Michelle Wolf - Correspondents Dinner

[_Some Schmo]

People seem to think she went too far, but I think it's only because she was right on the money. It was too much truth for them to process all at once.

If these were people with good character being made fun of, they would be able to laugh about themselves, or laugh at how silly it all was (under the assumption the jokes were caricatures rather than the way it really is) and Wolf wouldn't get nearly the same criticism.

[_MeDotOrg]

Well, this is interesting. I think most people on the board know that I am not Trump's biggest fan, but Michelle Wolf left me cold. For those who say 'speaking truth to power', I think her jokes were a lot more nasty than clever, There were times when I laughed out loud, but on the whole it left me feeling more embarrassed than amused. I think my mood mirrored that of a lot of the audience, which became quieter the longer she spoke.

Trump is in Washington (Michigan) speaking to his supporters, and Wolf is speaking to Trump halfway across the country. The volume is turned up to 10, but one is listening.

[_honorentheos]

That's perfectly fair, MeDotOrg. I tend to think of comedy like music in that there are fundamental subjective matters of personal taste involved more than there is some objective standard as to what makes something funny.

But I disagree with the statement that her jabs were just cruel, precisely because I suspect her style isn't one you might enjoy in a comedian generally. When she quipped that it is amazing that Trump was in touch with Russia while Clinton failed to be in touch with Michigan, that's a very short but concise comment about the 2016 election that would be difficult to distill down further and still capture essential problems involved.

Anyway, setting aside style and taste I don't think there were many misses in her jokes. The abortion joke was probably the worst which seemed like a poor setup for the punch line about conservative double standards. The how broke is Trump bit was a great concept that wasn't executed well with bad jokes about Donald Jr., and Southwest Airline trying to string it along but it had the right punch line. I tend to disagree with people who think Kellyanne and Sarah Sanders were being shamed for being women with unconventional looks. They're being shamed for shameful abuses of the truth. Maybe it's a stretch to ask people to get the "Is it Maybelline?" ad reference but I thought it was sharp. No one talks about the joke aimed at Rachel Maddow but that was a spot on criticism. Was it an unfair attack because it took aim at her tendency to get lost in context? Or is it not being brought up because it fails to fit the partisan narrative? The joke about Mitch McConnell getting his neck circumcised was absolutely a body-shaming comment but I've not heard anyone bring it up. Why is that? Because men can't be body shamed? I tend to think people are overlaying way too much partisanship over what was a fairly broad swipe at politicians and the media that elevates them. And that makes the media and politicians feel like victims so they are being defensive about it.

My favorite responses now are those saying her routine is an example of elites picking on the average Joe and Jane conservative. Because everyone knows Michelle Wolf and her elite status which she rubbed in everyone's faces.

I'd be curious to know what you thought were the cruelest comments?

[_huckelberry]

.....
When she quipped that it is amazing that Trump was in touch with Russia while Clinton failed to be in touch with Michigan, that's a very short but concise comment about the 2016 election that would be difficult to distill down further and still capture essential problems involved.

.. I don't think there were many misses in her jokes. The abortion joke was probably the worst which seemed like a poor setup for the punch line about conservative double standards. The how broke is Trump bit was a great concept that wasn't executed well...... No one talks about the joke aimed at Rachel Maddow but that was a spot on criticism. Was it an unfair attack because it took aim at her tendency to get lost in context? Or is it not being brought up because it fails to fit the partisan narrative?......


I'd be curious to know what you thought were the cruelest comments?

Honorentheos, your whole post was worth read, i copied only sample. To your question I thought the best was the series, media love affair with Trump, media orgasms over him and Russian story, making so much money off of Trump the media should be sending him royalty payments. There is a whole world of News and it is not being covered.

For shame!
Flint still needs clean water.

I have listened to a bit of media back and forth about meanness, language but nothing about her criticism of the media Trump interdependence. A bit of truth too close to home? I though the whole preceding portion of her presentation, with its hits and misses, was a set up to bring home this final.

[_honorentheos]

I have listened to a bit of media back and forth about meanness, language but nothing about her criticism of the media Trump interdependence. A bit of truth too close to home? I though the whole preceding portion of her presentation, with its hits and misses, was a set up to bring home this final.

I read it the same way.

[_Some Schmo]

This episode reminds of the time Bernie Sanders said he didn't care about Hillary's "damn emails." That's how that comment was covered - Bernie's indifference to the email issue. How it wasn't covered was as a rebuke against the media for focusing on stupid crap (which, if you go back and watch the context in which it was said, you'll see it most certainly was).

[_cinepro]

Well, this is interesting. I think most people on the board know that I am not Trump's biggest fan, but Michelle Wolf left me cold. For those who say 'speaking truth to power', I think her jokes were a lot more nasty than clever, There were times when I laughed out loud, but on the whole it left me feeling more embarrassed than amused. I think my mood mirrored that of a lot of the audience, which became quieter the longer she spoke.

I agree. I've really enjoyed a lot of the speeches at the press dinners in past years, and found many of them to be genuinely sharp and funny, but I thought this one was a disaster.

This seems to be a step in the evolution of what these dinners could be, and I hope it is corrected back to something that is more civil. I don't object to "calling out" the people in power using humor, but Wolf's speech just wasn't that funny. Sure, being vulgar and mean can sometimes be very funny (especially if it's done with some wit), but just being mean and vulgar in and of themselves doesn't mean you're being funny.

But if this is what we want, the real test will be to see if in the future a democratic administration invites a conservative firebrand to "roast" the President. I'd love to see Anne Coulter go 15 minutes in that room with a democrat in the White House.

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

I'm actually more shocked there are people who watch the Press Correspondents dinner.

- Doc

[_Maksutov]

The media reporting on the media reporting on the media while the rest of the world goes on.

[_Jersey Girl]

I only watched Wolf's monologue. I thought that her delivery was completely flat and lacked anything resembling comedic timing. Perhaps that's her style. I heard just one joke that I thought was funny. The rest I found completely unfunny. I found myself waiting to laugh.

And then it was over.

I did like that she drew attention to Flint so she gets points for that. The rest was, in my view, witless crap.

Where's Carlin when you need him? Actually, Carlin's ashes could have lent more energy to the event than Wolf did. Talk about sucking the oxygen out of a room.

That is all.