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Why the British Are Better at Satire

theatlantic.com

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Re: Why the British Are Better at Satire

#41

Post by r00fus »

Could it because the BBC (state owned television) effectively nurtures small series and lets them run for far longer than you would have in the US market, which suffers from both viewer and producer short attention span?

Essentially, not trying to have a hit for every show results in a far greater overall success rate.

If so, the analogy between the TV show market and startup scene could be instructive (i.e., nurtured small investments across the board rather than "go big or go home" every time).

Re: Why the British Are Better at Satire

#42

Post by tanderson92 »

Someone1234 wrote: post #8
jgrahamc wrote: post #6

Is there any equivalent in the US of Private Eye: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_Eye ? Here's a recent cover: http://www.private-eye.co.uk/covers.php?showme=1383 and another: http://www.private-eye.co.uk/covers.php?showme=1378

Daily Show/John Oliver/Colbert are the closest the US comes as far as I know. Maybe South Park occasionally? Although both the Daily Show and Colbert have now wrapped up. And John Oliver is more like 60 minutes (before they sold out) than Private Eye.

The Daily Show is still on the air (on cable, so to speak). In fact he hasn't even announced an end date yet.

Re: Why the British Are Better at Satire

#43

Post by ctrijueque »

bruceb wrote: post #29

Yes Minister. One of the smartest (and timeless) comedies of all time. The power play between politicians, bureaucrats, and the public/business. The series is better than a Political Science course. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes_Minister #5 in this poll http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britain%27s_Best_Sitcom Start with a classic "Open Government" http://www.veoh.com/watch/v21037637mzbJZ9n4?h1=Yes+Minister+...

If you want to know more about 'Yes, Minister'check this book:

A Very Courageous Decision: The Inside Story of Yes Minister

http://www.amazon.com/Very-Courageous-Decision-Inside-Minist...

Re: Why the British Are Better at Satire

#44

Post by kbelbina »

runewell wrote: post #16

I do love the PMQs of British politics. US Congress is not nearly as entertaining, we tend to have hour long monologues with lots of charts and little debate. US politics does have it's moments though ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPwW8nBVc0g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d_FvgQ1csE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcsNbQRU5TI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dvq2tha6heU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u54H2sV…

great set of links :-)

Re: Why the British Are Better at Satire

#45

Post by code_duck »

femto wrote: post #37

Maybe it's driven by the UK's libel laws, and lack of a First Amendment? In the US, the media can report on powerful people, then claim protection from the US constitution. In the UK, there is no such protection, so reporting facts about powerful people is a dangerous business. Instead, the strategy is to turn the events into a satire. One has to walk a fine line with the satire. It has to be realistic enough that th…

Interesting that the British have basically been doing this for hundreds of years. In medieval times, the court jester could speak freely and criticize the king in a way no others were allowed to.

http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~ckank/FultonsLair/013/nock/jeste...

Re: Why the British Are Better at Satire

#46

Post by TylerE »

jonnathanson wrote: post #14
rhino369 wrote: post #2

I wonder how difference between TV show productions affects this. Broadcoast TV shows in America are expected to run 22 episodes a year. In the Thick of It has made about that many episodes over 7.5 years. I don't think you can get people to watch that much biting satire in such a small time period. But I think in the end, American audiences want to see the good in people, especially the main characters. If not good,…

"But I think in the end, American audiences want to see the good in people, especially the main characters." I used to work in TV series development. One of the ongoing legends in the TV development business is how every American TV exec loves Fawlty Towers , and even though everyone's tried to adapt it for American TV, none of their attempts has been successful. The reason being that American audiences need the prot…

Is that really true? See, for instance, House: MD.

Re: Why the British Are Better at Satire

#47

Post by TylerE »

coldtea wrote: post #39
Crito wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Coen Brothers' Burn After Reading and Fargo . Also I'd argue MASH , which was massively successful, though that might be stretching dark comedy. Depends on the episode I guess.

MASH maybe. Burn After Reading and Fargo, not so much. Not that they weren't dark -- just that they weren't a success in any mainstream way, especially the first.

Fargo made over 8x it's budget in income on the original theatrical run. That's major success.

For comparison, a traditional american "happy comedy", Happy Gilmore released the same year, made a third less despite costing almost twice as much.

Re: Why the British Are Better at Satire

#48

Post by zhte415 »

shazzy wrote: post #4

On the subject of Prime Minister's Questions here are some clips showing how rowdy it can get; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1iL2jGZiZw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUqhqsfE0YQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVs1jN85w10 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUX9LvYlAps

I saw 'The Day Today, Episode 1: Main News Attack' in the YoutUbe sidebar of your linked videos, well worth sharing as a staple, neigh bedrock, of 1990s UK satire that Iannucci, mentioned in the original article, was also heavily involved in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTGE9153VFE&spfreload=10

Re: Why the British Are Better at Satire

#49

Post by dropit_sphere »

Swizec wrote: post #17
laumars wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did once read a comment somewhere that said it's a British quirk to insult those you like while being friendly to those you dislike. I could see how this might seem absurd to an outsider looking in. But, being English, it's definitely an observable idiosyncrasy for myself and my circle of friends.

I think that in the US this is primarily a male trait. Guys are supposed to make fun of their guy friends. But you'll never see girls doing the same to each other. The cool ones will do it to/with their guy friends.

http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/04/23/friendship-is-countersi...
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