The Chaser’s War on Everything

I’m sorry to say it, but I think The Chaser team are losing their edge.

Let me explain by twice quoting that other comic genius, Homer Simpson. Too much of The Chaser’s comedy has gone from “It’s funny ‘cause it’s true” too “It’s funny ‘cause I don’t know him.”

After two years of producing a satirical newspaper, The Chaser team landed their first television show on the ABC in 2001, titled The Election Chaser.  Their coverage of the 2001 federal election was satire at its best, with a mixture of fake news and stunts. Politicians are ripe for spoofing because deceit and double speak are sadly too often their stock in trade. That makes them fair game, as I see it, for any comedy exposing their follies, foibles and hypocrisy. The Chaser team served up an equally satisfying election coverage with The Chaser Decides in 2004.

In 2002 and 2003 The Chaser team created the Logie Award winning CNNNN, expanding their range beyond politics to include broader news coverage, current affairs, sports, entertainment. The team mocked both the form and content of news programs, continuing their mix of pranks and up to the minute satire of current events. Their growing reputation as one of the best comedy teams on Australian television was well deserved.

At its best the comedy of The Chaser makes us laugh by pricking the bubble of our collective hubris It’s irony at its best because deep down we all acknowledge and desire a better state of affairs.

For example, following the 2001 federal election Chaser member Craig Reucassel dressed as a giant playing card and crashed the Liberal Party’s victory celebrations. Calling himself ‘the Race Card’, Reucassel told Prime Minister Howard that he had helped him win the election. Few people would deny the humour behind the stunt.  However the joke carried a deeper resonance because of the commonly held view that a significant part of the Liberal’s campaign was built around the fear of illegal immigration. 

My Bible reading tells me that Jesus was no stranger to satire. When he tells his disciples that a man should remove the ‘plank’ from his own eye before trying to remove a speck from his brother’s, you can see the irony at play and almost hear the humorous delivery. Imagine how his disciples or the people listening at the Sermon on the Mount would have felt. As the targets of Jesus’ challenging words they may have been offended. But the statement was applicable, warranted, and so delivered with just enough humour to take the edge off the provocation.

And this is how good satire should work. It makes us laugh while exposing a greater truth.

The Chaser’s War on Everything has just completed its second season. It consistently rated as one of Australia’s top 20 television shows, even hitting number one for the final episode of its first 2007 season. However, in declaring ‘war on everything’ The Chaser team are starting to cause considerable ‘collateral damage’.

It can be funny to see a prank pulled on an insincere politician or a superficial starlet because such people trade off the benefits of their position of power or celebrity status. If the critical prank hits its mark, then the laugh seems justified – just like the sympathetic bystander laughing at the self-righteous Pharisee. It is more than just tall poppy syndrome. It’s a way of grounding those who’ve lost touch with the reality. It appeals to that part in Christians and non-Christians alike that instinctively knows all humans are equal, and equally fallible before God. However The Chaser’s aim is moving beyond those who place themselves in the public sphere and started taking pot-shots at ‘the man in the street’.

Sadly, more and more of The Chaser’s comedy is built around devising stunts that look less like satire and more like bullying. I don’t want to sound overly pious, but I don’t believe going into a bedding shop to try out a bed, then stripping down and simulating sex acts upon it in view of members of the public has any great resonance. Neither does fining people for having tattoos, pouring ashes into a crowded swimming pool or talking about genital herpes on a crowded train. They are merely pranks that encourage us to laugh at innocent bystanders as their sensibilities are assaulted. The humour is snide, residing in the fact that a person who wasn’t us has been put in an embarrassing situation or has had something unexpected and unfortunate happen to them.  To me, this is lowest-common-denominator comedy. It’s certainly not the sort Christians can take any real joy in. After all, we ought to ‘mourn with those who mourn’ (Romans 12:15) not laugh at their expense.

As Christians we should be seeking and embracing truth and satire remains a good way of exposing the inconsistencies in our society. However, we don’t tolerate humour that is disruptive, destructive and mean-spirited in schools or work-places for example because we realize we have a responsibility to protect those who lack the means to defend themselves. Heckling and swearing at a public performance by the Australian Chamber Orchestra might be shocking enough to elicit a titter, but The Chaser can do better sketches, and we can do better than to laugh. Pretending otherwise just puts us in the shoes of the onlooker who is afraid of becoming the bully’s next target.

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