that late night television specifically was lacking. Here are some choice sections I'll share:

"While there are many talented female comedians out there, right now the world of late-night is a bit of a sausagefest."

"To be honest, sometimes I wonder whether the world would be a better place if women were in charge. It would be pretty easy to make that happen. Simply tell the men of the world that you're trying to start a campfire. While we're all arguing with one another about proper kindling placement and whether using lighter fluid is cheating,* women can just quietly start getting stuff done."

"Point is, I'm here for you, and that means I'm going to do my best to create a Late Show that not only appeals to women but also celebrates their voices."

Women everywhere, including myself, rejoiced! "Yes" I thought, "Stephen Colbert has follow through, this will be the first late night show that gets ahead of that criticism and we'll see a balance in late night comedy"

Lol.

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert has exactly 2 female writers. There are 17 male writers. And then an additional 0 women. Stephen Colbert has yet again feigned sincerity to bring attention to an issue. Except this time instead of playing a trick old evil Republican old white dudes he's fooling women everywhere, especially female comedians. And just like the members of the GOP, I feel let down to realize he's not actually on our side.




 

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