2008 Woodie Awards
George W. Bush Hates...
Kanye West takes a blind stab at politics
Filippo Goodman
Issue date: 9/29/05 Section: Opinion
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In retrospect, if not for the flashes of despair that served as a backdrop, the scene during the NBC: "We Are the World" Hurricane Katrina telethon bordered the edges of laugh-out-loud comedy.
With the jittery posture and a speech pattern of an addict in hour nine of detox rehabilitation, Kanye West clumsily forced his vocal cords to shove out his frustration over relief efforts, and the media coverage of the Hurricane Katrina disaster. As he detoured from the prepared script, West battled to keep his body from disintegrating into a pool of Polo gear and Timberlands.
Then West unleashed what was perhaps the weapon of mass destruction that the administration has been searching for all these years: "George Bush doesn't care about Black people."
Actor Mike Myers, who was paired on-screen with West, wore a stupefied mask as if he just overheard that "The Cat in the Hat" was receiving Oscar nominations. A jarring jump cut to Chris Tucker revealed a comic placed way out of his element, and who now probably just wanted to go home.
Initial reaction seemed to suggest that the Bush blast had carved out the same cultural relevance as the catchphrase, "Where's the beef?" The quote became consistent fodder for lame late night punchlines; even fellow comedian Chris Rock made light of the remark on the NBC: "Shelter from the Storm" telethon, saying, "George Bush hates midgets."
Perhaps that's a superficial view; the ensuing ripple effect seems far more profound..
In a sound-bite-obsessed, sensationalized, who-gives-a-damn-about-the-issues media, the first seed has been planted. Now it's just waiting for fertilization. Paging-Senator Barack Obama.
The Bush comment was a much-needed counterpunch to the repeated jabs and uppercuts from the far right. After being slapped around and marginalized in a post-9/11 climate, could this be the spark that regenerates political activism on the left?
Republicans certainly seized the moment once the smoke cleared at Ground Zero in New York. Talk radio and cable news became a non-stop parade of puffed-out chests and right-wing bluster. John Kerry was the Vietnam coward, not Bush. A search of weapons of mass destruction morphs into Operation Iraqi Freedom? No problem! Everything, from high-income tax breaks, to the Patriot Act, to bigoted wedge issues, was housed under the tent of fear tactics and "protecting America."
With the jittery posture and a speech pattern of an addict in hour nine of detox rehabilitation, Kanye West clumsily forced his vocal cords to shove out his frustration over relief efforts, and the media coverage of the Hurricane Katrina disaster. As he detoured from the prepared script, West battled to keep his body from disintegrating into a pool of Polo gear and Timberlands.
Then West unleashed what was perhaps the weapon of mass destruction that the administration has been searching for all these years: "George Bush doesn't care about Black people."
Actor Mike Myers, who was paired on-screen with West, wore a stupefied mask as if he just overheard that "The Cat in the Hat" was receiving Oscar nominations. A jarring jump cut to Chris Tucker revealed a comic placed way out of his element, and who now probably just wanted to go home.
Initial reaction seemed to suggest that the Bush blast had carved out the same cultural relevance as the catchphrase, "Where's the beef?" The quote became consistent fodder for lame late night punchlines; even fellow comedian Chris Rock made light of the remark on the NBC: "Shelter from the Storm" telethon, saying, "George Bush hates midgets."
Perhaps that's a superficial view; the ensuing ripple effect seems far more profound..
In a sound-bite-obsessed, sensationalized, who-gives-a-damn-about-the-issues media, the first seed has been planted. Now it's just waiting for fertilization. Paging-Senator Barack Obama.
The Bush comment was a much-needed counterpunch to the repeated jabs and uppercuts from the far right. After being slapped around and marginalized in a post-9/11 climate, could this be the spark that regenerates political activism on the left?
Republicans certainly seized the moment once the smoke cleared at Ground Zero in New York. Talk radio and cable news became a non-stop parade of puffed-out chests and right-wing bluster. John Kerry was the Vietnam coward, not Bush. A search of weapons of mass destruction morphs into Operation Iraqi Freedom? No problem! Everything, from high-income tax breaks, to the Patriot Act, to bigoted wedge issues, was housed under the tent of fear tactics and "protecting America."