>> welcome to "amanpour" on pbs. tonight one of the world's leading satirical voices weighs in on the royal wedding, the triumph of black creativity and finding the upside in donald trump's presidency. i go backstage with daily show host trevor noah as he prepares for sold out performance at 02 arena. plus, syria's civil war. the award winning novelist, and tell me about their unlikely collaboration.

>> good evening, everyone. welcome to the program. i'm christiane amanpour. trevor noah cemented his place using his unique comic voice to speak truth to power every night on the daily show. but noah's past with comedy central is an amazing story in its own right. as his memoir says he was literally born of crime in apartheid south africa. father of a white father and black mother. now as he puts it he has broken into the world's elite. recognized by "time" magazine as one of the hundred most influential people of 2018. i spoke with trevor noah before his performance at the stadium. the gig that coinced with the royal wedding. his show is "end of days" tour. i asked him about finding

lafltdlafltd -- finding laugher in the shadow of the apocalyptic. >> what is this end of days? >> i call it the end of days. people feel like it is. it is end of days, war, governments switching over. populism. sentiment and feeling online of people feeling like it is end of days. end of days its upon us. i figured if it is going to be the end of the world you may as well have one more comedy tour. that's why i call it end of days comedy. >> how do you think it will assuage people's panic and fear? >> i don't think it will at all. if anything, my show will confirm that the world is ending. but people will find much joy in that, that, in that definition of what is happening to us. you know what i think, the, the world, i live in is one of eternal optimism. which is not devoid of realism, but rather saying, this is the world we live in.

it will get better. can get belttter. comedy for me, remind me that i can and should feel better about what is happening: >> can you tell us what you feel belter about? what is going to get better? >> in the united states. >> give you an example in the united states. a down side. donald trump president. upside, more women than ever running for office. the upside. more women than ever, winning local state races. an upside you wouldn't normally see. down side, donald trump president. upside, more young people engaged in politics than ever before. >> more journalism. >> exactly. >> more comedy. >> exactly. >> more activism. >> of with all of this. >> you haven't been here for two years. you said a lot has happened in the country and around the world in the two years. >> right. >> what? >> the in many ways, for me the uk has always been close to my heart. partly because of the history with south africa. partly because this was my fir

first international audience i had since south africa. partly because i kept up with what is going on. and in many way the precursor to trump. it was a movement that started and now we have leaed how closely tide lly tied. cambridge analytics. you are dealing with a place that in many ways inspired a movement that you are seeing all over the word. so i keep tabs on, what britain is going through. what the people are experiencing. what is happening in the uk. how teresa may is doing. as, as prime minister. and, and what is your verdict. >> i wouldn't give her a grade. i don't live here i work, what people -- >> what did you get? what -- >> interesting. depends on what mode of it you are in the uk. that's what i find. i find you. in a private car, you main get a different reaction than on the tube. all depend on who you ask, what mode of transport you are in. give you a different grade. >> we cannot escape the fact

that teresa may started. brexit. horrible strain of nativism. here, you are arriving in the middle of this wind rush, crisis. so many african caribbeans who were invited to britain to rebuild the country when there weren't enough people after the war. suddenly finding themselves, persona nongrata. i wonder how you take that. how you -- >> you have a group of people who were for all intents and purposes. british. british went around the world. forcing people to be british. many of the people accepted that title. came to britain. built what they believe was their country. then one day, woke up. where its home. not the place that i have built. so, you know when, when you see the story, you, you, you come to realize that, that, unfortunately, the fairy tale that maybe we told ourselves at times, how people have changed. its not as true as we would like

it to believe. you know, i think we, we, we at many times realize that, that people, are nicer when things are going well for them. but maybe that covers their true feelings and emotions. and so, we have to ask ourselves, if people always feel economically downtrodden and become racists are they ever not being racist, or, is it just, tied to economics. does being poor make you racist. if that was true many people of color should be racist around the world. doesn't seem to be cause effect. shows you that there are a lot of issues we don't deal with when things are going well. >> you didn't spare, president obama, the satirical side of your tongue. how different is it, wailing on him compared to wailing on donald trump? >> to try to compare the two would be false equivalency, absolute madness. you know any one who tries to compare them has to admit that they're being crazy. >> i'm not. >> not saying you are. >> as a comedian?

