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A review by siria
The Daily Show (the Book): An Oral History as Told by Jon Stewart, the Correspondents, Staff and Guests by Chris Smith
3.0
A readable, nostalgic account of The Daily Show, focusing on its prime years when Jon Stewart was at the helm. (A quick google shows me that apparently viewership has increased under Trevor Noah, though that seems counter-intuitive to me. Is it anything like the cultural touchstone it once was? Even Last Week Tonight clips seem far more likely to go at least low-key viral than anything produced by TDS in the last few years, though maybe this perception is just a side-effect of me now being Old.) It was nice to revisit some well-known sketches/bits and to learn just what went into making them.
That said, while Chris Smith—who assembled the frame narrative around the lengthy interview excerpts—and the interviewees themselves were upfront about the moments of tension and conflict that peppered the show's run, The Daily Show: An Oral History does still read as slightly sanitised. I wasn't looking for a take down of Jon Stewart, but there wasn't enough distance provided here to really grapple with the show's issues with race and gender over the years. I found the section dealing with the infamous Jezebel article to be quite frustrating, for instance, particularly coming after recounting anecdotes about how male correspondents would, earlier in the show's run, kiss or grope women as part of a bit. There's clearly stuff to grapple with here that goes far beyond "some women on an internet site were unfair to the show", and perhaps in the future others will take the raw fodder presented here and do something more insightful with it.
That said, while Chris Smith—who assembled the frame narrative around the lengthy interview excerpts—and the interviewees themselves were upfront about the moments of tension and conflict that peppered the show's run, The Daily Show: An Oral History does still read as slightly sanitised. I wasn't looking for a take down of Jon Stewart, but there wasn't enough distance provided here to really grapple with the show's issues with race and gender over the years. I found the section dealing with the infamous Jezebel article to be quite frustrating, for instance, particularly coming after recounting anecdotes about how male correspondents would, earlier in the show's run, kiss or grope women as part of a bit. There's clearly stuff to grapple with here that goes far beyond "some women on an internet site were unfair to the show", and perhaps in the future others will take the raw fodder presented here and do something more insightful with it.