-by NoahThe uber-obnoxious arrival and blessedly quick departure of Anthony Scaramucci from the Trump administration may have given rise to more snarky comments and memes in the shortest length of time than any other person or event in recent history. Since Scaramucci’s surname instantly reminded people of the classic Queen song “Bohemian Rhapsody,” it inspired a multitude of snarky social media comments and memes. It was a natural. Social Media was flooded with twists on the “Scaramouche, Scaramouche, fandango portion of the song. Given that, it was inevitable that someone, somewhere would create a more detailed meme that did a sizable re-write and parody of the song.I’ve always noted that repression of the middle, working, and poverty classes has a cause and effect on the world of the arts. Certainly the frustration, anxiety and anger of the LBJ and Nixon years brought on an explosion of creativity in the music, Broadway, and fashion worlds, no to mention the rest of the world of arts and letters. In late 1950s England, working class kids, growing up in families still feeling the ravages of WW2 formed bands that changed our culture. Likewise, similar woes later created punk and rap music and fashion scenes. Art is often an only way out and a way to express contempt, call attention to an issue, or just shout ‘No!”A couple of years ago, it would have been hard to imagine Michael Moore having a show on Broadway but, here we are and currently, on Broadway one can go to see Moore’s The Terms Of My Surrender, inspired by the horrors of Trump and Trumpism. The show arrived just in time for the annual summer influx of tourists, many of who hail from the heartland red states. It’s not Cats.At the same time, Off Broadway has given us the perfectly named Trump musical tribute Me The People. Both of these shows are good starts. As the Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times pointed out in his review of Me The People:
Nothing deflates an authoritarian more than ridicule. Trump can survive denunciations, but I’m less sure that in the long run, he can withstand mockery.
Me The People advertises itself as a mockumentary about the craven, self-dealing Trump and his agenda. I’ve always felt that the best weapons we have, even when our fusillade of facts doesn’t work, are the intense derision and ridicule we can express one way or the other. Bullies can’t take it, so, why not pile it on? Time to abuse the a-holes, folks!It’s hard to make up stuff that equals or betters the farce that we are already forced to deal with at the hands of Señor Trumpanzee, but people like Michael Moore and the creators of Me The People have been given a seemingly endless river of inspiration to draw from. I expect and hope that more will be forthcoming.Pussy hats were just the beginning. When Krista Suh came up with her first pussy hat as an artistic expression of her passion for the gender equality that republicans loathe, she was just one person. Now her creation is the flag of a movement. That’s what art can do to help change and better the world we live in.On TV, we can see what an endless amount of fodder that today’s Republicans are providing for comedians, Stephen Colbert, Trevor Noah, Jon Oliver; you name ‘em. They all have tons of material to work with.Comedy Central’s The President Show is a great example. On it, Anthony Atamaniuk’s portrayal of Trump is such a spot on slam-dunk that, like much great satire, it’s almost too real and too good.We must bury Trump and his Republican freakshow aliens in the derision they are inviting with every pore of their being and every piece of their charred little souls. These people are inviting abuse. Might there be a black comedy Evita in our future; called Melania, of course.It can only be a matter of time before what I call “Asylum White House” leaves the Washington stage for a Broadway stage. “Orange Man Group”, anyone? Besides, without Ringling Bros., don’t we need a circus of another kind to go watch? What will Cirque de Soule do with the 24-hour inspiration of Asylum White House? Can Trump On Ice featuring the hit songs “Orange Ices Melting In The Sun” and “Springtime For Trumpism” be lurking in our near future? You know the movie is coming. Sooner or later, even TV commercials will mockingly incorporate the insanity of Trumpism and do it in a surreal way to sell us what: Insurance? Jewelry?
