What Is SNL Satire Or Reality?
SNL Satire or Reality
On September 13, 2008, two female politicians were standing behind a blue curtain, and two American flags were behind them. In front of the ladies were two microphones. One woman resembled Hillary Clinton dressed in a blue dress representing the Democratic Party, and she has a bob hairstyle and a Barack Obama button on her. The other resembled the Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin who was dressed in a red dress for the Republican Party and also wearing an American Flag pin and her glasses. Both of these ladies were giving a Nonpartisan Message to the people. Throughout the message, the politicians address sexism and how it plays a part in political campaigns. Most viewers do not remember the whole address; they mostly remember …show more content…
the seven words that Sarah Palin said, “I can see Russia from my house”.
Or did she? This Saturday Night Live (SNL) skit and the five skits of Sarah Palin after impact how the viewer thought the skits were reality, thinking that the Alaskan Governor said on SNL was true. Many scholars believe that entertainment shows like SNL blur satire and reality. Author Heather Dean agues, “More importantly, whether those working at SNL want to be influential or not, they are creating impersonations that reverberate with audiences (Coyle). As Coyle states, ‘pointing exactly to where parody and reality end, where influence and refraction separate, is, in the end impossible’” (22). SNL is a comedy showcase that often satirizes political figures, current events, television shows, news reporting, and celebrities. However, some people view the satire as reality because some skits seem more realistic than satirical, causing the viewer to think that the show is reality. This can be seen in the 2008 Presidential Election when Sarah Palin is satirized by SNL, and many viewers believed …show more content…
what presented on the show.
Throughout history political satire has been a way to talk about the problems that were going on during that time. One example is in fifth century were Aristophanes was widely known for his political satire plays. Aristophanes’ satires attacked different people in Athens and also the wars that were taking place. One of Aristophanes most famous works was the Lysistrata the satire was women of Athens trying to gain control in government by not sleeping with their husbands to stop the war. On author states, “…Aristophanes is also implying what other satirists from Chaucer to Henry Fielding have implied: that natural sexuality is better than violence, oppression and chicanery” (Hodgart 37). One other political satirist who was known as one of the Tory satirists this is Jonathan Swift. One of Swift’s famous satirical works was “A Modest Proposal” this satirical piece was about how to fix the dreadful economy and overpopulated country of Ireland, by fatting up the babies of Ireland and making babies as food for the rich people. What makes SNL and the satirists’ work political satire is the four conditions for its appearance in strength. Author Matthew Hodgart argues, “To conclude, political satire requires special conditions for its appearance in strength: first, a degree of free speech…secondly, there must be a general readiness of the educated classes to take part in political affairs… thirdly, they must be some confidence on the part of the writers…fourthly, there must be a wide audience that enjoys wit…” (77). SNL is political satire because of Hodgart’s statement. SNL does have a degree of freedom of speech. The show also has the educated classes to take part in political affairs, SNL has confidence on the part of writers that they can influence the conduct of affairs, and finally the show has a wide audience. SNL has changed the way that political satire is presented to people today.
The comedy showcases pushed the boundaries by making fun of political figures many people were scared to do so. One writer stated, “Further, few people had sought to ridicule public figures because most were fearful of being offensive (Stebbins, 1990)” ( Dean 15). By pushing the boundaries, SNL captures the audiences. Young adults are now watching the show, and scholars believe that political entertainment shows like SNL have a positive side to them. Dean argues that SNL makes young adults participate in campaign events and join an organization. The author states, “Cao and Brewer (2008) found that those who regularly watch political comedy shows are more likely to attend a campaign event or join an organization” (17). Many scholars believed that political entertainment shows have an impact on young adults. Also, some scholars believe that these political entertainment shows have a negative side. The author states that one negative side is, “Further, many scholars argue that political comedy shows exploit stories to provide entertainment and that their political information is often lacking in substance (Baum, 2003;Kim & Vishak, 2008; Prior)” (17). This can be seen in a professors’ study on SNL and how the show impacted the way young adults felt about Governor Sarah
Palin.
