I Can See Russia From My House.
If there is one thing Americans remember about 2008 vice
presidential candidate Sarah Palin, it is that she could see Russia from her
Alaskan home. But could she really? Impersonator Tina Fey incorporated the
quote, "I can see Russia from my house." in a political skit on NBC's
Saturday Night Live during the presidential race. Sarah Palin never even muttered these words. A convincing
actress, Fey spent the election period portraying the look-alike vice
presidential candidate Palin and convincing the American public of her faux and,
at times, idiotic personality.
Through Fey's sketch comedy skits, Americans were fully introduced to the
otherwise unknown Sarah Palin. However, many voters confused Fey's convincing
portrayals of Palin with Palin herself. The lines between entertainment and
politics were blurred and melded into a Tina Palin sort of vice presidential candidate.
Whether or not Saturday Night Live's infamous political skits have any impact on presidential campaigns is a highly contested topic. These political skits have been airing on prime time television since 1976, but the trend of alternative and entertaining news sources may be increasing the influence of such forms of political communication. Candidates know and acknowledge the high viewership of primetime entertainment shows and recently been openly appearing on these shows to represent their celebrity selves. For example, President Obama appeared on SNL, the Letterman Show, etc. However, whether candidate impersonators have any influence on the public's perception and attraction toward specific candidates has not been agreed upon as you can tell from this article.
In this article, University of Missouri professor William Homer affirms the impact of SNL political skits. He has found enough evidence of influential skits that he has compiled an entire book to record specific instances of influence. Homer rates the previous election as the second most influential by Saturday Night Live and predicts that the 2012 election skits will not reach the level of influence we saw in the last election.
I agree with Homer that SNL political skits have an impact on the voter population. The talented impersonators clue in to personal habits and ticks of the candidates and expand on them to make them noticable to viewers not only when they are watching the skits, but also when they see the actual candidate in any news, debate, or rally coverage. Additionally, the topics and statements made in the skits are a way of agenda-setting. SNL tells us what to notice about the candidates, what characteristics of their personalities matter, and what they "really think". Some voters cannot stand the infiltration of politics during election years and absorb political knowledge and events only through entertainment shows like SNL. For these voters, the sketch comedy skits are especially persuasive as their news is filtered through laughs and distortions of reality and personality.
SNL did another skit featuring the vice presidential candidates this year (click here). I don't think this skit will have nearly the memorability or impact the Palin/Clinton skit did. For one, the similarity in looks is not there. Whereas Tina Fey and Sarah Palin were eerily similar looking, neither of these impersonators look like the vice presidential candidates. For another, the uniqueness of the female v. female politician skit lent memorability to the 2008 skit. Finally, many of the stereotypical female politician ideas were harped on in the 2008 skit to deliver the language expectations political audiences were not getting from the candidates themselves. I didn't find as obvious of stereotypes in this year's skit. Unfortunately, stereotypes are memorable and, probably even more unfortunately, our children's children will forever think Sarah Palin could see Russia from her house.
posted by gina althoff | 1:26 PM
13 Comments:
Really interesting what you brought, Gina. It is definitely a bad thing to use cartoons or media to make fun of politicians, just for fun. Stereotypes breaks the seriouslly character of politics. However, when you were talking about the author Homer on that moment came to my mind Homer Simpson, a character from the Simpsons. It seems foolish, but it is completely related with the content of your post. The Simpsons are a critical political cartoon as well, but in a good way. It made us think about questions like environment and nuclear technology. Besides that, for being an entertainment attraction, it sticks on people's head, which means an effective way to make people think about the subject.
Skits has a good side also!
It is amazing the how the gap between entertainment and "hard news" is getting less and less visible. It makes me think of shows like John Stewart or The Colbert Report- i know some people that say they watch these shows for their "hard news" source. great topic and scary reality!
I love this topic, Gina. SNL has consistently included election-related skits into their shows, and it is interesting to look back and see which ones made an impact and which ones were less payed attention to. In an SNL documentary, I recall Lorne Michaels saying that in the 2008 election, their skits made a social impact because of the ferver around the election, but back during the 2004 election, no one cared about their skits because people were not as invested in the 2004 election.
Infotainment, like these SNL sketches, are also becoming strong conduits for candidates to reach out to voters. During that SNL season, both John McCain and Sarah Palin appeared as special guests. Their appearances could be seen as an attempt to join in on the joke, making themselves more appealing to the viewers at home.
SNL and politics is a very interesting topic!
