Update on satirical politics, from John Birchall
Once again ‘The thick of it’ has won more awards – this time it’s BAFTA’s. Now, we are told that as an electorate we despise politicians with all their spin, sound bites and tales that border on lies. Put into the mix expenses, cuts and bail outs and surely all of us want them to disappear and let us get on with living our lives.
Yet, this openly satirical analysis of those in power is popular and watched by millions and not all of them are Guardian readers wanting to learn more of their heroes. One has to assume that a large part of the audience simply likes this strange mixture of reality and slightly ‘over the top’ characters.
Some of the language might not be what Granny would laugh at but that is another story. Scot Amando Iannucci (the writer and creator of the show) told the BAFTA audience how Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats have caused problems for the next series. He said that while a cast representing the Opposition had already been introduced, at no point had a third party been mentioned. "There is a bit of emergency casting," he said.
Now, we may like our politicians being brought down to size but what of the other speakers of English – those who live in the USA? Well, Iannucci is also busy scripting an HBO pilot for a show set in Washington. He said: "It's great to try and do a Washington-based comedy." The West Wing may be but Obama and the boys swearing, doing naughty things and not exactly coming across as clean, nice young men who want to spread peace, love etc might be a little risky outside the confines of Washington DC.
It’s good to see that whatever the economic climate and ‘expectation management’ is now firmly the David Cameron style, helped by Mr Byrne’s letter we do enjoy taking the p... . out of those who feel capable of leading us. The 22nd June may yet make fictional politicians even more appealing.