>> it's, wow, it's -- it is, it cannot be more apparent. like one its ripe for comedy. one its, for instance, donald trump has the left no contradiction unturned. that's his thing. donald trump its a gift to every level of comedy. comedy, satire. lowest level. donald trump its ripe for that. you didn't have to degree deeper. if you do dig deeper. get more from him as the well. obama was like many politicians, a, a water table, buried far beneath the surface to. get off to the right joke and right piece of satire that would, that would really illuminate what obama was going to got to. dig through stow many layers. work through the weeds to get to the water table of jokes. donald trump has, what is on the surface and the deeper you dig, the more water you find. that's the difference, there is more. >> you are a person of color. you are half white, half black.

so is meghan markle. you have been here during the incredible royal wedding. black rocked the royal family this weekend. >> yes. >> the reverend was phenomenal in his speech. the black gospel choir. the black cellist apparent leap 19 years old. i mean, they have never seen anything like it. >> right. >> what did you get from watching? what do you -- >> i thought it was beautiful. for many different reasons. so many different levels. i thought it was beautiful because just on the, on the surface, it was beautiful to see two families coming together from different walks of life. it was american. it was brishtish. it was black. it was white. beautiful to see the cultures coming together. to see an african-american choir singing the music. in front of the royal family. we watched royal weddings before. we never heard that kind of music in that space. that was beautiful.

added a life tulo the atmospher you have never experienced before. to have a black pastor. brought an essence you hadn't experienced before. david beckham's face, he was enjoying it, damn, i didn't expect this. that's what black people have brought to every single space they inhabited over time. is a flavor. that is often times missing. and -- >> what's been beautiful is how people have embraced that? you know people loved it. that's what it is supposed to be. not good, bad. enjoy it. because, that's what they're going to bring. >> they did. i wonder, you were struck, i was struck. but actually how well the black culture fitted in with the, with, the white culture. the church culture. fitting in. it works. it showed how diverse it worked. >> that's the thing. people, i don't know what people some times think. i don't know if they think, that, invite black people to their wedding. all of a sudden. i don't know. there is going to be chaos. the people won't arrive on time.

people showed beautiful to include cultures into a space. what you get from that, i feel its a beautiful inclusive, and, and, and unique experience. >> do you think, we are anywhere near some kind of game changing moment or tipping point moment. not just the royal wedding and everything you just said. black panther. a lot of black culture is suddenly -- donald glover, doing what he is doing. and you just tweeted recently. a black excellence picture with all of the black co-stars from, from, from -- black panther etc. and other. what do you think is going on in that culture right now? in many ways it us often times what happens when there is a rise in white nationalism. when there is a rise on the right.

you will find often times, that's when black art and art, artists of color, generally persevere. because -- i know as a comedian when there is something to punch against, that's when you truly flex your muscles. when you are creative person. and you are living in a world where, the season of oppression, are being started. you feel like it is most fertile to explore yourself and what you stand for. and that's not to say that black is just a, defined by oppression, or, or by its fight,000fight against oppression. it has, experienced that worked for so long. in many ways it know house to thrive in the confines. part of it could be that. part sc could be time. the time we are experiencing you. had a world where, you know, barack obama was the first black president in america. you had a world where culture was steadily changing. hip-hop music was becoming the most popular muse pick ic in th.

surpassing rochl ining rock. gradual. noticing it now. the groundswell has been growing such a long time. >> what were you saying with the picture you tweeted. on the other side. we have cops killing black people. we have, you know, shootings. obviously, black people are victims of those. we have, just so much racism. as well. >> the hardest thing for people to understand at times is that -- blackness is not homogenous. black doesn't exist in one box. block has many shades. black has many experiences. black is a signifier that connected many people together because of what was imposed upon blacks. but the truth is, black in and of itself has many different angles to it. that's what is beautiful about it. so the black experience can contain joy. it can contain strife, struggle. excellence, all of these things. because the that its nuanced. that its, what it is supposed to

