[To Tucker Carlson] How old are you? [Carlson:] Thirty-five. [Stewart:] And you wear a bow tie... So this is theater... Now, listen, I'm not suggesting that you're not a smart guy, because those are not easy to tie... But the thing is that this -- you're doing theater, when you should be doing debate, which would be great... It's not honest. What you do is not honest. What you do is partisan hackery.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Stewart accuses a host of prioritizing theatrical performance over honest debate and intellectual substance.
- In plain terms
- He tells a host he is putting on a show instead of having real debates.
- What can you take from it?
- Theater in media replaces honest debate.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Where is the line between debate and theater?
- Is entertainment incompatible with honesty?
Another view
It dismisses entertainment value as inherently dishonest.
More from Jon Stewart
You have a responsibility to the public discourse, and you fail miserably.
Permalink to quote #20 You're on CNN. The show that leads into me is puppets making crank phone calls. What is wrong with you?
Permalink to quote #22 You know what's interesting, though? You're as big a dick on your show as you are on any show.
Permalink to quote #19
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