The School of Communication's Political Comedy Festival continued Saturday at AFI Silver Theatre with screenings of "The Great McGinty" and "Election" introduced by Turner Classic Movies host Bob Mankiewicz, a live episode of "Political Dish" hosted by The New York Times' Todd Purdham and "An Evening with Dick Gregory" featuring Gregory himself, co-hosted by the First Amendment Center's Gene Policinski and SOC alumnus Good Morning America's Tony Perkins.
Perkins said that the event demonstrates "that there's a way to merge those two worlds - politics and entertainment - in a way that's informative and at the same time something fun to listen to." He also noted that recent statistics and polls indicate that young people increasingly look to not only to traditional sources like CNN and ABC for news, but to outlets like MTV and Comedy Central's "The Daily Show."
"Political Dish" discussed the role of humor on the political scene. Participants included TIME Magazine White House correspondent Matthew Cooper, Kathleen Madigan of NBC's "Last Comic Standing," Fox News White House correspondent James Rosen and Andy Borowitz of CNN's "American Morning" and author of "The Borowitz Report: The Big Book of Shockers."
They all agreed that in today's media environment, the entertainment value of a politician is an important factor in his or her success.
Borowitz doesn't think that this should necessarily be the case.
"There's a lot of pressure for politicians to be funny ... but I would much rather have a politician who knows what country to invade. I think that's probably a more important criterion," he said. "The more serious politicians are, the better it is for me because they're easier for me to make fun of, so I have sort of a vested interest in keeping them not funny."
Rosen, named "Funniest Celebrity in Washington" in 2003 and capable of a masterful impression of the Bush swagger, said, "A sense of humor never hurts, whether you're in politics or not."
"An Evening with Dick Gregory and Friends," introduced by Rich Foster of the Newseum, was a tribute to Gregory's career in both comedy and political activism.
On stage Gregory and Policinski discussed everything from the legendary comedian's frank style of comedy to his contributions to the civil rights movement.
"Never before in the history of this planet have any group of people made the progress that African Americans have made in 45 years," Gregory said of the movement he helped advance.
When he wasn't making people laugh in comedy clubs, Gregory was participating in protests in the 1960's for which he suffered beatings and spent time in jail. He's still active in politics, currently focusing on the crisis in Sudan.
He noted that in politics, comedy has its limitations.
"My biggest shock as a comic was that I had thought laughter cured everything," he said.
Some situations, he said, call for more than comedy.
"When I went down South and put my life on the line, I didn't go there to make nobody laugh," he said.
Perkins, who is currently Good Morning America's weatherman but has spent time doing stand-up comedy, introduced five D.C.-area comedians including Jeff Kreisler, Danny Roahier, Lori Trawinski, Bey Wesley and Connor Williams. Each performed short acts.
"The opportunity to be on the same stage as Dick Gregory is ... really an honor," Trawinski said.
Perkins then reintroduced Gregory for the final act, which covered everything from Viagra to current events and received a standing ovation.
In an interview after the event, Perkins explained how he became involved.
He was asked to join the SOC Advisory Council a few years ago, which he said has "assembled a list of people who have all graduated from AU and are all doing extremely well in broadcasting, film, public relations, advertising and so many different fields."
"When you look at the list of people, it's extraordinary," he said, adding, "The school has never tapped those people before. Now, Dean Larry Kirkman has decided to do that and that's gotten me excited and gotten the others excited."
In the Political Comedy Festival, the SOC brought together alumni, comics, commentators and correspondents in an event that is reflective of the school's effort "to attract students, alumni, and the attention of the outside world ... to give [SOC] a world-class name," Perkins said.