be. and so, to be in a space like for myself. to be at the met gala to notice year on year i have been lucky enough to be invite. how the group of people invited has slowly changed to seep it go from -- from a group that you could fit in one picture to know multiple pictures. now ensemble that has the to, you know, fits together. separate images to work. that's a powerful moment. >> and, even more powerful is that you have been named, one of time magazines, 100 most important people. not only are you invited to the met gala year after year. but, a poofr boy born in south africa, black mother. white father. illegal. the subject of the book, "born of crime." what does it feel suddenly to be the establishment. >> it is interesting. suddenly, i don't think is the word i would use. it takes so long it becomes

apparent. when i look at how long it has taken me to do anything. i notice, nothing is suddenly. look at the journey my family and sam fee went through. that journey is not complete for many people in our country. so in many ways the first part is not it. second part is i don't think we have ever, or are in the place where we would be able to call ourselves the establishment. in many ways you may become part of or be allowed access to power or the establishment. brought it would be naive to assume that we have become that. you know? and, and, that is generally the journey of any group that has historically been oppressed or minorities. you find ways to gain access to spaces of power. but to assume that, that you, own that power, is something that i think is naive. and, and often times, dangerous ideas. >> well, daily show alum, michelle wolf found herself in

this, part, in the power at the white house correspondents dinner. she was, lambasted by the press. afterwards. they didn't really like what she was saying. she said this thing about sarah sanders. >> with the players. >> i actually really like sarah. i think she is very resourceful. but she burns fat and then she uses that ass to create a perfe perfect, maybe she's born with it, maybe she is live. >> was that a lookist thing? >> that was one of those jokes that tricks you into exposing how you feel about the subject matter. which is one of the most dangerous jokes in comedy. because it is a joke that relies on you to define it in many ways. and so, if you read the words of that joke, and you don't know who sarah huckabee sanders, all

the joke is saying is somebody know house to turn facts into lies. and applies them as makeup. that can be used. >> i actually thought it was really unfair, the criticism she got. i read the whole thing. i saw interviews of her. i was there when stephen colbert in 2006. at again the people in room had no idea how to laugh at themselves. what does that tell you? >> the thing with comedy. just different. the white house correspondents association is an interesting room in that many ways in my opinion, it has become too close to the people that it covers. so, some times, you blur the lines. i think it is good donald trump doesn't attend. i don't think it is supposed to be that type of event. i think it is strange for the press to become chummy with the people they're reporting on. strange for people to form relationships. as a journalist, you don't require access to do your job. >> it is very dangerous. >> if anything, access is the

reason you go and fighting a war in iraq that doesn't need to be fought. because there are weapons that don't actually exist. access is a double edged sword. so, what people and journalists often times need to be careful of in my opinion is the fact that you can become friends with the people you are supposed to be monitoring. you can become friends, as opposed to being the state. so when the people are your friends you, may become offended when people make jokes about them. but, were they just subjects that you were reporting on. you wouldn't feel a certain way about them. i think. >> would you ever do it? >> i don't think i would do it. i don't understand really what the event is meant to be. and, and, the event is going to throw a comedian under the bus. after the comedian has done what a comedian is going to do. then i don't think that is a space. >> wrote your profile for "time" magazine. wrote about born of crime, the title of your book and the

incredible story when your mom throws you out of the car. >> yes. >> tell us. it is a crazy story. in a way it sort of shapes you. >> it did in many ways. what was crazy for me wasn't the fact that my mother threw me out of a moving vehicle. what was crazy, that wasn't aster that would have jumped to my head when telling you an of the stories that came from my life. my mother is an amazing, beautiful, powerful woman who grew up in society in many ways tried to oppress any one that was her and like her. for me that story is one example of -- a young boy, living in a world where his mother would do anything to protect her child. the thing she did was throw me out of a moving taxi bah the driver of the taxi was threatening to kill her. and i guess by proxy myself. so, yeah, i, love that lupita wrote about it. it was something she connected with in the story as a woman, woman fighting a world that was trying to tell her her place. and, i guess that was one of the

