Music TV Art Books Fashion Interview A to Z Film Politics Calendar Gift Shop Motherlode.TV Home Page

Russell Brand

RUSSELL BRAND (1975 - )
POLITICS: ::: SOOTHSAYER :::

How is it that American comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are the greatest observers of society today? Their satirical take on political and social issues make us laugh as they mock the hypocrisy and irony of the world we live in. Among their favorite targets are the over-the-top reporting habits of the media outlet, Fox News. It gets funnier every time they get under Fox's skin with some biting commentary that cuts a little too close to the bone and gets a primetime knee jerk reaction from a Sean Hannity or Bill O'Reilly. But in coming from the mouth of a stand-up news anchor from Comedy Central, Stewart or Colbert can always pull the "just kidding" card being all the wiser for playing the fool. Sarcasm hurts the intended target because there is an element of truth to it and, let's face it, sometimes the truth hurts. Turns out that this scenario has been being played out for centuries.

Every society - in fact almost every family - has a jester. We're quite sure that there was probably a wise-ass caveman back in the day. The rise and formal recognition of the jester occured sometime around the Middle Ages during the Renaissance period which began in the 14th century and lasted roughly around three hundred years give or take a few decades. They were first employed by the wealthy as a house pet for the sole purpose of antagonizing and criticizing the head of the household. The most masterful jesters could pour it on at the appropriate moment but knew just when to pull back. A jester who did his job too well could find himself at the wrong end of a good flogging when the Emperor realizes that he's wearing no clothes.

Russell Brand is a middle-aged jester from England. British humour ala Benny Hill or Monty Python has a polarizing effect on most Americans. We seem to love it or hate it. The last time a British export was fully embraced by America was when The Beatles landed here in 1964. Enough time had finally passed so that the collective American conscience no longer carried the emotional ties to the Boston Tea Party or The Battle of Bunker Hill. We did make good Allies for two World Wars to help the healing process along.

Brand is clearly in his comfort zone. His new book, Revolution, and his online program, The Trews, is getting him a lot of attention and he is now squarely in the crosshairs of conservatives and liberals alike. He's doing something right because he is pissing everyone off. Articulate and clever he is being branded a clown from the right and a "champagne activist" from the left. He is advocating steering clear of the voting process and zeroing in on fighting big business with grassroots movements. The former heroin addict is also championing reform in the war on drugs. He is not shy about namedropping when speaking of the company he keeps; Noam Chomsky, Shepard Fairey and Naomi Klein.

He is best known as the former husband of singer Katy Perry and being the star of comedy films, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek and these facts have often been used as fodder by his detractors to undermine his intellectual credibility but he doesn't shy away from any of it but instead seems to absorb the energy from these blows that make him even stronger .



Noam Chomsky

NOAM CHOMSKY


Shepard Fairey

SHEPARD FAIREY


Naomi Klein

NAOMI KLEIN





The Motherlode Directory From A to Z Motherlode Music Motherlode Art Motherlode Books Motherlode Politics Motherlode Politics
Motherlode Films  Motherlode Fashions Motherlode Interview ../Motherlode Television 


Searching For The Motherlode
(c) 2016 Motherlode.TV