John Oliver: Employees Are More Than Robots

John Oliver, a former correspondent for The Daily Show, has recently established himself as one of the top satirists on television. His show, Last Week Tonight, works hard to take down established culture through investigative journalism and humor. Because the show airs without commercials, Oliver does not have to worry about insulting his sponsors, so every corporation and event has to be ready for his attacks.

Recently, Oliver satirized Lowes' new idea: robot assistants. He began the clip by showing other network's coverage of the hardware stores' commercial, pausing for comic relief after the actors smile oddly at the robots. As the actor in the commercial mentions that he might be friends with the robot, Oliver stops the clip and says, "That sentence may be the single saddest sentiment ever spoken". Oliver uses sarcasm repeatedly to convey that using robots in place of human workers is an idiotic idea.

John Oliver then presents his idea for a commercial for Home Depot, which shows why human employees are so valuable. Oliver decides that the most important job of a hardware store employee is to stop couples from arguing. He presents a valid argument that hardware stores create marital problems, as they involve making long term decisions, spending money, and arguing over tastes. However, he includes fluorescent lighting as a problem with hardware shopping to create humor, adding that nobody leaves one of these stores happy.

The fake commercial is really where the irony begins, as the hypothetical worker, played by Nick Offerman uses both physical comedy and verbal irony as he tries to help a couple. Every item creates tension between the couple, hyperbolizing the potential for conflict at a store. Offerman simply fixes every problem by suggesting another product, or praising the product, showing that the couples don't need much to be distracted. At Offerman's suggestion, they forget about all of their problems, which range from house size to marital infidelity. The couple appears to be arguing as if they were at a psychiatrist, which creates situational irony.

Oliver's larger point is to critique the digitilization of modern life. Although it is obvious that he takes the role of the employee to an extreme, Oliver appreciates the role that human interactions play in our lives, and that employees are more than robots who follow orders. Oliver's critique is positive, because it argues for greater valuation of store employee, and doesn't take down another society while doing so.

(Video is explicit)