Can the humorous blossom of humor flourish on a land where it is in addition to oil of all kinds of government brutality? This obvious question was asked to answer Riyadh’s maiden comedy, which gathered some of the biggest names in world stand up comedy (Jim Jeffri, Dave Sapl, Bill Bar, Pitt Davidson, Louis CK).
As expected, the whole venture caused reactions, as many saw it as a form of “culture-going”, that is, a blatant attempt by the authoritarian Saudi regime to deepen its international image, which is tarnished by its dark history in human rights.
Golden censorship
Organizations such as Human Rights Watch have openly warned that this comedy festival aims to “distract from the brutal suppression of freedom of speech and other extensive human rights violations” of the Saudi regime. They even recalled not only the assassination of Jamal Kasogki in 2018, which was made by the orders of the Prince of successor, Mohammed bin Salman, but also the recent execution- probably by beheading- by Saudi-Jaulis, by Saudi,
“A great comic attraction by the creators of September 11, from the people who slaughtered Jamal Kasogki,” Mark Maron, comedian and Podcaster, said in a sarcastic mood. Users of social media have pointed out another oxymoron, in the presence of Pete Devinson, who lost his father’s firefighter during the September 11 terrorist attacks, which were made by the funding of high -ranking Saudi officials.
The “defense” line was moved by the complication of the category of morality to those who criticized the festival until his right to freedom of speech (!). Louis Ck referred to the woman and openly gay colleague Jessica Kirson (who after the outcry said she would donate her entire remuneration to human rights organization).
The on-stage report by David Sapel- open lots of LGBTKI+ movement due to his earlier comments taken as homophobic and transphobic- was characteristic of Riyadh’s exhaustion: “It is easier to speak here than in America.”
But also the person as left -wing Bill Berre, did not hesitate through his Podkast to defend his attitude with the cynical argument: “The royal family loved it and was among my top three experiences as a comedian.” Later, he attempted to gold the pill with the “progressive” argument that “this event will lead to many good things”.
These allegations, however, were reversed by the leak of the contract from the Asian origin American comedian Atsuko Okatsuka, which published the event on the internet, which included the following terms: “The artist is not allowed to prepare or be Saudi Arabia, including leaders, public persons, culture or people, b) the royal family, the legal system or the government of Saudi Arabia, and (c) any religion, religious tradition, religious personality or religious practice. ” This is the definition of censorship and legal terms, which was not able to prevent the big names of the stand-up comedy from practicing a laughter duties.
After Trump
The festival event did not, of course, fall as a thunderbolt. A review of what has been mediated in recent months, following Donald Trump’s re -election to the United States Supreme State.
The first “case” concerned the willingness of the war for years by US President Bill Mar, who last March decided to “bury” the ax of the war with Trump, visiting the White House to dine with him.
Although Mar is the comic expression of the Democratic establishment and has been critical of their left wing on a number of issues, from the Palestinian issue to Woke Agenda, his presence on Trump’s side was strongly and justified, if one thought he had to think of his own. In the Capitol as early as 2018, referring to a “slow evolution coup”.
Followed by the caustic comment of the great comedian Larry David[edWell-knownfromtheflagshipseriesSeinfeldandCurbYourenthusiasmwhorespondedtoMarwiththesatiricalarticle”MyDinnerAdolf”[σσγνωστούαπότιςεμβληματικέςσειρέςSeinfeldκαιCurbYourEnthusiasmοοποίοςαπάντησεστονΜαρμετοσατιρικόάρθρο«ΤοδείπνομουτονΑδόλφο»
Then came the expiry of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, on the sidelines of arranging the lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump against the CBS network and Paramount’s merger with Skydance Media. The latter is a “child” belongs to David Elison, son of Larry Elison of Oracle – one of Trump’s first and most ardent supporters in Silicon Valley.
Oracle is also the key player in the consortium that will take over the American Tiktok. Trub hastened to deny that there was some kind of pressure on the medium, attributing the end of the show to the “lack of Talent of Colbert”.
Of course, this was not the case, as the White House’s next target was another comedian who criticized government actions. Jimmy Kimmel saw his show retire in the midst of Trump’s cheers, to return to ABC on September 23 on the night of September 23. “I think we will check ABC about it.
Let’s see how we go. The last time I chased them, I was given $ 16 million, ”the US president commented. The report referred to the $ 16 million compensation paid by the network as a compromise for a previous inaccurate claim by homogeneous journalist George Stefanopoulos against Trump. But beyond any threats of Kimmel’s own comeback, it remains to be reminded that there is room for defense of freedom of speech, in real time and directly related to the democratic ideal.
