[ad_1]
Amy B Wang
Generalist journalist covering national and last-minute news
Sometimes, the simplest sketches of "Saturday Night Live" – those who do not let themselves be stumbled, who do not change costumes in an elaborate way, who hardly change their voices – are the ones who have the sharpest bite.
With barely more than a bald cap and a pair of filled eyebrows, SNL guest host Steve Carell has become the general manager of Amazon.com, Jeffrey P. Bezos, to insist on the fact that, no, he was not trying to troll President Trump.
Yes, Amazon's two new seats are expected to be in Queens and Northern Virginia, which are Trump's birthplace and just steps from the White House.
But the choice of places has nothing to do with the president, said Carell-as-Bezos in a SNL sketch entitled "Message from Jeff Bezos".
"Of course, he attacked me on Twitter several times," he said softly, while a catchy melody was playing in the background. "But I chose our sites because they were perfect for the growth of the company, not just to make Donald Trump think about how literally I'm 100 times richer than him."
He then explained to the Amazon that he "needed to have access to a young and educated workforce", which explains the creation of a new office satellite in Palm Beach, Florida, just opposite Trump's private estate, Mar-a-Lago.
Carell-as-Bezos also criticized "his" purchase of the Washington Post in 2013. While (the real) Bezos owns the newspaper, which operates independently of Amazon, Trump often confused the two, creating false attacks against two entities on Twitter.
On SNL, fake Bezos could not stop digging at Trump, opening a mock-up of The Post's printed version – a fake news – that included an unflattering photo of the president playing tennis.
"I also love our Style section," said Carell-as-Bezos smiling.
In any case, he continued, he was not there to talk about Trump. He was there to unveil a new Amazon delivery option: "Amazon Caravan".
"All parcels destined for a Trump building will be delivered by hundreds of Honduran and Mexican immigrants, and I will bear the bill," he explained, clearly highlighting the escalating fears of Trump on caravans of Central American migrants traveling to the United States. border
He paused, before interfering with Trump's many commercial bankruptcies.
"Unless you order" The art of the market ", it is more expensive to ship, because it is heavier," said Carell-as-Bezos. "I guess it's the only four-chapter book."
Several non-verbal sketches at Trump have also been scattered throughout the sketch, for example when "Bezos" passes in front of framed images of personalities such as Toad of Nintendo. (This journalist from the Style section will not try to explain this reference in a family publication.) "Bezos" also showed drones equipped with "completely random" hairpieces that will seem familiar to him.
And the SNL writers made one last joke at Trump's expense, focusing on the fact that the president did not visit Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans Day.
It is not surprising that SNL chose to embroider Trump, which the show has done every week since the president took office. However, the decision to do so via "Bezos" was more like a convergence of necessity: Carell as a guest, many jokes about Trump and the obligation to mention at least the new week of Amazon.
In fact, the sketch was a missed opportunity to make more critical comments to Bezos and Amazon. The recent announcement that the retail giant had selected a region of northern Virginia (oddly renamed "National Landing") and Long Island City as its new headquarters has triggered alarm signals in both communities, critics claiming that the arrival of the twin head office could worsen income inequality, traffic and infrastructure problems, as well as other ills.
At the same time, the cities that Amazon has courted but ultimately did not choose have wondered if they were deceived by false hopes. Some of the rejected cities seemed relieved, citing excessive tax breaks that Amazon would have demanded and relaunching criticism of poor working conditions in Amazon's warehouses.
SNL's sketch has barely scratched the surface of these controversies, although it was briefly mentioned at first that the announcement of the headquarters was not welcomed by everyone.
"Amazon has just announced the location of its two new headquarters in New York and Virginia," said Carell as Bezos. "And everyone – except the people who live there and the people who live in all the places where we do not have choose – is delighted! "
Read more:
Steve Carell's "Saturday Night Live" monologue is transformed into a mini "Office" meeting
Facebook, Forest Fires and Fraud Claims: SNL's cold opening takes us through the headlines of the week
Why did Dan Crenshaw make a public apology and not the others? (Hint: it's about power, people.)
Awkwafina welcomed SNL 18 years after Lucy Liu. Their monologues show how times have changed.
[ad_2]
Source link
