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So much new found respect for Russell Brand, that was hilarious.

by Oculus 13y ago

alan_cx 13y ago
I think he is best being interviewed and talking in general rather than in his work. If you like what you hear, you should put some effort in to searching out some interviews, he is fascinating on many subjects. Not saying his not a good comedian, he is very good, but I think people are sort of put off taking him seriously because of it. I'm sure this is true of many comedians. Oh also, here in the UK, his is an easy tabloid target. Which is the game he alludes to. Tabloid----> media----> big business---> government---> establishment. He attacks the lot, and they really don't like it one little bit. BTW, fantastic to see this resonates with the HN crowd. Never saw that one coming. :) Edit: Added I've just realised something. Brand is a sort of "hacker", ish. Often here we talk about "disruption" in a particular market, and seeing how that market changes or responds. Well, read this bit: "I could see the room dividing as I spoke. I could hear the laughter of some and louder still silence of others. I realised that for some people this was regarded as an event with import. The magazine, the sponsors and some of those in attendance saw it as a kind of ceremony that warranted respect. In effect, it is a corporate ritual, an alliance between a media organisation, GQ, and a commercial entity, Hugo Boss. What dawned on me as the night went on is that even in apparently frivolous conditions the establishment asserts control, and won't tolerate having that assertion challenged, even flippantly, by that most beautifully adept tool: comedy. The jokes about Hugo Boss were not intended to herald a campaign to destroy them. They're not Monsanto or Halliburton, the contemporary corporate allies of modern-day fascism; they are, I thought, an irrelevant menswear supplier with a double-dodgy history. The evening, though, provided an interesting opportunity to see how power structures preserve their agenda, even in a chintzy microcosm." Am I right in seeing that as hacking the ceremony?
- cinquemb 13y ago
  I do think it is hacking, and I think that is a skill comedians pick up from observing their audience in the years of perfecting their craft. In this context, it is even more interesting because his hack of sorts takes place in the environment where the state, industry and media are assumed to be united unquestioningly, and apparently at their most vulnerable since cracks form in the groups sense of self (possibly on an unconscious level since everyone in the group during that moment is probably not going to be actively contemplating the union of the state, industry and media and what effects that union has on internal group dynamics as a whole)… now I wonder if people like him are pen-testing for possible exploits to their hacks or "just for the lulz" or a little bit of both? ;)

So much new found respect for Russell Brand, that was hilarious.

by Oculus 13y ago

So much new found respect for Russell Brand, that was hilarious.

I think he is best being interviewed and talking in general rather than in his work. If you like what you hear, you should put some effort in to searching out some interviews, he is fascinating on many subjects. Not saying his not a good comedian, he is very good, but I think people are sort of put off taking him seriously because of it. I'm sure this is true of many comedians. Oh also, here in the UK, his is an easy tabloid target. Which is the game he alludes to. Tabloid----> media----> big business---> government---> establishment. He attacks the lot, and they really don't like it one little bit. BTW, fantastic to see this resonates with the HN crowd. Never saw that one coming. :) Edit: Added I've just realised something. Brand is a sort of "hacker", ish. Often here we talk about "disruption" in a particular market, and seeing how that market changes or responds. Well, read this bit: "I could see the room dividing as I spoke. I could hear the laughter of some and louder still silence of others. I realised that for some people this was regarded as an event with import. The magazine, the sponsors and some of those in attendance saw it as a kind of ceremony that warranted respect. In effect, it is a corporate ritual, an alliance between a media organisation, GQ, and a commercial entity, Hugo Boss. What dawned on me as the night went on is that even in apparently frivolous conditions the establishment asserts control, and won't tolerate having that assertion challenged, even flippantly, by that most beautifully adept tool: comedy. The jokes about Hugo Boss were not intended to herald a campaign to destroy them. They're not Monsanto or Halliburton, the contemporary corporate allies of modern-day fascism; they are, I thought, an irrelevant menswear supplier with a double-dodgy history. The evening, though, provided an interesting opportunity to see how power structures preserve their agenda, even in a chintzy microcosm." Am I right in seeing that as hacking the ceremony?

cinquemb 13y ago
I do think it is hacking, and I think that is a skill comedians pick up from observing their audience in the years of perfecting their craft. In this context, it is even more interesting because his hack of sorts takes place in the environment where the state, industry and media are assumed to be united unquestioningly, and apparently at their most vulnerable since cracks form in the groups sense of self (possibly on an unconscious level since everyone in the group during that moment is probably not going to be actively contemplating the union of the state, industry and media and what effects that union has on internal group dynamics as a whole)… now I wonder if people like him are pen-testing for possible exploits to their hacks or "just for the lulz" or a little bit of both? ;)