Saturday Night Live, Fact or Fiction?
Political satire is something that has always influenced politics. It has been especially prevalent in the current election between presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain and Vice Presidential candidates Joe Biden and Sarah Palin. The popular late night television show, Saturday Night live, has been on extremely focused on creating satire based on the recent debates.
One of the shows most funny and relevant skit was based on the vice presidential debate. While viewers must realize that these skits are created mainly for entertainment purposes there is some truth that can be taken from them. The skit about the VP debate was not only hysterical but it also helped to raise some great points about the debate. During the skit Tina Fey (Sarah Palin) blatantly avoided the questions she was asked by Queen Latifah (Gwen Ifel). While Tina Fey’s depiction was a gross exaggeration there was some truth to what she was doing. Sarah Palin did seem to avoid many of the questions she was asked during the debate. It seemed as if she would only answers the questions that she wanted to answer. Another good point that Tina Fey called attention to was the fact that Sarah Palin would in some way or another bring up topics that she was knowledgeable in and made her look better.
The skit also brought out some of the gaffes that Biden had during the debate. During the debate Joe Biden kept referring to John McCain as one of his good friends but still calling him out for being a poor leader. During the skit Jason Sudeikis (Joe Biden) often refers to the strong friendship he and McCain have but at the same time he speaks about how mentally unstable John McCain is. Sudeikis exaggerates this point by continuously bringing up the extremely strong feelings and admiration that Biden has for McCain but always countering it with a dig to McCain’s mental stability.
The skit also focuses on how each candidate addressed the issue of gay marriage. During the debate Joe Biden made it seem as if his administration was supportive of gay marriage by speaking about all the rights that gay couples should have. During the skit Sudeikis spends a considerable amount of time talking about how he supports gay rights but when asked about whether or not he supported gay marriage he responds with, “absolutely not.” Tina Fey addressed the issue that Sarah Palin talked about the fact that she simply “tolerated” gay people. Tina Fey says that she “ tolerates gay people with all her heart.” This makes fun of the fact that Sarah Palin insulted gay people during the debate.
The Saturday Night skits are obviously an extreme exaggeration. People should not take what is said during these skits seriously and should not base their political beliefs based on the opinions of the actors in Saturday Night Live. There is, however, some truth that should be taken from these skits. These skits are a great entertainment value and help make politics fun but the skits also have some sense of truthfulness.
posted by cmcdon01 | 3:29 PM
11 Comments:
SNL political skits are hilarious! Even if they make fun of the candidate you want to win (which they will) is still funny! I think without these skits that are making fun of the candidates--people wouldn't be so into politics. It makes people interested in it.
Political satire is a light-hearted way for individuals to get interested in the events going on in politics. I like how you have adressed the importance of political satire in our society and the question of whether it is legitimate or not.
I found it hilarious when Sarah Palin appeared on SNL. I thought it was a smart move on her part to stand up to her critics and show she does have a sense of humor by doing the opening scene and "Weekend Update". Ms. Mezvinsky, Friday's class speaker, was the one who said personality is what brings in the votes. Regardless of the election's outcome, Sarah Palin's appearance shows her light-hearted personality. Even though she did not say much, her actions and her quick one-liners speak distances. I too appreciate how to have addressed the importance of political satire within our society. It will be interesting to see the polls after her appearance and the last Presidential debate.
I think the Saturday Night Live show's skits are very well done. Although people should not base their political opinions and choices on them, people should be able to enjoy them as a form of entertainment during such an uptight election!
I think that Saturday Night Live is a great example of how Americans are told not what to think but what to think about. It is drawing attention to the leadership issues ocurring in this election. I also think SNL is a good way for Amerians to remember what is going on in politics, even though it is not an ideal way for Americans to research politics.
I think SNL skits are funny because they are so true. The skits do exaggerate the scenarios, but overall keep viewers on top on how the media portrays each candidate. I agree with Desirae on how this is a good way of keeping Americans tuned to the political scene and will hopefully make them search for the truth. After a while, people get sick of hearing others and especially the media talk about politics--SNL skits are great to mimic and add humor to serious topics.
I agree with Caitlin... SNL skits are great because they're satire. With all this serious talk about policies and voting records, etc. SNL skits are exactly what we voters need to take our minds of this bitter political battle. SNL skits are often able to point out flaws we might not see in our preferred candidates and they pick apart the issues. Plus, they're just all around great entertainment.
I love when political candidates go on SNL. It shows character when a person can take a joke and laugh at themself. In my opinion, SNL appearances really help paint a candidate in a favorable light because the public enjoys seeing them in a more fun and down to earth way.
It is interesting to consider how the line between entertainment and news is becoming blurred. With the advent of shows like SNL and the Daily Show it makes me wonder what affect it has on voters. on one hand I think it can function to counter the decrease in participation brought on by negative ads and attack politics yet what is the quality of participation? and does it only encourage the image politics we critique? perhaps it creates a continuous cycle in which politicians are influenced by the news as entertainment factor and news is subsequently influenced by the image politics created by politicians. To end on an interesting note I heard a study which found that participants who admitted to watching the Daily Show as their primary source of news were "more informed" than those who turned to fox news for their information...go figure maybe there is more truth to entertainment than we thought!
I think the SNL skits are great. Like you said in your post, there IS some truthfulness to these skits. I think it's great to watch a small clip and see how Sarah Palin completely goes around the issues. Anyone who watched the debate would know she didn't directly answer her questions, however, SNL simply stresses these points in funny ways.
I love the Saturday Night Live skits. In their play on the Vice Presidential debate, SNL chose to exaggerate some of the most memorable parts of the night, such as Governor Palin's avoiding question and Senator Biden's gaffes. I enjoy them making fun of both of the political candidates, because it is comical on both ends and does not incorporate a bias, making it a fun show for people of both political affiliations to watch. As stated previously, there is some truth in it as it really overemphasizes both the the strong and weak points of the vice presidential candidates. These skits depict lighthearted political satire and in turn get American's thinking about the candidates.
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