Full Frontal has featured many interesting segments since its premiere, taking the idea of the remote segment to creative heights and telling stories in ways that competitors just aren’t. It’s raised the stakes for The Daily Show and Last Week Tonight, forcing those shows to take some chances with how they report on current events. The Daily Show‘s Halloween look at the future under President Trump still stands as a triumph for the Trevor Noah era of the show, even if reality make it a relic of the pre-election period.
This segment by Bee doesn’t take it that far, but it does send the host into some sort of weird realm where words have changed their meaning or constantly shift depending on the situation. Led by the oddest beat poets you can find, Bee moves through a segment that follows the normal format with clips of the Trump administration and their creative use of language, all while existing in some sort of cut-rate Twin Peaks dimension. The president’s giant head spews a never-ending string of word vomit in the background, the theme song plays in a backwards tone, and the creepy trio to the side highlight every new phrase and alternative fact that comes into existence.
It honestly feels like this is a little unfair to language and the White House. It’s making a good point about how the administration bends certain terms and facts for their benefit, but it’s also ignoring how language and words are constantly shifting meaning. Post-Truth was added to the dictionary thanks to the election and the many factors that played into its outcome, but they’ve also added countless terms coined by memes and have changed word meanings on a yearly basis. Take the term “literally” for example and how the Oxford dictionary says it can mean “figuratively” if you really want it to. That’s all the Trump camp is really doing.
It’s the clarity that’s the real issue. When Trump talks about “nuclear” or tweets out “covfefe,” the entire nation is left scratching its head and wondering what the hell is going on. That’s not helpful.
(Via Full Frontal)