If you can’t make fun of yourself…who can you make fun of?

                         vs.                        

Some of you may know the actor Alec Baldwin who has appeared in numerous films such as Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice (1988)(1). But is probably more notably remembered as being the former  husband of Kim Basinger(2). Well recently he had a run in with American Airlines. He was booted off the plane for playing a digital game on his Kindle e-reader called “Words With Friends” that he just couldn’t put down (sound familiar…I’m sure it’s happened to all of us…). But…who can blame him? He’s over 50 and probably wants to avoid “Senior Moments” (lapses in memory) or early onset Alzheimer’s.

Well to put a stop to the gossip he decided to mock himself via Saturday Night Live (a popular Satire show on ABC) by impersonating the captain of the American Airlines Flight, Captain Steve Rogers (fictitious name).   Seth Meyers, one of the regular comedians on Saturday Night who gives a news Update every week, pretends to interview him but continuously breaks the spell by asking Alec: “Are you sure this is the right way to handle this?” Alec responds by asking him to keep going. This very “tongue-in-cheek” appearance not only makes fun of the actor Alec Baldwin but also of the habits of airlines who impose very stringent rules and who enforce them police style (he was led off the plane escorted by several security guards).  Well all of this to say…isn’t this better than issuing an official apology? I’m sure his mediatized social transgression will be quickly forgotten and forgiven by the American people…maybe not so quickly by American Airlines who has just filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection….probably not the best kind of publicity these days…in these highly competitive times….

Click on the picture to decide for yourself: 

Another way of making fun of yourself (cartoon recently seen in the New Yorker) “I Got A Job!”:

(1)Alec Baldwin has also appeared in: The Hunt for Red October (1990), The Marrying Man with Kim Basinger (1991), The Shadow (1994), Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000), Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001), The Aviator (2004) and The Departed (2006). His performance in the 2003 film The Cooler earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Since 2006 he has starred as Jack Donaghy on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock. His performance has garnered him two Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and six Screen Actors Guild Awards.

(2) If some of you have forgotten who Kim Basinger is, here’s a picture: