Is it me or has Bill Maher become more conservative and cliche lately?

[Iggy Wolf]

I swear, if the guy isn't constantly and incessantly complaining about "wokeness", then he's complaining about young people and using typical right-wing talking points in order to push his narrative, despite the fact that his show is SUPPOSED to be about calling out both sides. Sure, his "Politically Incorrect" show was cancelled back in 2002, but his current show "Real Time" has been going strong for 20+ years, so his little diatribe against "wokeness" comes off hollow and shallow since he hasn't been cancelled himself, and his "examples" of "wokeness" include the worst parts of Twitter and TikTok.

I mean, who gives a ♥♥♥♥ what a bunch of idiots say on Twitter and TikTok?! I've watched now comedians like Jon Stewart, John Oliver, and even Jimmy Dore. While I'm sure they themselves also have their own shortcomings, they at least are well aware that they're comedians and that their shows are mostly about COMEDY. I can only count on hand the number of times Bill has actually made me laugh lately, which means he's become a terrible comedian, which is ironic, because that's exactly what you're NOT supposed to do when your whole show and shtick is about comedy.

If anything, I would think as a comedian, he'd be MORE fair and considerate to his guests, since his opinion is supposed to be more neutral and less important than what his guests have to say. The recent segment with Jon Stewart and his two guests on the Israel-Palestine war was more funny and fair than whatever and whenever Bill has anyone one talking about the war. It's funny, but it seems like age has made Jon Stewart more wise and reasonable, while Bill Maher has become more bitter, annoying, "old man yelling at clouds", and full of himself.

I dare say he's become the antithesis of that which he always criticizes. Namely, people who are so rich they are now out of touch with the average man and even their own audience, that they believe their own hype and censor/shut down any opinions they disagree with. I'd dare say it's been a while since any of Bill's guests have been able to push back on his opinion/point of view without him either cutting them off or verbally shutting them down.

[AnimeIsForIncels]

İlk olarak BringOutYerDead tarafından gönderildi:

Maher got paid off by big money and is now on the right grifting side. It's so obvious it's disgusting. He used to deeply support Bernie Sanders back in 2015, and now he's just another Daily Wire, PragerU talking zombie.

It's so funny how indoctrinated you are it's like you all read off the same script. One would hope that the old saying of with age comes wisdom hold true for you.

[Dryspace]

'It also shows why people have no idea what they're talking about when they criticize "leftists"."

Why do you put 'Leftists' in double quotes, as if it's not something that actually exists?

[Grimmz]

funny but true thing is that left wing actually agrees about alot of things with right wing, but nobody likes the far right or far left. the extremists are the ones ruining things.
like for example previously trump haters in 2016 have been turned into trump voters in 2024.

[Iggy Wolf]

İlk olarak AnimeIsForIncels tarafından gönderildi:

]

You are immature and very likely are just an indoctrinated child. You don't seem to understand that mature adults evolve politically based on how policies and the zeitgeist affects them.

"Anti-woke" and "anti-cancel" isn't some evil right-wing grift (a word many people like yourself overuse and don't understand) but something that pretty much every at this point is supportive of and has been for a while. From many comedians, actors and even President Obama.

It seems more that you're taking an absolute position of liking someone only when they peddle every idea support and discarding them when they don't. That is an immature way of living like and shows you need to grow as a person.

So just because you don't agree with me, you proceed to call me names? Who's being the immature one here? There's been no shortage actually of people who exaggerate and overreact about "wokeness". If anything, THEIR responses have indicated an immature and and brainwashed attitude. After all, they aren't reacting based on how THEY actually feel about "wokeness" but what the media tells them about it. If being an adult is thinking for YOURSELF, then they have utterly failed in that regard.

They immediately yelled and act outraged about whatever latest thing the television tells them to. Besides, this post was a criticism of Bill's personal vendetta and crying about "wokeness", not what the average person thinks about it. Considering how the "targets" of his anti-wokeness campaign tend to mostly be Gen Z and college students and kids, it comes off more as an old man yelling at kids to get off his lawn as opposed to being a mature and measured response to change.

