Home
Archive
Columnists
Video
Blogs
Discuss
About
Search
Donate
Advertise
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Register to Vote: Rock the Vote, powered by Working Assets Wireless
Advertisement
  • AlterNetYour turn

Support AlterNet
Do you value the information you're getting from AlterNet? Please show your support with a tax-deductible donation.


Feedback
Tell us how we're doing.

America Kicks Ass (nsfw)

Posted by Jim Gilliam, Brave New Films at 11:00 AM on May 1, 2008.


Def Poetry comedian on American imperialism

Share and save this post:
Digg iconDelicious iconReddit iconFark iconYahoo! iconNewsvine! iconFacebook iconNewsTrust icon

Got a tip for a post?:
Email us | Anonymous form

Get Video in your
mailbox!

 

Comedian John S. Hall on American imperialism, the war on terror, and overriding international law.

Digg!

Tagged as: america, imperialism


Religulous: Finally, a Movie for Atheists Like Me
Bill Maher questions religion's inherent contradictions in a new documentary.
Post by DJK. October 11, 2008.
McCain-Palin Rally Attendees Say Incredible, Ridiculous Things
File this one under the "give 'em enough rope" column.
Post by Seth Colter Walls. October 10, 2008.
Donna Brazile: "I'm Not Going to the Back of the Bus!"
An impassioned speech on racial politics from last week's New Yorker festival.
Post by ZP Heller. October 10, 2008.

Comments Turn comments off sitewide Give us feedback »
Comments closed.
The comments for this story have been closed. Thank you to everyone who participated.
View:
America...F*** Yeah!
Posted by: Nozka on May 1, 2008 5:04 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Man, I'm pumped after that speech! I vote we replace the pussy Statue of Liberty with a huge muscleman crushing some foreigners - the Statue of Superiority.
America you rock!

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: till.... Posted by: cwilsondrum
» RE: till.... Posted by: Lauren
Irony should have more than two syllables...
Posted by: Sapphite on May 1, 2008 10:02 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
uh...

what more can I say?

and, I am rarely speechless.. or wordless.

ljk

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Punchline?
Posted by: SayBlade on May 2, 2008 10:11 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
With just a tiny little edit at the end of Hall's routine, one is unlikely to distinguish if his tongue is firmly in cheek or if he has no clue about how to do comedy.

Someone recently told me that Americans suffer from a lethal combination of three things: fear, arrogance and power.

For those American individuals who do not live in a media bubble, Hall's routine is clearly funny. There is concern that the rest can interpret this as assent to those things Hall lampoons.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

I've never liked being referred to as a "comedian"...
Posted by: johnshall on May 2, 2008 1:22 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
...and this piece is a good example of why not: although I meant it to be somewhat funny, I wrote it (in January of '03) because I was extremely angry about the war we were about to get into. I think the anger comes through, and I hope the position the piece takes is clear. Shortly after the release of the Abu Graib photos I wrote a similarly critical piece called "American Torturer;" it was a lot less funny and a lot more angry. I don't think there's any video of it around, so you'll have to take my word for it. And for the record, I prefer being referred to by more pretentious terms, such as "poet" or "spoken word artist."

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Keep it up, John Posted by: Fishbone Soldier