Posted: 2009 June 14, Sunday 16:33
Sarcasm, Ridicule and Soundbites
By George Merlis
President Obama joined President Nicholas Sarkozy of France in Normandy for the 65th commemoration of the D-Day landings on June 6. And, against expectation by the French media, President Sarkozy did nothing unpredictable and embarrassing, leaving his legion of French critics bitterly disappointed.
Sarkozy and his wife -- model-turned-singer Carla Bruni
Talking to the New York Times about the Gallic leader’s tendency to supply as much fodder for humorists in France as now-muzzled Vice President Joe Biden does in the U.S., French radio satirist Stephane Guillon told the New York Times: “Sarkozy is a godsend for comedians, and if I exaggerate I should say that Sarko is a treasure chest of blunders all by himself. I really don’t know how to thank him.” A treasure chest of blunders. What a great analogy; it just made Guillon’s quote come alive.
Now the principal tools of satirists are ridicule and sarcasm. (What’s the difference between the two? Well, when the French do it, they call it ridicule. When we English-speakers do it, the French call it sarcasm. But there are differences: Ridicule is defined as “speech or action intended to cause contemptuous laughter at a person or thing.” Sarcasm is defined as: “harsh or bitter irony.” The second definition for both is “derision.” I always counsel clients that they should use the tools of ridicule and sacrasm in media interview with extreme caution. In fact, I generally advise clients to leave comedy to comedians. That said, gently ribbing sarcasm or extremely mild ridicule, can be effective, but finding the line is very tough, so you tread on thin ice when you use either of them in interviews. Here are some recent examples:
Sarcasm in Washington
When a Chamber of Commerce spokesperson derided the new Department of Energy secretary (and physics Nobel laureate) Steve Chu as being unlikely to have the tools to thrive in Washington’s cutthroat political environment, a DOE spokesperson responded: “A Nobel scientist is more likely to figure out Washington than a career politician is to figure out how to deal with carbon sequestration.” A little light sarcasm and an effective comparison turned this into an effective soundbite. It is, however, upon analysis, somewhat disingenuous. After all, the secretary of a cabinet department DOES have to swim in the Washington political waters while a career politician has to know only if he’s for or against carbon sequestration and need not master the arcane technology of sequestering the stuff.
Open-Minded Sarcasm
National Public Radio ran a series of reports about faith and spirituality a few weeks back. In one of the reports the question was raised whether one person’s prayers can affect another person’s ailments -- in other words, if I pray for you to heal or you pray for me to heal will those prayers have any effect? Richard Sloan, a Columbia University professor of medical ethics said in a soundbite the answer “Is pretty unequivocally no.” And then he unlimbered this gem: “It’s good to be open-minded, but not so open-minded that your brains fall out.” An effective and compelling word picture soaked in sarcasm. Whether or not this one crossed the line from mild sarcasm into heavy sarcasm is in the ear of the beholder and likely depends on whether one believes one person’s prayer can be another person’s prescription for healing.
Courthouse Sarcasm
Aubrey Louis Berry is accused of murder for having gunned down unarmed rapper Dolla (nee Roderick Anthony Burton II) in the valet parking area of Los Angeles’ Beverly Center following a men’s room confrontation at the center’s P.F. Chang restaurant. Berry’s attorney told the Los Angeles Times: “This is not a murder case. At worst it’s a manslaughter case, at best it’s a case of self-defense.” To which Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for LA County DA’s office, responded with effective sarcasm: “We try our cases in the courtroom, not on the sidewalk.” Bravo, Ms. Gibbons, that bit of mild sarcasm worked.
Foot In Mouth Prize To....
This has nothing to do with sarcasm or ridicule, but I couldn’t resist: Our prize this time goes to Sen. Arlen Specter, newly-minted Democrat of Pennsylvania.
Sen. Arlen Specter (Republican Democrat, PA)
In her New York Sunday Times Magazine column, Deborah Solomon asked Specter this mind-numbingly dumb question: “With your departure from the Republican Party, there are no more Jewish Republicans in the Senate. Do you care about that?” Specter responded, “ I sure do. There’s still time for the Minnesota courts to do justice and declare Norm Coleman the winner.” Coleman, the Republican incumbent, is contesting the results of last November’s election that had him losing by a narrow margin to his Democratic challenger, former writer and comedian Al Franken. Belatedly remembering what party he had switched to, Specter told Congressional Quarterly he had “conclusively misspoke.” And he added, “In the swirl of moving from one caucus to another, I have to get used to my new teammates.” My sarcastic response: Maybe the senate and congressional pages can hand out score cards.
Al Franken
Now about my advice to leave comedy to the comedians: Franken was a card-carrying comedian in the past, so if he does prevail and take a seat in the senate, will he feel free to use sarcasm and ridicule -- clubs he wielded with heavy-handed abandon in his TV, radio and book-writing days? As TV news anchors intone when they don’t know the answer to a question, “Only time will tell.” And, yes, that characterization of anchors is my stab at ridicule.
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