I want to be slightly less snide when discussing this video. I am always interested in expressions where the viewer is uncertain if the expressor is serious or satirical. Satire is harder than it looks and even when done perfectly it misses a lot of the audience. A large portion of the world simply has no sense of satire.
One of the worst failures of satire is the movie, "Bob Roberts." Tim Robbins creates a character who was a Tea Party type before there were Tea Party types. I went to the movies to see Robbins deliver his broadside against the newest brand of conservatives. (This would have been in the early 90's but I am too lazy to look up the year.) I would be disappointed.
Bob Roberts, the object of fear and ridicule, was more appealing than his onscreen nemesis or real life politicians of the day. The nemesis was played by Gore Vidal and he scared me. Don't give me vampires or chainsaws to put the thump in my chest and the moist in my palms. Show me Gore Vidal's magnanimous performance in "Bob Roberts" and you might hear me scream.
Gore Vidal played a fossilized senator who was in Washington for 36 years (if I recall correctly.). Bob Roberts came to knock the dinosaur off his pedestal. Who you rooting for? In Tim Robbins world, the 6-term senator was the innocent, helpless to the savvy, snappy Bob Roberts.
How many people--even people who might be sympathetic to Robbin's political views--walked away believing the bad guy was the good guy and vice versa? Robbins designated Bob Roberts the villain but I left the theater feeling that the lesser of two evils had won.
There are other problems with "Bob Roberts." Bob Roberts is a folk singer and he sings songs that could comfortably be sung at a tea party. Whereas we know that Robbins is making fun of Roberts, the irony just does not ironize. It's a curve ball that does not curve. We still call it a curve ball even though it's just a slow, straight pitch. We reference the pitcher's intent rather than his performance.
Watch the song "Complain." If you did not know better would you know there was ironic intent? I wonder how many people would.
Here's a quick look at "Complain" from "Bob Roberts."
IRONIC OR SERIOUS?
"Bob Roberts" will always be remembered as failed satire, failed irony and possibly unintended sympathies for one's enemies. The commentary on YouTube and elsewhere often states something like "conservatives are too stupid to get the joke." That is Robbins fault, not the audience's fault. Contrast this movie with "Team America: World Police" for an example of unambiguous satire.
Which brings us to the Electric Illuminati. One thing that jumps off the page is the "Subterranean Homesick Blues" reference that "Bob Roberts" also references. Note: As this is posted, I cannot find the original Bob Dylan "rock video before there were rock videos." Dylan's copyright guardians are known for their vigilance and Dylan vids are frequently pulled from the shelves en masse. There are other vids by Weird Al and others that mimic the classic, should one want further elucidation but I will not be posting them at this time.
SIGNS, SIGNS, EVERYWHERE A SIGN
Electric Illuminati strings together words in an almost random fashion. So long as they rhyme, who cares? An anthropologist from Mars would be challenged to put this in the category of cheesy Obama propaganda or satire reflecting the utter silliness of Obama's cultish believers. I am sorry to say that this would fit into the former category.
Whereas Tim Robbins delivers a curve that does not curve, Electric Illuminati hurls a wild pitch that bounces into the catcher's groin. With teammates like these, who needs opponents?
PROPAGANDA OR PARODY? YOU DECIDE
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