I didn't say that being "anti-woke" is evil or somehow exclusively a right wing mentality. It's possible to simply act outraged about something far more irrationally than necessary, and for other people to call you out for it because it comes off as overly dramatic and irrational. I don't base me liking someone on whether they agree with me or not.

I didn't always agree with everything Bill Maher said but I respected him. That doesn't mean one can't call him out on his own hypocrisy and negative behavior when he decides to display it on his own show. It's called having a lack of consistency and respect. And being a comedian doesn't mean you get to insult people or mock them in a negative manner just because you think "it's funny". Especially since Bill's criticism is meant to be a political statement as opposed to a cheap joke. You don't know anything about me, so perhaps you should keep your ad hominom attacks to yourself.

[Iggy Wolf]

İlk olarak Dryspace tarafından gönderildi:

'It also shows why people have no idea what they're talking about when they criticize "leftists"."

Why do you put 'Leftists' in double quotes, as if it's not something that actually exists?

That was a typo. It was supposed to only be quotes before the period. And I used quotes because different people have different ways of defining leftists, so to use it in a more general way, where the quotes indicate that they're possibly defined differently depending on who's reading it.

[Jackie Daytona]

İlk olarak Iggy Wolf tarafından gönderildi:

I have actually watched his show numerous times. It's exactly why I was put off on wanting to continue watching it.

You clearly weren't around for his comments in 2015-2016 about the presidential election.

If I remember correctly (and I probably don't) he said Clinton was a disappointing candidate. It wasn't that he liked Trump. It was just that Clinton didn't offer anything.

İlk olarak Iggy Wolf tarafından gönderildi:

There's no denying that he changed. Whether his political views changed or not is irrelevant.

The title of your thread is asking if he's become conservative. I would think that his political views are, for the purposes of this discussion, the most important aspect of what we are talking about.

İlk olarak Iggy Wolf tarafından gönderildi:

He stopped looking at things from a working class perspective and started acting more like a rich person who can't get with the times and can only complain about "wokeness" and espouse certain right wing talking points. So he's become more of a neoliberal if anything.

Challenging your beliefs is the best way to know your beliefs.

İlk olarak Iggy Wolf tarafından gönderildi:

And yes, while "cancel culture" has always been one of the things he's consistently criticized, he has also been guilty of unintentionally supporting it, whether he knows it or not. So he's also a hypocrite to boot.

Fair enough. At the same time, how do you do a show like his without talking about individuals?

İlk olarak Iggy Wolf tarafından gönderildi:

Point is, his jokes lately more often than not miss the mark and he takes himself to seriously.

I'm not really seeing that. I feel like more hit than miss.

İlk olarak Iggy Wolf tarafından gönderildi:

If you're a comedian, you should at least at MINIMUM be funny. Jon Stewart and John Oliver might be mostly liberal, but at least their skits are funny.

Jon Stewart doesn't do skits. He does monologues, and sets up skits for others. That's about it.

John Oliver rarely does skits. He mostly sits behind a desk, reads jokes written by others, takes all the credit, and smiles smugly into the camera while doing all of it.

Oh, and 'The Daily Show' skits that use the current "correspondents"? Most of them can be skipped. As they are almost always to make fun of Trump voters. A horse that has long died, and it simply isn't funny kicking it anymore.

İlk olarak Iggy Wolf tarafından gönderildi:

They're also mostly satire and don't claim to be a shows about political debate.

No. They take the modern progressive view. That they MUST use their platform to promote their personal opinions. Which they do, endlessly. It's never *NOT* about politics with them.

İlk olarak Iggy Wolf tarafından gönderildi:

Maher"s ego becomes insufferable at times, that you stop caring about anything else he has to say. You can be right about something, but still be an obnoxious and insufferable jackass that people will still ignore.

This is how I know you aren't a long-time fan of Maher. Because 'Politically Incorrect' was even more wild than his current show. And he was mostly the same then. Ego included.

