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By Shirley Brady
While the pseudo-serious smart-asses on Comedy Central's The Daily Show With Jon Stewart love to skewer the day's news and politics, there's an underlying seriousness and even urgency in Stewart's pointed questioning of the politicians who dare to appear as studio guests. Although yuks and lampooning are the first order of business, Stewart & Co. are highly aware that the political viewpoints of their young viewers are shaped by this influential mock-newscast.
So it comes as no surprise that The Daily Show's first book is being released in this heated election year, during which its show-no-mercy "Indecision 2004" coverage has been directed at newbie voters, from covering the cybergeeks at the DNC's Bloggers' Alley to taping before an audience of cheering college students and even nabbing prez hopeful John Kerry.
America (The Book) may feature Stewart eyeing an American eagle on the cover, but it's, in fact, a collective effort by the show's smart-aleck staffers. The satirical tome--featuring a punning subtitle (A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction) and a faux-foreword by Thomas Jefferson--is touted as "a hilarious look at American government." But just like its namesake series, it's more of a primer on how the nation got into this political mess--as TDS sees it--in the first place.
Designed like a high-school textbook, America (The Book) ends each chapter with discussion questions and classroom activities crammed full of graphs, sidebars and charts. As such, it is a student's fantasy textbook: The information is wildly inaccurate and often hilarious.
While the show's on-air talent is prominently featured throughout the book with head shots and snarky sidebars (personal fave: Samantha Bee's comparisons to how things work in Canada), the real message for the target audience of young readers/voters is, like the show: "We invite you to make fun of all this with us, because we want you to see through it and do better. Fast."
That's why most of the book feels like--if not filler, because it's too funny for that--at least a set-up for the section titled "Election 2004." Flipping past the fake boxing poster of Bush and Kerry (or "Skull vs. Bones"), the reader can check out the info boxes on George ("Hurdling the Lowered Bar") Bush and John ("Monogrammed for Greatness") Kerry along with a debate scorecard, an electoral map and a guide for voters (and non-voters).
The subtext is clear: Laugh at this fake history but pay close attention to the real thing--and vote on Nov. 2. As a civics text, it gets a C-. But as a political call to action for America's youth, it gets an A+ for effectiveness and savvy.
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