Paul Slansky writes biting political commentary that's, well, funny. His work appears as political quizzes in the New Yorker and in books like his latest, My Bad: 25 Years of Public Apologies and the Appalling Behavior That Inspired Them
VT: What's the underlying idea behind your work?
Paul: I shine a brutal spotlight on what's going on and say, look, this is what is really happening, this is real ? and it's as ridiculous as it is it's real. So let's face that, live with that, and not pretend that the only thing that's ridiculous is when we make it up. The reality is what's insufferable in most cases.
VT: Give us an example?
Paul: "My Bad" is a collection of apologies inspired by Senator Trent Lott's now infamous series of mea culpas in 2002, including notorious acts of contrition by Bill Clinton, Janet Jackson and Arnold Schwarzenegger. I would call this book history that has a humorous bent, although people have a hard time ascribing humor to history.
VT: How do you make a book like that funny?
Paul: The book has an angry humor to it. There's no question that it's fueled by outrage and fueled by contempt. But this rage doesn't get in the way of making it funny. What's important is the way I choose what to emphasize, the way I juxtapose things, the beat that I'll end on. The grotesquely self-revealing quote that's left naked and hanging out there for the world to see. These are the things that make it funny and entertaining.
VT: What's the point of your humor?
Paul: I hold up deserving targets to withering ridicule. Ridicule is an unbelievably powerful weapon against public figures. I find it truly disheartening that in public discourse you almost never see it. Do I want people to laugh at - not with - the public figures in our society? Yes I do. Do I want to make that happen? Absolutely. Does it give me great pleasure to point that finger and hear laughter at those who think they're getting away with things? Yes, absolutely.
