They’re treating it as a depressing jubilee.
A arguable, two-decades-old “Saturday Night Live” caricature is inflicting a stir on social media following the Taliban’s rapid takeover of Afghanistan.
The musical sendup, entitled “War Party,” first aired in 2001, a month after the United States invaded the “graveyard of empires” following the 9/Eleven attacks. However, social media users have decided to revisit divisive ditty after the insurgent group took majority control of the country in wake of US troop withdrawals over the spring and summer.
The debatable caricature begins off with Will Ferrell, Jimmy Fallon, Maya Rudolph and corporate bantering at a house birthday party. Then, rapidly, Seth Meyers interrupts the soirée to inform everybody that Northern Alliance infantrymen have captured the southern Afghan town of Kandahar.
That prompts everyone to wreck out into a music parody, in which they ecstatically celebrate the takeover in typical tongue-in-cheek “SNL” model.
“Say Taliban, transfer your minivans, Kandahar,” croons a triumphant Seth Meyers concerning the alleged victory. Maya Rudolph follows up by crowing, “That’s satisfied news, no more bearded dudes, Kandahar.”
Despite the satirical tone, the sketch divided audience, with many feeling that the track rang a tad tone-deaf in mild of recent occasions.
“This disgusting garbage rings a bell in my memory if how I first heard about the ‘invasion’ of Afghanistan,” fumed one critic on Twitter. “Was at International Market in Jersey City once they started playing ‘Born in the USA’ at the sound system and then announced the excellent news.”
“Oh, so SNL wasn’t funny again then both,” snarked another.
“I watched the whole thing and didn’t in finding any of it humorous,” one additional detractor griped. “For a long time, SNL has normalized imperialism below the guise of ‘satire.’ “
However, different audience flocked to the jingle’s protection, insisting that critics had misinterpreted the music as “pro-war” when it was once actually the other.
“This is satire,” explained one “SNL” supporter. “It starts at a well-heeled cocktail celebration with everyone being ridiculous, and then they smash into song after they listen we’ve reached Kandahar. The level used to be to make fun of the way cavalier and ignorant we have been being in regards to the invasion.”
Another wrote, “Yeah that is mocking individuals who casually celebrated the invasion of Afghanistan which via the way in which was a perfect unpopular thing to criticize at the time. This comic strip is actually based.”
Will Ferrell’s character even criticizes their blind jubilation in the sketch, saying, “Hey, guys, I’ve gotta’ tell you, even though a lot of the phrases this sensible guy used don't seem to be actual, he’s proper. Just because some cities have been taken in Afghanistan, it doesn’t imply the conflict on terrorism is over. We can’t disregard — now isn't the time to have a good time. We’ve were given to turn some endurance.”
Other audience discovered the critique of wartime hubris reasonably prescient for the reason that the Taliban retook Kandahar past due last week.
Currently, the brutal fundamentalist regime is tightening control over Afghanistan, prompting veterans of America’s longest war to beg the Biden administration to accelerate the evacuation of Afghan allies who aided them at the battlefield.
On Monday, seven people were killed, together with two shot useless by means of American forces, after crowds of Afghans stormed Kabul’s international airport and swarmed the tarmac as US military flights were making ready to go away.
This post first appeared on Nypost.com
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