stories that is the reason lupita signed up to make the movie that would be -- of my book, born of crime. >> she is going to your mom. >> playing my mom. really exciting. >> thank you, trevor noah. thank you so much indeed. >> grit to see you. >> lovely. >> after our conversation, noah went on stage for his stand-up. and he had more to say about us and the royal wedding. >> my favorite thing was how, british media talked about how black the eve was. and they, iunderstand it. here's the thing. one of the things i understand they want to talk about. you are not used to having a black wedding. right, so everyone said, cnn contacted me. trevor, would you mind speaking about, the wedding and, really all of the black performers. so there was a black cellist. and there was a black choir. and a black pastor. how do you feel? black. i don't know how am i supposed to feel? how do you respond to that

question? how do you feel? i don't know how tie feel. it's a wedding. it is a there mall weddinor wal. i wasn't watching the wedding, oh, so much blackness. another one. it is a wedding. what do you want me to say? it's people. also, like i feel like people go too far. like that's where you realize that this is not, not enough like diversity in your world you think that made it a black wedding. let me tell you something, a black cellist has canceled itself out. you have a black person playing the cello -- it's have to say that you canceled the blackness of that event. that is the safest way to introduce blackness into your family. daddy, i am dating a black man? what? he plays the cello. all right. bring him in. bring him in. >> well we didn't mind being the butt of his jokes. of course, humor its often the best antidote in a world grappling with immense challenges.

for seven years, syria has been at the foreont, trying to shed light on the conflicts. the pair met on twitter in 2014. and their new book, "brothers of the gun, a memoir of the syrian war" uses his words and her illustrations to sketch out the lives of him and his two friends during the conflict. they joined me recently to talk about their extraordinary graphic novel. welcome to the program. describe for me, both of you, in your own words, the graphic design of the cover. is one of his friends, right? >> it is playing baryshnikov like a violin. >> lit up chur sterature studen rebel after his brother died. this was a self portrait. that he shot of himself. i think the reason that, image

resonates strongly. it shows someone a fire. whose entire world is war and death. who is trying to cling on to this one moment. >> you know, what, what sort of, what, made you -- write this book as a memoir as a graphic novel so to speak. >> i met in iraq and different rulers. and then isis. so, and then -- i began as a pre fesspre -- professor with my friend who joined the rebels. so i wanted to show life there. how war impacts people's life. >> so there is another illustration which is, again, very graphic. very illustrative of what was going on. i just read a little built of it while we put it up. of a crucified body on the clock tower in the part of raqqa. and 40 days into its reign.

i shot a ran on accusation of burglary and murder and hung his body against the base of raqqa's clock tower. what was going flew your mind? what you were frying trying to there? >> i looked at citizen videos taken sar tof this execution. the thing that stood out, wasn't just bree taeutality. everyone around him was taking photos on hair phones to. me this image represents the brutality of isis, but also the way that people were documenting it. >> but there were children there as well. yelling at, at the, at the crucified figure. i wonder if you can tell me. you had close hand, firsthand experience with isis. you were working in a cafe. they were your customers. >> i took it because i wanted,

wanted this interaction with them. to understand and see why, why, are they basically those kinds of monsters who, who do all of these -- horrible things. the only way you can -- they're living in this kind of. doing something really great that is going to, build futhe future. >> molly again you were tasked with realizing this experience. withdrawing it. so eventually the world could see what was happening there. describe for me. the women, you have drawn in raqqa. with the full covering. but that was new to us. wasn't it? women generally weren't forced to do that before isis. >> the wearing of a black abaya

and face veil was foreign to raqqa. an imposition forced on women there. when i was drawing scenes. i didn't just focus on the women all in black. very common image. but also other aspects of the physical appearance of the city. photos on walls, idolotry. pictures of a clothing store. every man's face was blocked out because of isis' rule. >> do you ever see, any, either of you, any chance of this, war going to end any time son. or just keep going. or do you think assad and russia and iran have won yet? >> i don't think sa sad will. i think thee will stay. he will not be able to control the rest of the country. if we have a political situation. and the solution. and we may not have -- this political solution.

so the country will stay in name only one country. but, we'll have -- we'll have political and military entities lasting for, for, perhaps longer. >> little bit like iraq. very unstable. route to the future. so, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you for having us. >> thank you for having us. >> and with those voices, we end our week. that is it for our program tonight. thank you for watching "amanpour" on pbs and join us again next time. ♪ ♪

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