I love this topic, Gina. SNL has consistently included election-related skits into their shows, and it is interesting to look back and see which ones made an impact and which ones were less payed attention to. In an SNL documentary, I recall Lorne Michaels saying that in the 2008 election, their skits made a social impact because of the ferver around the election, but back during the 2004 election, no one cared about their skits because people were not as invested in the 2004 election.
Infotainment, like these SNL sketches, are also becoming strong conduits for candidates to reach out to voters. During that SNL season, both John McCain and Sarah Palin appeared as special guests. Their appearances could be seen as an attempt to join in on the joke, making themselves more appealing to the viewers at home.
SNL and politics is a very interesting topic!
SNL has yet to disappoint me. I thought it interesting because you're right, if someone asked me what I recall from the speech is that exact comment made from Sarah. I think this also demonstrates how quickly a political figure can be made fun of from one comment. Political figures are literally on thin ice and always being watched. Incorporating this lack of privacy into my life, I would imagine it to be not only hard but very agonizing. Sarah was under scrutiny ever since she made her appearance in politics and still is I would say. I wonder if it has to do with the fact she was the first women Republican vice presidential nominee and getting close to winning the title.
This blog made me laugh because I saw these skits. I completely agree, they are memorable because they are presented on entertainment programs. I do not think that the recent skit will be as effective as the other skits, but I do think that it will taint the race because people love to watch entertainment shows. I've heard many people mention that they are tired of watching the news lately and those are the people who will most likely turn to entertainment.
This blog made me laugh because I saw these skits. I completely agree, they are memorable because they are presented on entertainment programs. I do not think that the recent skit will be as effective as the other skits, but I do think that it will taint the race because people love to watch entertainment shows. I've heard many people mention that they are tired of watching the news lately and those are the people who will most likely turn to entertainment.
I'm really glad that you brought up this topic because it is so relevant to our demographic when it comes to election time. People our age are more likely to watch a video of a comedian like Stephan Colbert or John Stewart talk about the most recent developments in the Presidential Campaign than research online or watch a legitimate news channel for information. If we're being honest, I would also include myself in that group. I know that this is a scary reality, as Hannah mentioned, but Comedy Central's political news shows do have informational value under the layers of irony and sarcasm. I believe that these shows and the SNL parodies are a legitimate form of political communication because they are reaching out to a completely different demographic. Young adults and teenagers, I believe, could determine who wins this election and should for that matter because this is our future that we are voting for. Most of us will be graduating at the end of this year or next year and will be applying for jobs and internships in a failing economy. So even if these shows make fun of either candidate or make parodies of important political events, they're still getting the attention of young voters in America whose duty as a citizen is to vote and make a difference in their government.
Love this post, Gina!! I never thought too critically about the SNL political skits before. I can't believe that Sarah Palin was not the one who said, "I can see Russia from my house," and that Tina Fey was the actual one who said that! Satire and cynicism are powerful tools in political communication. The Daily Show is similar to the SNL skits and uses satire to help its audience members understand a political event more clearly.
SNL has been a huge part of political debates for a long time. I think that it helps people relax a little when it comes to elections, but when you think about the skits that they do you really see how they spin things to turn them into this kind of joke, its really interesting. This is what is seen not only on SNL but on multiple shows across media. Poking fun at candidates not only serves as entertainment for voters, but could potentially be a threat to candidates because certain issues are not being taken seriously.
I guess I never really thought about how huge Fey's involvement was in the election! I love your point about the "Tina Palin" candidate coming to life through the SNL skits. I guess the SNL involvement in the election process is a double-edged sword at best...it entertains and allows for some to be a bit light hearted about the entire subject, but it also creates false ideas and could potentially make viewers take the election less seriously.
This is a great post! It is interesting how popular the SNL skits involving Sarah Palin were. I think it definitely affected her as many people would often comment on how inexperienced or incompetent she was for the position. I wonder how big of a difference it made with the fact that it was Tina Fey poking fun at Sarah Palin - not Palin herself. I do know she made an appearance on the show after Fey had done a few skits. I wonder if it appears more critical/controversial that someone else is playing and making fun of her. I wonder if it would be viewed more lighthearted or less serious had Fey not dressed and done mannerisms exactly like Palin and had made fun of Palin in another way. But it is SNL, and their impersonations are some of their funniest skits.
This is such an interesting post! I think that the way that politicians, like Sarah Palin, react to these kinds of skits says a lot about their own character. Palin actually seemed to benefit from Tina Fey's portrayal of her, but I think a lot of it had to do with her ability to make harmless jokes in return. SNL can definitely benefit the politicians that are characterized by these actors, depending on how they take the social "criticism."
Post a Comment
<< Home