Watch Connie Fall
21 June 2006 1:40 pm by Taylor Marsh
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| Watch Connie fall. |
Connie needs better friends.
I've been mulling this one over for a while. After seeing Connie Chung's performance
days ago, only one thing struck me.
No wonder women aren't taken serious in the political news genre. No wonder
we can't get booked on the Sunday shows. Some can't even perform a parody up to par.
Chung started off on nightly news, then gradually made herself into a joke,
a punch line, a laughing stock. She says she was being funny, but there's nothing
to laugh at when you're the joke. There's a big difference between being laughed
with and laughed at.
I've run it down many times on this blog, but Sunday shows are bereft of women.
It's not easy for women to get on radio either, especially if you're a progressive.
Not even women producers are making sure we're represented.
I also can't help but mention the reaction to Katie Couric taking over CBS
nightly news. It was met with a collective yawn by most or derision by others.
She is a lightweight to many, but she's still the very first woman to headline
a nightly newscast.
Then there was the fall out when Elizabeth Vargas quit ABC nightly news to
become a mom. The women's groups were all over ABC for not making room for her,
as if nightly news has room for anyone that isn't a 24/7 work horse. Take the
job, live up to the demands. If you can't, you're out, regardless of fertility
status.
Women make choices every day about our lives and careers. Right now we are
clearly struggling for the front lines. Chung's “parody” was pathetic.
Not because it was a spoof, but because she sucked. As a performer, I'm all
for making fun of yourself, but if you're going to get up and sing at least
be able to carry a tune. If you're going to fall off a piano to get laughs, at
least don't look like you're going to crack in the process. No, I can't read Connie's mind, but it seems to me there was one reason for her “spoof.” She wanted to stick it to MSNBC and the fact that she did the show for no money, but couldn't even get cable right, after being banished to Saturdays.
Dirty Harry had it right. A man's got to know his limitations. A woman better
have that list down cold.
After the performance, Chung said she was trying to be funny.
“All I want to be sure of is that viewers understood it was a giant
self-parody,” Chung told The Associated Press Tuesday. “If anyone
took it seriously, they really need to get a life.”The performance was clearly meant to be a joke. The lyrics were written by
Lizz Winsted, co-creator of “The Daily Show,” and Chung’s
executive producer. Further, Chung’s routine included slapstick, such
as groaning when she rolled off the piano, shaking her backside at the camera,
and collapsing on the floor at the end of the song.(snip)
Chung assured the New York Times that she was stone-cold sober. “I
should have had a drink before I went on,” she laughed.Connie
Chung's Serenade Gag A Web Hit
Farewell Song On Canceled Show Is Popular 'Net Clip But Perplexes Some Viewers
Connie needed a drink? We're the ones who needed a drink just to watch the
spectacle.
But as to why Connie's clip perplexed many in the public, it's because she
didn't know what she was doing. In the process, she made a fool out of herself
and demeaned all contestants hoping to get a leg up on “American Idol.”
What would Simon have said?
