Wednesday, February 21, 2018

He's Putting Chemicals in the Water. Guard Your frogs.

At this point, most people have heard of Alex Jones, the radio host of Infowars. Known for his outrageous conspiracy theories and constantly enraged affect, Alex Jones somehow has managed to gain a large following of people who seriously believe what he says on his show, the president of the United States included. While most of us understand him to be more than slightly unstable and that his theories carry little more than "meme appeal," it may be harmful for people to take him seriously. He spreads so much false information and spreads so much fear and suspicion that taking him seriously could lead to further polarization and attention to non-existent problems. As he has garnered more and more attention, larger media outlets have taken notice. The Late Show with Steven Colbert specifically. Colbert is both an expert of comedy, but he also makes more serious political commentaries when it is appropriate. He tries to use his influence both to entertain, but also to spread positive messages and move people to a more reasonable position. Colbert has much to say on the subject of Alex Jones as well. During a custody battle where Jones's mental stability was used to argue that he was not fit to have custody of his children, Colbert created his own version of Inforwars  to outline some of the most ridiculous aspects of Jones, Tuck Buckford. Even after the custody battle ended, Tuck reappeared on the show. Jones is an entertaining character, so it would make sense for Colbert to join the conversation through a wonderful display of satire.


Colbert's Tuck Buckford sketches utilize two aspects of satire, hyperbole, and parody. In and of itself, the sketch is a parody. It imitates Jones's formula of insanity to great comedic effect. Due to the time allotted in addition to Colbert's performance is very hyperbolic. He delivers much of what is regular for Jones in a very rapid fire method. Jones's far fetched theories fall onto the audiences ears constantly in a stretch of a minute or two. Although Colbert's character does not exaggerate Jones's character too much, his exaggeration of the outlandish theories that Jones is known for certainly assists in the satirical rendition of Infowars. Colbert's performance outlines the unhinged ramblings of Jones and hopes to guide us to understand that Inforwars should not be taken seriously. Most of Colbert's audience already knows this, but there are those who seem to find it difficult to discern what kind of "news" to take seriously. Colbert wants to make the world a better place. He has taken time before his monologue to deliver serious messages that change needs to occur, and even outside of these more serious pauses his performances outline many aspects of culture and politics that should be changed. Tuck Buckford serves as a way to show people that Alex Jones should not be taken seriously and that offers more than comedic entertainment. After all, Jones is quite entertaining.

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