{"id":1944,"date":"2007-10-08T12:55:00","date_gmt":"2007-10-08T12:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2007\/10\/ny-times-review-of-colberts-book-further-proof-of-media-bias.html"},"modified":"2007-10-08T12:55:00","modified_gmt":"2007-10-08T12:55:00","slug":"ny-times-review-of-colberts-book-further-proof-of-media-bias","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2007\/10\/ny-times-review-of-colberts-book-further-proof-of-media-bias.html","title":{"rendered":"NY Times review of Colbert’s book: further proof of media bias?"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> The New York Times’ Janet Maslin — one-time movie critic who now fancies herself a book critic — has taken a look at the new masterpiece, “I Am America, And So Can You,” by My Close Personal Friend Stephen Colbert<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Ms. Maslin — who is not now and never will be My Close Personal Friend — offers some grudging praise, though the review is less-than-a-rave<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Still, she does quote some of the choicest parts, and concedes there is mirth to be found: <\/p>\n

Among the funnier sections is the \u201cHigher Education\u201d chapter. It includes what purports to be Mr. Colbert\u2019s college application essay, featuring ripe malapropisms, overuse of a thesaurus (\u201cthe apex, pinnacle, acme, vertex, and zenith of my life\u2019s experience\u201d) and the lying claim that his great-great-uncle\u2019s name is on a building at Dartmouth. There are also fake course selections with student annotations, among them \u201cEthnic Stereotypes and the Humor of Cruelty\u201d (\u201cA professor will tell you a bunch of hilarious jokes, and you\u2019re not allowed to laugh\u201d) and \u201cDance for Men.\u201d (\u201cGo ahead. Break your mother\u2019s heart.\u201d) Heterosexuality that protests too much is a big part of the official Colbert attitude.<\/p>\n

A glossary on science is another high point. (On cloning: \u201cNo free labor source is worth all of this trouble.\u201d) And it well suits Mr. Colbert\u2019s opposition to all forms of progress. (The smallpox vaccine \u201cmay have saved a few thousand lives, but it also destroyed the magic amulet industry.\u201d) <\/p>\n

The \u201cSex and Dating\u201d chapter also heavily emphasizes science, since Mr. Colbert is in some ways the Tom Lehrer of his day. Mr. Lehrer\u2019s sharp satire and erudite academic stunts, like his classic musical rendition of the Periodic Table, are forerunners of Mr. Colbert\u2019s subversive whiz-kid humor. \u201cI often think back fondly on the memories I haven\u2019t repressed,\u201d the book says in this sneaky spirit. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ms. Maslin also notes: “The full-monty Colbert television brilliance doesn\u2019t quite make it to the page.” <\/p>\n

Of course, we all know what that means: Janet’s just jealous. To judge the book, I’d suggest you buy a copy (or several, if you can carry them home) and see for yourself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The New York Times’ Janet Maslin — one-time movie critic who now fancies herself a book critic — has taken a look at the new masterpiece, “I Am America, And So Can You,” by My Close Personal Friend Stephen Colbert. Ms. Maslin — who is not now and never will be My Close Personal Friend…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nNY Times review of Colbert's book: further proof of media bias? - The Deacon's Bench<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2007\/10\/ny-times-review-of-colberts-book-further-proof-of-media-bias.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NY Times review of Colbert's book: further proof of media bias? - The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The New York Times’ Janet Maslin — one-time movie critic who now fancies herself a book critic — has taken a look at the new masterpiece, “I Am America, And So Can You,” by My Close Personal Friend Stephen Colbert. Ms. Maslin — who is not now and never will be My Close Personal Friend…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2007\/10\/ny-times-review-of-colberts-book-further-proof-of-media-bias.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2007-10-08T12:55:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_0DySLTT4PWo\/RwpkCrdyjKI\/AAAAAAAABIU\/WdvvqL3hMEg\/s320\/463282394_1b1e191332%5B1%5D.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"deacon greg kandra\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"NY Times review of Colbert's book: further proof of media bias? - The Deacon's Bench","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2007\/10\/ny-times-review-of-colberts-book-further-proof-of-media-bias.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"NY Times review of Colbert's book: further proof of media bias? - The Deacon's Bench","og_description":"The New York Times’ Janet Maslin — one-time movie critic who now fancies herself a book critic — has taken a look at the new masterpiece, “I Am America, And So Can You,” by My Close Personal Friend Stephen Colbert. 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