I love election season and seeing the science of deceit (also known as politics) in full-on action. Nothing is funnier than watching the exaggerated spin that political opponents and their teams throw on each other’s missteps – some of it deserved and some of it just insane – but almost always hilarious.
American elections are inherently funny and I’m endlessly amazed at the dreck that spews from our political leaders’ mouths and especially their respective mouthpieces. The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are very funny and intelligent pseudo-news shows that do a great job of focusing on the follies of our system, but they certainly don’t have the market cornered on political satire.
I’ve recently radared-in on a few items that perform some fun political skewering of a ‘nerdcentric’ nature and first-up is a catchy tune by the godfathers of geek-rock, Devo. The devolving spud-boys recently released, “Don’t Roof Rack Me, Bro,” which slams a certain presidential candidate for strapping his Irish setter dog, Seamus, to the roof of his car for a 12 hour drive. An act that has spurred a political action group called, Dogs against Romney, that has been around since 2007, when the (1983) incident first came to light.
The new Devo song is very funny, makes a point and is probably the best music the group has produced in years. The Romney camp is already fighting back, reminding voters that Obama once ate dog meat – they of course leave out the part that he was a small child living in Indonesia with his mother when this occurred.
The “Don’t Roof Rack Me, Bro!” song will also be featured on an upcoming mobile phone game called, The Crate Escape: Seamus Unleashed, where players can help Seamus get revenge against his arch enemy, Mitt.
Next is the current issue of MAD magazine, which caught my attention with a clever cover depicting the iconic Alfred E. Neuman being influenced by an Obama devil on his left shoulder and a Romney devil on the right. There is also an alternative cover (seen within the magazine) that shows Mr. Neuman driving with both candidates in a doghouse strapped to the top of a station wagon.
I haven’t read a MAD magazine in years, but I was impressed by the seriously silly and smart satire within this book. They even take a fun jab at Arizona in one of their book advertisements, saying, “Proof of low IQ required (Arizona only).” There is a lot of fantastic political humor crammed into this one magazine, and a bunch of non-political fun as well, including a sharp spoof on The Avengers movie that Joss Whedon fans will love.
Another fun take on American politics that is currently happening is the A. Zombie for President campaign that has been launched by AMC Networks. It’s a tongue-in-cheek play to prompt the DISH Network to once again carry AMC channels – or get people who lost the AMC channels on DISH signed-up with a new television provider before the next season of The Walking Dead starts on Oct. 14. This candidate has only one issue – get zombies back on television.
Since his election in 2008, President Obama has not only been reported to read comic books, but he has been featured as a character in several comic book titles as well, including Amazing Spider-Man, Savage Dragon, Amazing Arizona Comics and even Archie. In a recent interview, the President was asked what superpower he would most like to have and he chose the ability to speak in any language, saying that, “it might not come in handy to rescue folks from a burning building,” but he’s a “big believer in making connections with people.” Sounds like a great idea, but one would think that the ability to repair our damaged economy might be a little more useful.
They say that, “all politics is local,” and if that is true, then look no further than Nerdvana’s own Russ Kazmierczak, who takes on Arizona politics and political leaders in a style that is good-spirited and also pays loving tribute to American comic-book culture. If you haven’t read any of Russ’ Amazing Arizona Comics, you’re missing out on a ton o’ fun!
So what cracks you up about our current political culture? Got a lead on a politically-geeky news item? Hit our comments below and let us know!
