SPLICED Magazine SPLICED Issue 05 June/July 2014 | Page 15

LIFE / BLACKBEARD'S CHEST / A COLLECTION OF RANDOM TREASURES ISSUE 05 tv show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver It's like the nightly news. Only weeklier. Watch it here A lot of people struggle to enjoy political satire because it goes over their head like a remote controlled drone in Benghazi. See what I did there? For those of you willing to pick up a newspaper and not just use it to wrap up your fish and chips, it can be extremely rewarding to see a politician get their ass handed to them on late night television. Mnet has begun airing a new show titled Last Week Tonight with John Oliver which takes a weekly roundup of the politics of the United States and the world and takes the piss out of bumbling politicians, irresponsible corporations and sensationalist news channels, with great aplomb. Despite the show’s infancy the former Daily Show correspondent John Oliver has made light of America’s death penalty, the most recent Indian elections and General Motors recalling 11 million cars without pulling any punches. The show’s definitely worth its weight in gold. Quite frankly, if you don’t find it funny it’s a great way to keep up with what’s going on in the world around you. "The end of satire is the amendment of vices by correction; and he who writes honestly is no more an enemy to the offender, than the physician to the patient when he prescribes harsh remedies” - John Dryden. Yeah, what he said. 15