John Clarke died yesterday. In the great tradition of the former leader of the opposition Billy Snedden, he died doing something he loved. He will be sorely missed.
John projected a humour that quietly laughed at the human condition. And in a dry, observational wit, he dissected our collective absurdity. He dissected absurdity with a surgical touch, and gave it back to us straight faced and wry.
There are very few comedians in Australia who possess that level of observation. Fewer still who can resist the temptation to resort to an over-blown caricature. John was studiously under-blown. A native of New Zealand he resisted the temptation of others to be famous elsewhere, and chose to stay. That is not the pattern of those who are brilliant. They always leave, and leave us to the also-rans, the second tiers, the bureacrats, the politician or worse still, the rusted on second level ABC humorist. They’re in the ascendant. Inheritors of the american stand up tradition, obvious, confrontational, sensationalist and superficial they are to comedy what tabloids are to journalism. And they’re so closely scripted, the art, the genius of spontaneity is lost to them. John could compress a novel, Dostoyevskian or child-like into a short sentence. His version of current events dissected the eternal stupidity in all of us, and served it cold. There was colour in his craft. A deft economy of words. The standard definition of contemporary television humour is to offer a series of sound bites. John gave us the whole cake and invited us to eat it with him. That’s his largesse, and generosity at work. John learnt the art of the silent pause, and in that pause invited us, (as great film directors do ) to fill in the gaps.
But all is not lost. Bad comedians, like bad artists are in the ascendant. It’s all part of the information age. As information, on any subject is at our fingertips, our ability to read language, and understand is now more diminished than ever. It was good thing for John to leave, because good art always has its imitators.
Rex Tillerson;’The.U.S will stand up against anyone who commits crimes against humanity” Comedy GOLD!
Rex Tillerson, has decided the U.S will not tolerate human rights abuses. John would be severely happy. Irony is often lost on the Yanks, and clearly John has established an influence which is global. On Q & A last night, the panel earnestly enthused about euthanasia and a political solution to the war in Syria. They did this, straight faced and serious as missiles from both sides rain down on whats left. John would have loved that one. And as a keen environmentalist, would have been unable to script the delicious irony that the world’s greatest living organism is all but dead. And through the fog of politics, the federal government remains resolutely silent.
Tony Jones. Gave us the intervention and served up unintelligent bias as entertainment. Comedy GOLD!
John would be so happy that what’s left of Australian resources are being sold off without any benefit to the Australian people, and happier still in the knowledge that ex bankers talk God-like about the need to continue negative gearing and the benefits of the trickle down effect. And why would he be so glad? Because it will ensure that what’s left, what hasn’t been sold, and cashiered for the few, will encourage the rest of us to maintain a healthy disrespect for pomposity and a delicious sense of irony. So that we can all laugh together, when panelists on Q&A pretend they’re engaged in active debate rather than just being another part of the entertainment industry.