By the time you read this column, Conan O’Brien will most likely be a statistic. He will be just one of the millions of unemployed Americans across the country, impacted by the Great Recession. Like the hero of a Greek tragedy – or a character from the show Lost – he has been taken before his time. His reign at the helm of one of the longest-running television shows is over. The past year and a half has seen the demise of financial institutions, magazines and newspapers, and decades-old companies, so it was only a matter of time until a man – whose job was to make us laugh at the news – lost his job himself.
And a generation mourns. Cue the Greek chorus.
I should confess that I’ve been a Conan O’Brien fan for over 15 years, so this column will show as much impartiality or objectivity as Jay Leno showing refrain when deciding to tell another Bill Clinton sex joke. That having been said, I genuinely do not feel sorry for Conan. Yes, he may be unemployed… but his unemployment check rivals the gross domestic product of a small African country. I also don’t feel sorry for NBC. They created the Leno/Conan mess in the first place, but I’m cautiously optimistic that they will bounce back, with whatever Who Wants to Marry My Step-Mother on Law & Order starring Steve Carrell reality show concoction they come up with.
Rather, I feel bad for my generation. Cue the Greek chorus.
Two years ago, our generation – young people between the ages of 18 and 35 – went absolutely bonkers over some guy named Barack Obama. He was the conductor of the Hope Express, and all we knew was that we wanted a ticket to ride. And ride that train we did… all the way to the White House. Our generation happily gave a dollar to the Obama Vending Machine, on the promise that we would receive Change (and maybe a Mountain Dew or a Snickers bar or something). Have we received our Change, a year into the Obama administration? Perhaps it’s time for someone to call the vending machine maintenance man.
I still prefer President Obama over the alternative: Almost-Dead McCain and Brain-Dead Palin. Nevertheless, my disillusionment over the Obama administration has made me question both his ability to lead and my generation’s ability to make decisions. We wanted Obama because he was flashy and popular, but what do we have to show for it? It’s almost as if we need someone to protect us from ourselves.
Cue the NBC executives.
Upon learning the news that Conan O’Brien would be replaced at The Tonight Show, a wave of support swept across the country for Conan, ranging from rallies and t-shirt sales, to Facebook status updates and Tweets. Conan was the good guy and NBC – particularly Jeff Zucker – was the bad guy. No questions asked. There was no doubt in the mind of any Conan fan, including my own, that by firing Conan from The Tonight Show, NBC would potentially risk alienating a significant portion of its young viewers. This however, begs the question: If Conan had so many rabid fans, why did they not do the one simple thing that could have saved his job in the first place and watched his show?
Conan losing The Tonight Show may primarily be NBC’s fault, but it was our generation who didn’t watch him the first place. Obama may not turn out to be the dream president we imagined him to be, but it was our generation who elected him in the first place. It’s easy to go after the flashy and popular, as evidenced by “Yes We Can” and “Team Conan.” It’s hard to go against the majority, to ask questions, and to wonder, “Did I cause this situation? Is this my mistake?"
Comparing a comedian to a sitting U.S. president may be as ridiculous as Triumph the Insult Comic Dog’s interviews. Nevertheless, I think our generation might benefit by stopping and asking ourselves the following question: Are we joining a cause because it’s popular, or are we joining a cause because it’s right? After all, it is young people – between the ages of 18 and 35 – who help choose everything from television shows to the future leader of our country.
Thank you for reading this column. Stay tuned for Jimmy Fallon, coming up next.