[Jackie Daytona]

İlk olarak Iggy Wolf tarafından gönderildi:

If anything, I figured people would at least notice that he's changed his opinion on things depending on whether it personally affects him or not.

That's called "normal". It's what everyone does.

Your city wants to put up low-income housing area next to your home? Suddenly you have an opinion about zoning laws.

İlk olarak Iggy Wolf tarafından gönderildi:

I still find it funny how anyone though can come away from watching Bill Maher and think that Democrats are extreme and leftists are radicals.

All anyone need do is look at a political alignment chart. Better yet, one that charts the extremity of views of U.S. elected officials over time.

Spoiler: It shows that the core members of both parties have been moving further and further from the center.

İlk olarak Iggy Wolf tarafından gönderildi:

He criticizes censorship and "wokeness" but that's not the same thing as criticizing Democratic policies or liberal ideas.

Actually, it is. Like, it literally is.

İlk olarak Iggy Wolf tarafından gönderildi:

Hell, if anything, he cheerleads for Joe Biden and consistently hates Trump.

I've seen him say nice things about Trump, and make fun of Biden. He gives his opinion. He goes for the jokes. wherever they might be.

İlk olarak Iggy Wolf tarafından gönderildi:

The "anti-wokeness" is the only thing that makes him seem conservative, and that's simply because he uses conservative arguments regarding that.

The arguments he uses aren't inherently conservative. A liberal view is that equality is better than equity. Everyone should have a chance, but none a chance greater than any other.

Wokesters don't believe that. They believe that some are more important than others. These special people must be elevated above all others. This must be mandated into law. Or enforced socially.

İlk olarak Iggy Wolf tarafından gönderildi:

I feel some people here only hear and see what they want about him. At worst, he might be a Libertarian to some extent, but that's NOT the same thing as supporting Republican ideas.

That seems like a massive backtrack.

[Dryspace]

İlk olarak Jackie Daytona tarafından gönderildi:

İlk olarak Iggy Wolf tarafından gönderildi:

I feel some people here only hear and see what they want about him. At worst, he might be a Libertarian to some extent, but that's NOT the same thing as supporting Republican ideas.

That seems like a massive backtrack.

LOL, I was just going to make the same point. I invite everyone to try to reconcile these two positions:

1. "Is it me or has Bill Maher become more conservative and cliche lately?"

2. "The "anti-wokeness" is the only thing that makes him seem conservative, and that's simply because he uses conservative arguments regarding that. I feel some people here only hear and see what they want about him. At worst, he might be a Libertarian to some extent, but that's NOT the same thing as supporting Republican ideas."

[Hathaway]

İlk olarak Jackie Daytona tarafından gönderildi:

İlk olarak Iggy Wolf tarafından gönderildi:

I have actually watched his show numerous times. It's exactly why I was put off on wanting to continue watching it.

You clearly weren't around for his comments in 2015-2016 about the presidential election.

If I remember correctly (and I probably don't) he said Clinton was a disappointing candidate. It wasn't that he liked Trump. It was just that Clinton didn't offer anything.

Snippets are not relevant, he does performative ventriloquist controlled opposition from time to time but he runs a propaganda show and the effect is in its totality, he has rigged panels of overwhelmingly liberal talking heads and his entire show is about mocking the right no different from the Daily Show and its spawn.

Its why he's always been endorsed by the regime and graced with paycheck in the millions.

His format is clearly aged now as the internet now allows long form discussions far beyond the sound bite roundups he can keep under his thumb. I know he's tried doing a podcast himself but it doesn't really work as he lacks depth.

[Dryspace]

İlk olarak Hathaway tarafından gönderildi:

I know he's tried doing a podcast himself but it doesn't really work as he lacks depth.

...and honesty.

[R-S!N]

some people just don't have stable conscience

[skkiii]

bruh we on steam

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

İlk olarak skkiii tarafından gönderildi:

bruh we on steam

This is the Off Topic forum. It's fine.

[Mike]

This thread was quite old before the recent post, so we're locking it to prevent confusion.