Satire, like the mediocrity of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the sincerity of David Suzuki, is always with us. It's just there.
But there are times when satire isn't just there in the popular culture -- it's thriving, blossoming and becomes the dominant genre. That's because there are specific periods when satire is necessary. We've entered one of those times. As they say, in the awful parlance of trade coverage of the entertainment racket, satire is on the uptick.
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart is the show that matters and has even spawned the spinoff Colbert Report. People are flocking to movie theatres to see the Borat flick. The popularity of Borat would have been unthinkable a few years ago. In this neck of the woods, the most popular shows on CBC-TV are Rick Mercer Report (CBC, 8 p.m. ) and This Hour Has 22 Minutes (CBC, 8:30 p.m.). CBC may promote the heck out of various new programs and personalities, but it's Mercer and the 22 Minutes crew who get the big viewing numbers.
The importance of satire occurs at key points in history, usually when the mass of common people gets fed up with the nonsense being fed to them by politicians, political pundits, inane celebrities and the very rich. In recent history, it was the late 1980s that brought satire, sarcasm and asperity to the fore. It was the era of Ronald Reagan and, up here, Brian Mulroney. It was the time of yuppies and preppies.
Some people were fed up with the tenor of times, all that smugness and celebration of vacuity. From this mood sprang Spy magazine in the United States and Frank magazine hereabouts. Saturday Night Live had a golden few years. Codco was popular on CBC and soon, the Corp. was moving Air Farce from radio to TV and, inside a few years, This Hour Has 22 Minutes arrived.
Right now, we're very satire-friendly. We're awash in no-talent celebrities and air-headed coverage of them. The marriage of Tom Cruise and what's-her-name was the front-page, main story in certain Canadian newspapers on Sunday, for heaven's sake.
This is the time for all of us non-entities to enjoy the mocking of the famous-but-untalented, the judgmental politicians who turn out to be hypocrites, and all the obscenely rich and vulgar. Five years after 9/11, in the U.S. and here, there's a fatigue with vacuous patriotism, terrorist warnings and overkill security.
This is one of those periods when the collective b.s. detector is in high gear. A recent opinion survey in Canada suggested that the environment is suddenly a top priority with voters. I'd respectfully suggest that most people know little about the nuts and bolts of industrial greenhouse-gas emitters and the international trading in emission credits, but they know instinctively that Rona Ambrose is b.s.-ing and pulling an outrageous con job on Canadians and the world. They just know.
This surge in satire is bad news for some people. Michael Ignatieff went to see Borat the other day and, like the pompous ass he often appears to be, took the time to tell a reporter that he found the film "amazingly awful" and "vulgar." This, we all note, is a movie that millions of Canadians think is hilarious. A man who cannot understand the appeal of Borat cannot understand Canada or the contemporary culture. Iggy's not jiggy with the times.
Tonight, Rick Mercer Report has Mercer hanging out with Canada's world diving champion, Alexandre Despatie, and also with Speaker of the House Peter Milliken.
Tonight on 22 Minutes, Shaun Majumder talks to U.S. ambassador to Canada David Wilkins, and Mark Critch hangs out with Nelly Furtado at the Grey Cup. Enjoy.
Also airing tonight: Living Old (PBS, 9 p.m. on Frontline) is a thoughtful, powerful examination of life as an elderly person in the United States today. It's also downright scary. Over the next few years, we're told, the number of U.S. citizens over the age of 65 will double. But the U.S. is not prepared for this. It's pointed out that not everyone who is old and frail has cancer, Alzheimer's or Parkinson's. The system is set up to deal with these types of problems, but not with the vast array of problems that old age brings. Many of the elderly are living lives that neither they nor their families ever planned for or imagined. It's a matter of cost and care. And the number of doctors who specialize in geriatric care is tiny. The program suggests that a crisis is looming. By implication, Canada is in the same situation.
Tony Bennett: An American Classic (CTV, 7 p.m., NBC, 8 p.m.) is a celebration of an old smoothie. The promised highlight is a series of duets -- Smile with Barbra Streisand and Steppin' Out With My Baby with Christina Aguilera. Several Canadians also take part. Bennett performs The Best Is Yet to Come with Diana Krall, Because of You with k.d. lang and Just in Time with junior smoothie Michael Bublé.
The American Music Awards (ABC, CTV, 8 p.m.) is your chance to gawk at bad hair and bad attitude and sample some popular but bad music. Mariah Carey, Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Black Eyed Peas and Canadian band Nickelback lead the nominations with three each. The performers include Beyoncé, Carrie Underwood, Dixie Chicks, Gwen Stefani, Josh Groban, Mary J. Blige, the Pussycat Dolls, Snow Patrol and Tenacious D.
Go ahead, make fun of it. It's the thing to do.
Dates and times may vary across the country. Check local listings.