Pulse Reviews
Franken’s book pokes fun at right-wing politics
Saturday Night Live
alumnus Al Franken takes
a hard look at conservative
politicians and the media
By Steven Neuman
Freelance Reporter
If there is any author who can get
away with beginning a book by saying,
"God chose ine to write this..it is Al
Franken. To call Franken's peculiar
brand of sophisticated satire an ac
quired taste is not far-fetched, but it
would be a disservice to call the author,
Saturday Night live alumnus and polit
ical pundit "just" a comedian.
"lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell
Ihem — A Fair and Balanced Look at
the Right" was released among a wave
of similar books lampooning current
political events, but Franken's book
blows these other bestsellers away.
"Lies" is a masterful orchestration of
cynical political commentary and hard
journalistic research.
The overall narrative of the book fol
lows Franken and his attempts to prove
the claim that the conservative media
openly lie, twist the truth and paint the
mainstream media as liberal conspiracy.
Certainly, "Lies" is going to afford
quite a bit more satisfaction to the
bleeding-heart liberal than the FOX
News conservative, yet Franken's wit
shines not in his bullying of right-wing
media figureheads, but in his empirical,
systematic destruction of their credibili
ty. I le takes on political pundit Ann
Coulter in chapters one and two — ti
ded "Ann Coulter Nutcase," and "You
Know Who I Don't Like? Ann Coulter"
— as well as the folks over at FOX
News, including Bill O'Reilly, Sean
Hannity and Alan Colmes. When
Colmes is mentioned in the book, his
name always appears in a smaller font.
Still, "Lies" is hardly just a frivo
lous diatribe on character. Franken
is meticulous (his use of Lexis-Nex
is, a comprehensive Web search,
seems to verge on obsessive) and his
attention to detail makes the book
not only powerful, but extremely
funny. As you read on, you realize
that Franken has done his research.
1 le gives concrete examples of when
the right-wing media — television
shows, authors, and Web sites — fal
sify quotes, use poor sources, fake
endnotes and change contexts to
twist information.
Franken's personal experiences with
the media also tend to come into the
picture quite often. And while the first
person perspective is amusing — one
incident describes his confrontation
with Bill O'Reilly at a book trade show
— it comes across as a bit dogmatic.
Franken does not shy away from the
current Washington administration ei
ther, skewering President Bush's tax
plans for pandering to the rich and crit
icizing what he deems the "chicken
hawk" movement, or those who now
willingly push for war but who them
selves found ways to avoid the draft in
previous wars. His fictional short story
entitled "Operation Chicken Hawk"
reads like a politico's pulp comic book.
Franken repeatedly acknowledges
that he could not have written this
book without the aid of 'Team
Franken," his Harvard-based research
team. Franken enlisted 141 larvard stu
dents from the john F. Kennedy School
of Government, and some of the
book's best anecdotes are mined from
his experiences working with a young
research staff. In one scenario, Franken
and a student go visit Bob Jones Uni
versity under the pretense of looking at
the school; his experiences on the cam
pus are hilariously funny without being
malicious or snide.
"lies'’ consistently walks the line be
tween information and entertainment,
but Franken manages to keep every
thing remarkably neat. Unlike his last
book, "Why Not Me?," which dealt
with a fictional Franken presidential
campaign and subsequent administra
tion, "Lies" doesn't get old. The chap
ters are concise, the book never loses
momentum and it's solid wit from
page one to the endnotes.
Steven Neuman is a freelance
reporter for the Emerald.
Desdemona raises questions about classic performance
Paula Vogel’s play, which
re-examines the women
of Othello, is a departure
from more ‘typical’ plays
By Helen Schumacher
Pulse Columnist
A small round spodight shines on
the front center of the stage. All diat's
revealed to the audience is a white
handkerchief, crumpled on the floor.
A woman rushes to the doth, picks it
up and stuffs it into her bosom. The
spotlight disappears, and this is how
"Desdemona: A Play About a Hand
kerchier begins.
Written by Pulitzer Prize winner
Paula Vogel, the play's title is mislead
ing. Desdemona is about more than a
handkerchief; it examines what the
women of Shakespeare's Othello
might have been like, had the charac
ters been written with more depth.
So Desdemona is not just a
doomed wife, she is a mischievous
woman who desperately needs inde
pendence. Emilia, Desdemona's
scullery maid, is no longer just a tool
for her conniving husband, Lago. In
stead, she's a devoted but occasionally
disgruntled servant. Lieutenant Cas
sio's lover Bianca serves as a good
friend and inspiration to Desdemona.
Although all these women care for
and rely on one another, they are
trapped by the male-dominated so
ciety in which they live. This causes
jealousy and fighting between the
characters, making their relation
ships constant battles for control
and honesty.
The University Theatre's produc
tion of Desdemona is directed by
Stephen Rupsch with Parisse Boothe
playing the role of the title character.
The play is comprised from their
short scenes, which last anywhere
from 30 seconds to 10 minutes. Des
demona will show on Nov. 6, 7 and
8 at the University's Arena Theatre in
104 Villard Hall. All shows begin at
8 p.m. with no late seating. Tickets
are $4 for University students, $5 for
seniors, University staff and faculty,
and $6 for the general public. They
can be purchased at the EMU Ticket
Office or the University Theatre box
office, located in the lobby of the
Robinson Theatre.
Contact the Pulse columnist
at helenschumacher@dailyemerald.com.
Her opinions do not necessarily
represent those of the Emerald.
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