There are some professors of political science who notice that when the Presidential Election is taking place, SNL ratings go up during this time. The professors did a study on young adults and the impact SNL had on how the young adults viewed Sarah Palin during the Presidential election. The scholars show how they conducted the professors’ research by taking data from an online survey panel from the ages of 18-to-24-year-olds.The study started in 2007 and was conducted throughout 2008. The professors collected their samples from undergraduate student e-mail addresses from 10 public universities in each state. The professors received directories from 114 institutions in 36 different states. After conducting six surveys the professors mainly used the fourth and fifth survey to show their research. The professors asked many different question such as, ‘“Do you approve or disapprove of John McCain_s pick of Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate?”’ (1 ¼ disapprove, 2¼not sure, and 3¼approve)”( Baumgartner 97). These questions were asked before SNL had shown its first skit and after each skit that showed Sarah Palin. After the pre-survey and the air of some of SNL skits, results had made a change already. The authors stated, “In the weeks following her appearance in the vice-presidential debate, overall approval for John McCain_s pick of Sarah Palin dropped from 40 to 31 percent in our sample (from wave one to wave two), while disapproval increased from 39 to 55 percent.” The professors gave a probability that SNL had because the professors state, “Based on this model, and holding all other variables at their mean, an individual who saw the spoof had an 8.5-percent probability of approving, and a 75.7-percent probability of disapproving of the Palin choice” (Baumgartner 98). When the data is shown on the probability that a Republican will vote for their party, the professors claims, “When all other variables in the model are held at their mean, those who watched the SNL clip had a 45.4-percent probability of saying that Palin_s nomination made them less likely to vote for McCain”( Baumgartner100). This shows that young adults first approved of Sarah Palin until SNL skits were shown causing young adults to think that that’s how the real Sarah Palin acted. This caused a 16 percent increase in disapproval and a decrease of 9 percent. The probability of a person that watched the SNL skits had an 8.5 percent chance of approval with a 75.7 percent chance of disapproving Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate. This shows that people take what they see on SNL and use it as a way to judge how people really act in real life and causes satire to become reality to people. With young adults watching SNL, young adults do not search to see if what they viewed on SNL was real, and this shows how SNL has a negative side such as lack of information.
When running for a political office, a person’s image plays a big part on if the individual is elected or not. The way the ones appearances, how well a person speaks, and what they do can portray a positive or negative image. SNL’s skits have an impact on how a political figures’ image shown on the show during election time. The image may be shown as positive or negative image to their viewers. This can be seen when President Ford was running to be reelected President Ford fell walking down the stairs of Air force One. This incident hurt Ford’s image but not as much as SNL did. The comedy showcase exposed Ford in a negative image portraying Ford as a clumsy person. This image that was used in the SNL skits was visual image. This image caused viewers to think that Gerald Ford was really a clumsy person. Author Arhlene Flowers uses texts from other authors to show how visual image becomes a person’s reality. Flowers stated, “These authors approach the analysis of visual images in very similar ways. Images are ‘produced to serve as records of reality, as documentary evidence of the people, places, things, actions, and events they depict. Their analysis is a matter of extracting just that kind of information from them’ (van Leeuwen & Jewitt, 2001, p. 4)” (51). This is one of the two that was used to impersonate Sarah Palin and the other method is verbal. Author Robert Denton argues that SNL portrayed a negative image of Sarah Palin. Robert’s claims, “While the McCain-Palin campaign and the news media were simultaneously attempting to ‘define’ Sarah Palin for the voting public, SNL took this nationally unknown politician and, through its satirical commentary on news footage, cemented a largely negative and damning public perception of the candidate” (171). When SNL had Tina Fey act as Sarah Palin, the visual image makeover took place with the famous glasses that the Alaskan Governor worn. The author stated, “Fey wore a pair of Kawasaki 704 eyeglasses, which were donned by Palin and had become widely popular” (Flowers 54). When SNL were try to create Sarah Palin’s hairstyles author Arhlene Flowers claims, “Fey also sported a wig to mimic Palin’s ‘French twist with a ‘60s bouffant kind of thing’ that was created by SNL’s makeup department from a plastic head mold used for fitting wigs, which was made for the comedienne when she was a staff member of the TV program” (54). Another visual transformation that took place on Fey was when the makeup department had to change the look of Fey’s lips. The wardrobe that Tina Fey wore on the SNL skits mimic the wardrobes that were worn by Sarah Palin. The visual impression that SNL created with Tina Fey was based off videos and pictures of the Alaskan Governor. When one would look at Tina Fey acting as Sarah Palin a viewer would have a hard time telling the difference between SNL Sarah Palin and the real Sarah Palin. This causes a viewer to think that they are watching the real Sarah Palin but the viewer isn’t.
