Wit & Attitude Quote by Joe Sacco

Power is boring on purpose. Joe Sacco, who built a career by drawing war zones and their aftermath with unnerving intimacy, punctures the romantic idea that “access” automatically equals insight. The line starts with a concession to prestige - sure, he’ll talk to bigwigs - then flips it: the powerful rarely deliver surprise because their public selves are engineered, rehearsed, legally vetted. You don’t meet the person; you meet the role.

The subtext is a critique of status journalism. Big interviews can be trophies for reporters and institutions, but Sacco argues they’re often informationally thin: the powerful speak in pre-approved language designed to maintain leverage, not illuminate reality. Surprise is risk, and risk is what power learns to avoid. That’s why he emphasizes proximity - “awfully damn close” - not as flattery but as method. “Close” means time, embeddedness, unguarded moments, the kind of prolonged presence that erodes performance. It’s also a reminder that truth in conflict reporting tends to live lower down the hierarchy: with fixers, civilians, soldiers, bureaucrats, survivors - people who can’t fully control the narrative because they’re living inside its consequences.

The profanity does quiet work here. “Awfully damn close” signals impatience with polite media rituals and hints at the ethical friction of closeness: to get something new, you might have to trade comfort, distance, even safety. Sacco’s intent isn’t anti-interview; it’s anti-illusion. He’s telling you where the story stops being a press release and starts being reportage.