October 20, 2004
contextual dissonance
The Jon-Stewart-on-Crossfire thing has been saturation blogged, but it's still buzzing around in my head. I mean, wasn't it weird to see Jon Stewart outside of his regular contextual frame, dropped into and disrupting a completely different frame? It was a bit like reading Beetle Bailey, except that Uncle Duke had dropped by from Doonesbury for a strategy session with General Halftrack and Lt. Fuzz.
fig 1. familiar daily show context
fig 2. jarring cnn context
Compare and contrast.
Posted by Gene at October 20, 2004 06:33 PM | TrackBackThe context thing is interesting. There are a few clues. When Stewart appears on TV outside TDS, he usually doesn't wear a suit. That's a signal that he's no longer 'fake anchor Jon Stewart' (see the section on media dress codes in 'America - The Book) but rather Jon Stewart the writer and fierce media critic.
Posted by: nick at October 22, 2004 03:35 AM