Where has all the satire gone?

Are Canadians even capable of laughing at themselves anymore?  I’ve noticed during the current election campaign that political satire is dead in our country.  I grew up in the 1990’s when it was at its peak.  We had the Royal Canadian Air Farce on radio and television, and also the equally funny Double Exposure.  My elementary school French teacher even kept a few old issues of a satirical magazine from Quebec in her classroom.  I loved reading those if my work was finished early.  I had those pages all to myself, nobody else in grade 7 at Listowel Central Public School knew about or was interested in caricatures of Brian Mulroney, Pierre Trudeau, and Rene Levesque.  And then there was Don Harron’s long-running Charlie Farquharson character, present in numerous books, radio, and television.  Harron even played Charlie on the long-running American country music program Hee Haw from 1969 to 1992 without the political material.  American audiences just wouldn’t have understood references to Pee-Air Terdo and Brian Baloney.  I saw Harron do Farquaharson live once and was barely able to stay sitting up because I was laughing so hard.  Farquaharson’s account of the marital breakdown of Pierre and Margaret Trudeau, complete with references to the Rolling Stones and a lack of Satisfaction remains one of my favourite pieces of Canadian political humour. 

Air Farce was a must-watch program every Friday night on CBC-TV and at 1:00pm eastern each Sunday on radio.  There wasn’t a politician or political topic they wouldn’t satirize and audiences loved it.  There was Don Ferguson’s memorable Preston Manning, continually saying “I love that word Refooorrrm” in a voice eerily similar to Manning’s own.  Ferguson also was a master of the dour Lucien Bouchard and a smooth-talking Dean Martin-like Brian Mulroney.  The late Roger Abbott completely aced the voice and personality of Jean Chretien, each week making statements like “Ok and for sure on dat pipples of de country, I am de most poopoolar Prime Minister and will balance the budgie before I calls de next erection.”  Luba Goy was another favourite, routinely imitating Sheila Copps, complete with screaming and temper tantrums.

Double Exposure, first on CBC Radio Saturday mornings and later on CTV was equally funny.  The husband and wife duo of Bob Robertson and Linda Cullen were excellent at imitating the voices of political leaders.  Robertson’s Jean Chretien was even better than that of Roger Abbott.  Pierre Trudeau would often make an appearance as The Phantom of the Ottawa who haunted 24 Sussex Drive and still attempted to control the behaviour of Jean Chretien.  Robertson also did a version of Brian Mulroney so smooth that it was sometimes impossible to tell if it really was Mulroney speaking or not.  Cullen was a pro at Kim Campbell, Flora Macdonald, and Barbara MacDougall, who had served as Mulroney’s Minister of External Affairs.  She always introduced herself as “The Big MacDougall.” 

Aside from Rick Mercer, Canadian television and radio is completely lacking in good political satire right now.  In the car this morning, I was listening to CBC’s This Is That.  While it was funny, there was no good election satire at all.  If this was 1993 or 1997, the program would have been merciless towards all parties.  Why have we become a country of people incapable of laughing at ourselves?  Are satirists here fearful for their careers if they criticize politicians and government?  While one generation of political satirists has retired or even passed away, I don’t see much promise for the current or future generations.  The young millennials are too quick to please and placate.  Their answers and opinions are complicit and bashful.  I’m not saying satire should be completely disrespectful and offensive, but a little bit of wit and humour-infused criticism would show that the public still has a pulse and pays attention.  We’re taking ourselves far too seriously.  With a Prime Minister who resembles a character from an old horror film, an NDP leader who looks like a lumberjack looking for a brawl at the local tavern on a Saturday night, and a Liberal Leader who resembles a prince in an animated Walt Disney film, you would think we could have come up with some good satire by now.  Is our society really healthy when people seem reluctant to or afraid to have fun?