Colbert: In On The Joke?

Jim Cullen discussed varying interpretations of the sitcom, All in the Family, and how audiences both liberal and conservative could find something funny about the show's prejudiced characters. In today's television world this kind of tongue-in-cheek comedy still attracts a range of viewers in the form of The Colbert Report. The real life Stephen Colbert is playing a fictionalized version of himself; a character who is a satirical version of Bill O'Reilly: conservative, religious, prejudiced, loud, bullying, etc. The show is presented as a counterpart to the clearly liberal Daily Show with Jon Stewart that precedes it. Colbert as a character is so exaggerated with his idiotic rants it would seem obvious that he is doing a parody. Perhaps it is an indication as to just how over-the-top mainstream news channels have become that, according to a recent Ohio State University study, a majority of conservatives polled thought that Colbert as a character was actually a sincere conservative. Colbert is reportedly "thrilled" about this confusion claiming: " I'm not on anyone's side, I'm on my side." One has to wonder whether viewers who think he is really conservative get the humor and just assume he's doing a hyper version of his actual beliefs with his claims such as "Jesus will return on a surfboard made of money." While the blurring of the lines between truth and fiction are an interesting form of exposing hyperbole in the news, the encoding of the show can be construed in ways that are completely contrary to the intended message. Many would agree that Colbert and Jon Stewart are ideologically fairly in tune and merely possess different comedic styles. Others who like Colbert's show for its apparent conservatism don't feel the same way. An article in Rolling Stone revealed that Colbert's politics are a mix of liberal and conservative, though it is pretty clear from his fierce, satirical digs at the Bush Administration just how liberal he is. In the same piece he said that "I come from a fairly conservative place, Charleston, South Carolina, and people have come up to me there and said, "Well, now I like what you do." They had a little trouble with our liberal, lefty bent over at The Daily Show. But now they're [saying] good for you!" And I'm like, "Well, I'm not sure. . . .''