That name of that journal is bizarre enough. What does Entertainment Weekly actually mean? Does it mean a perpetual hysterics, a paroxysm of laughter--not the kind that makes you healthy, but the kind that makes you helpless and vulnerable? The very idea of using the image of one of the most charming and talented actresses of the Twentieth Century for a distasteful mockery tells you a lot about the entertainer who did it and her approach to such a tender and powerful genre as humor. I was not surprised, though, because, to me, Tina is not funny at all: never was and never will be. She is as dull as a doorknob.
Sarah Palin was a gift from God for Tina. While differing in practically every human aspect, these two women have one similarity: they are both not feminine at all. No. They are not transvestites or anything freakish; they are simply unbelievably vulgar. They have no taste, no charm, and no feminine tenderness. In front of the public, these two are practically identical in their frozen-custard symbolism. Only, while Sarah is happy in her dysfunctional world, Tina understands her vice and tries desperately again and again to break out of it. Her participation in the movies, her shots at getting undressed, her ads on TV--all of these are commendable efforts, but in vain. She is a natural undead, and maybe her only escape is to join the Twilight franchise.
Nobody would call Sarah Palin smart, without generous remuneration. But many people call Tina smart. They never tell how they came to that conclusion, but the characterization is made with remarkable consistency. I don't share that opinion, as I strongly believe a truly smart person would respect Audrey Hepburn and not seek to degrade her by posing for a magazine cover in that vulgar posture. Tina's demeanor (her eyes never smile, no matter what she does with them) makes her appear thoughtful, and for many people that's enough. But 30 Rock is the most boring show you can imagine, and nobody would pursue Louis Lemon for any purpose but borrowing money. Alec Baldwin might as well use his famous naked-before-laptop scene from the movie It's Complicated. Nothing can make that show funny, because of Tina. She is hopelessly frozen, and everything around her freezes solid in her presence.
Jon Stewart and Tina Fey share one particular feature of their public personalities (and I would argue they hold the same feature in common in their real personalities). They are indifferent to the people they perform for. They don't care for the audience, and are not a part of it. They are somewhere in the Entertainment Universe, where the only criterion for success is to look acceptable, presentable, sellable. You might say they are the Dolls Alive, characters in the macabre nursery rhyme from the movie Dead Silence. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Silence]
Beware the stare of Mary Shaw
She had no children, only dolls
And if you see her in your dreams,
do not ever, ever scream.
Castrated Humor Can Never Become Satire
It might be instructive to finish this analysis with a classic example of condensed humor and satire--something everlasting. In my research into this subject, I happened upon Leon Feuchtwanger's
description of a performance by the
famous Munich comic Baltazar Hirle in the 1920s. (I'm not sure that this is the real name of the artist, but
it is the only one I know.)
I will try here to translate into English the narrative I have in Russian, and still retain the character of the story. The year of the comic performance is 1922, and the place Munich, Germany. It is just before the famous "Beer Putch," Hitler's first attempt to overthrow the Bavarian government, when he is at the peak of his popularity in Munich and throughout Bavaria.
The satire I want to recount takes place in a short play entitled "The Glove."
Baltazar Hirle, as the protagonist, plays a
downtrodden "3/4 liter" beer drinker [which indicates he is so poor that he cannot afford a traditional full liter of beer]. Hirle, the beer drinker, is very
excited, as he has found on the pavement two tickets with which he can attend a meeting this very day in the Edda Union with his girlfriend Resi. The Edda Union is a special place, accessible only to the highest people in the Nazi
party. Hitler will give his new speech there.
Since attending the speech will be a great honor, Hirle
and Resi prepare very diligently for the occasion. Hirle
tells Resi that he had recently seen "der Fuhrer" in his gray car, and that he had a magenta fedora on his head. He also mentions that, as Hitler was a true aristocrat, he held his brown gloves
on his lap. Resi suggests that, due to the importance of today's event at the Edda Union, Hitler will most likely wear his gloves during his speech. Hirle disagrees. He believes it is easier to speak without gloves.
Resi nevertheless persists in her opinion, and eventually their
exchange becomes both nasty and philosophic. Hirle argues the case for a Higher
German Culture and the special spirit of the Nordic
race, and also mentions Judas and Rome. Then he discusses for a while whether a man can be considered an anti-Semite if he likes a good woman like Resi
more than some old Galician Jew. Feeling good about the compliment, Resi forgets about Hitler's gloves and starts to dress up. Eventually, though, the issue of
the gloves comes back. They argue passionately about what color Hitler's
gloves will be.
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