sybarite_

around 3:40 if you're in a rush. http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-may-16-2013/the-road-to-the-road-to-the-road-to-the-white-house?xrs=share_copy Light rally!

hey guys, the video is way too long but the first three minutes are great for these reasons: we don't see his face for some reason. it's the message, man, not the messenger <ahem> smoke much? shift shaft, shift shaft, shift shaft

There's alot to cover in this one. When Matt asks the caller how many days after Newtown would it be appropriate to do a scene or if the scene was about Columbine instead, I can see Matt's point. However, I also see the caller's point because this was a tragedy and it seems disrespectful to me too to make light of it so soon. I don't have an answer for how long the wait should be either, but I understand that feeling because I've had it before listening to other podcasts at times. When Matt presses the caller on how long they should wait and the caller has no answer, Matt does make a point, sort of. The problem is that emotions are by nature irrational; I feel this thing because I feel this thing, it's difficult to articulate that oftentimes and hard to put into words. Matt presses again on the issue of "poor taste" and the caller says it's all subjective, which it is. Sorry Matt, but personal taste is a legitimate gripe on the part of an audience member. On the other hand, I give credit to Matt for pushing the issue because when you press anyone hard on why they think something, you often come to the conclusion that people are just full of shit. When Matt talks about the media reaction, I don't buy into that argument because it's a false equivalency. The media is supposed to be there to find and report facts, I4H is using this situation to mine out comedy and entertainment, those are apples and oranges. At around 1:19 Matt and co. talk about "taste" again but I4H is still trying to make comedy out of a situation where 20 children and 6 adults were murdered the day after it happened. I4H is essentially making fun of a mass shooting. Is there no time in our culture anymore to be solemn and to grieve for a moment? Then, I think Matt mentions that the idea of waiting after an event to make comedy from it is "dangerous" but he doesn't say why, so I'm not buying into that idea. Trying to call the caller out because he only mentioned the Sklar bros. as not covering the shooting is ridiculous because I4H is assuming the caller listens to every podcast. At ~1:22 Matt asks "why not just go hey I didn't like the scene why not keep it to yourself?" On this point, I have an axe to grind. I'm a fan Matt, but fuck you. Here's why: you chose to be an artist, you chose a job that requires an audience that you want approval from. If you are going to accept the positive feedback, such as applause or compliments or whatever, then you MUST accept the fact that nothing any artist is ever going to do is going to please everyone. If you want the approval you have to accept the disapproval too. Or get another job. The caller is entitled to his opinion even though it isn't flattering to you. Art doesn't exist in a vacuum, it's an interplay between artist and audience. If you don't want any criticism, turn the mics off. At ~1:24 Matt unravels his own defense and proves the caller's point for him. Matt says that no one from Newtown was listening to the podcast so they wouldn't be offended but that is EXACTLY the point of the scene being in poor taste. If Matt had a kid in Sandy Hook who had been murdered, he wouldn't have done the scene. So why is it different when it's someone else's kid? That's a lack of empathy on Matt's part. Matt wants to mine comedy out of a tragedy and it's all fun and games because he isn't personally affected by it, so play ball. But if someone in the audience has empathy or sympathy for the victims and calls Matt out on it, they're just propping themselves up on their own soapbox because they get off on "feeling righteous indignation"? That's bullshit. If Matt can't do that scene for an audience in Newtown then I don't see how he has a leg to stand on to defend his art against an audience who thought it was in poor taste because Matt is admitting by inference that the caller is correct. All that being said, this episode was otherwise packed with funny and I applaud Matt for having the caller on for an interesting discussion.