The WGA strike continues, and the major studios continue to be miserly over internet residuals. Despite lacking his writing staff, Stephen Colbert has been back on the air for a while now. In last night’s episode of The Colbert Report, Stephen struck upon a brilliant idea: that he alone has the ability to end the confrontation between the studios and the writers guild.
In the episode, Stephen discussed his father’s role in helping to bring about the end of a strike of black hospital workers in 1969. Stephen’s father was the administrator of the hospital at the time. Stephen’s guest on the show was the union leader who had negotiated with his father on behalf of the striking workers.
Stephen ended the show with a song dedicated to his striking writers: he, his guests, and the Harlem Gospel Choir joined in to sing Let My People Go. Pure genius.
I can imagine another episode of the Colbert Report in the not-too-distant future: representatives of the studios and the WGA come on the show to announce that both parties have reached a mutually satisfactory agreement, ending the writers’ strike. Satirical comedy programs like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report often speak the truth when the traditional news media are too gutless to do so. In the context of the satirical Colbert Report, the contentious points of disagreement in the WGA strike could be aired in a humorous way, allowing each party to speak the truth while allowing the other party to save face; and each side could show humility by indulging in a bit of self-deprecating humor.
It could work — assuming of course, that the actual details were honestly and fairly worked out beforehand behind the scenes. It would be another feather in Colbert’s cap, and to be honest, it wouldn’t surprise me at all.
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