Listen Now: Colbert Cancelled – Comedy Communications
One of my biggest inspirations for pursuing comedy in communications is actually Tim Minchin. Over the last several years, I’ve mentioned Minchin in previous work for university and probably college too. And after reviewing some old work of mine, dare I say, I guess I’ve been beating the same drum for several years now. Tim Minchin is an Australian comedian, actor, singer, songwriter, and composer. Not only is Minchin an absolute whiz on the piano, his lyrical genius knows no bounds, and is sometimes known for a pretty straightforward (and sometimes crass) protest style. One of his most iconic protest songs is Come Home (Cardinal Pell). The song expresses a desire for Australian Cardinal, Cardinal Pell, to come home to Australia and face repercussions for his alleged cover up of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Australia.
“Oh Cardinal Pell, my lawyers rang me to tell me this song could get me in legal trouble. Oh well, Cardinal Pell, if you don’t feel compelled to come home by a sense of moral duty, perhaps you could come home and fricken sue me.”
– Tim Minchin, Come Home (Cardinal Pell)
The reason I talk about Minchin today, is to point to the idea that comedy, and comedians, can in fact point to something ridiculous, or use their platform to explain something some people may not know about. How many other songs can I name talking about Cardinal Pell being a coward? Or discussing how he should come back and face the victims of his coverups. None to my immediate knowledge. In fact, I likely wouldn’t know much, or anything, about Cardinal Pell if it wasn’t for Tim Minchin.
Media, whether it’s art, music, film, television, or literature, can be used as a form of protest, or to point out political absurdity. They can also offer a timeless view on our own political systems and their flaws. In many instances we’ll even have media that wasn’t even intended to directly critique current affairs. I’m sure George Orwell and Ray Bradbury would be absolutely thrilled right now with what’s going on in the world. Sure, they offered some glimpses at totalitarian regimes to certain extremes, but we can see some clear connections to today that even they probably didn’t expect.
As for television, Disney recently released the second season of Star Wars Andor. Apparently, some of the content in this season seems to have ruffled some feathers online, after a particularly excellent monologue delivered by the character Senator Mon Mothma. During one of the episodes in the season the Senator speaks to the senate about a genocide that took place at the hands of the empire. She says:
“Fellow Senators, friends, colleagues, allies, adversaries. I stand before you this morning with a heavy heart. I’ve spent my life in this chamber. I came here as a child. And as I look around me now, I realize I have almost no memories that pre-date my arrival and few bonds of affection that cleave so tightly. Through these many years, I believe I have served my constituents honorably and upheld our code of conduct. This chamber is a cauldron of opinions and we’ve certainly all had our patience and tempers tested in pursuit of our ideals. Disagree as we might, I am hopeful that those of you who know me will vouch for my credibility in the days to come. I stand this morning with a difficult message. I believe we are in crisis. The distance between what is said and what is known to be true has become an abyss. Of all the things at risk, the loss of an objective reality is perhaps the most dangerous. The death of truth is the ultimate victory of evil. When truth leaves us, when we let it slip away, when it is ripped from our hands, we become vulnerable to the appetite of whatever monster screams the loudest. This Chamber’s hold on the truth was finally lost on the Ghorman Plaza. What took place yesterday… what happened yesterday on Ghorman was unprovoked genocide! Yes! Genocide! And that truth has been exiled from this chamber! And the monster screaming the loudest? The monster we’ve helped create? The monster who will come for us all soon enough is Emperor Palpatine!”
– Mon Mothma, Andor, Season 2, Ep 9
Now let’s take a step back for a moment and ask ourselves if the issue is the show, or if the issue is that we see similarities in some governments today in comparison to the show, especially relating to this speech.
And the problem isn’t that Star Wars “got too political.” Star Wars has always been political. Episode One: The Phantom Menace is literally about a trade blockade turned occupation. We see some of the inner workings of the senate for the first time, setting the scene for the eventual free willed falling of the Republic, as Mon Mothma describes in her speech against the Empire.
The real problem is that people see a speech, which was filmed sometime between November 2022 and February 2024, as an attack on the current American administration, which was elected in fall of 2024. Did the writers foresee a government actively lying to its people through propaganda and other means? Perhaps they did, but even then, that would have just been a lucky guess.
Andor has always been about truth and trust. We can look back to season one of the show, where we look at Maarva Andor’s speech, and see her mention truth: “The empire is a disease that thrives on darkness.” It thrives on people not looking at it or being aware of its actions. Look at Kino Loy’s monologue as well, where the prisoners have come to the realization that they’re being lied to, and that there is no escape from their prison, there is no freedom at the end of their sentence. They discover the lie and ultimately break free from the prison.
The story of the Republic is one that has been provided to us for years, we’ve known the main details since the first six movies came out, and the subsequent shows. Andor just provides a new perspective of something we all already knew: the Empire was founded through lies and deceit and operates on oppression and blurring the lines between “what is said and what is known to be true.” Truth has become whatever monster is screaming the loudest, in this case Emperor Palpatine.
If viewers are able to draw connections between a fictional empire and a real government, and that bothers them, then perhaps the issue isn’t with the show, but with the government in question.
Comedy Communications 