Author Arhlene Flowers writes about how Tina Fey went on the Late Show with David Letterman, and explain the verbal impression of Sarah Palin. Flowers states, “… in which the actress stated that the Alaskan Governor’s speaking style is an ‘Alaskan wind song’ with a blend of ‘Fargo,’ Reese Witherspoon in ‘Election,’ and a Midwestern accent borrowed from a friend’s grandmother” (54). Tina Fey was showing how she thought of the speaking style of Sarah Palin. The author goes on and states how Fey also captured the way Palin speaks by, “Fey also captured Palin’s voice by dropping g’s at the end of words and amplifying r’s to the extreme, such as when Palin talks about terrorists: ‘I think she thinks there’s oil in those r’s—she is digging deep!’” (54). By noticing the way that Sarah Palin spoke, Tina Fey and the SNL writers watched video clips on McCain’s running mate. The author claims, “Both Fey and the SNL writers had ample video clips to observe Palin’s verbal style and use and misuse of grammar in public forums that were widely viewed by the television program’s audience” (54). Even though Tina Fey mimic the way Sarah Palin talked, SNL’s writers also used the same words of the Alaskan Governor. This could be seen in one of SNL’s skits where SNL does an interpretation of the CBS interview with Katie Couric. The writers for SNL took Sarah Palin’s words from the original interview and put the words in the skit. The SNL skit copied the original interview question but changed a few details. Both the original interview and the SNL skit start off by asking Sarah Palin about how she felt about the $700 billion bailout. The original interview Sarah Palin answers the question by stating:
That’s why I say, I, like every American I’m speaking with, we’re ill about this position that we have been put in shore up our economy. Um, helping the, oh, [her speech accelerates) it’s gotta be about job creation to shoring up our economy, and putting it back on the right track. So, health care reform, and reducing taxes, and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions, and tax relief for Americans and gotta be about job creation to shoring up our economy, and putting it back on the right track. So, health care reform, and reducing taxes, and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions, and tax relief for Americans and trade –we have, we’ve got to see trade as (Flowers 61).
When one would listen to the SNL’s skit one could tell that the show took some of the CBS interview the SNL’s Sarah Palin sated:
Like every American I’m speaking with, we are ill about this! We’re saying, “Hey! Why bail out Fannie and Freddie, and not me?I (tosses hands around for emphasis) But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those that are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to help shore up our economy. To help, umS -- it’s gotta be about job creation (raises finger up in the air with left hand)S too. Also, to shoring up our economy, and putting Fannie and Freddie back (moves hands to her right) on the right track. And, so, health care reformS and reducing Couric: But, again -- and, not to belabor the point -- one specific thing?L Fey: (after an extended silence, makes motion with lips as if going to speak) L Katie, I’d like to use one of my lifelines! I H C (pushes out chin and puts upper lip over her bottom lip) (61).
When reading these two statements one can tell right way that the SNL skit took words from the CBS interview. In the original interview Sarah Plain states, “That’s why I say, I, like every American I’m speaking with, we’re ill about this position that we have been put in shore up our economy” (61). The SNL skit almost says the same exactly the same the Tina Fey stated in the skit, “Like every American I’m speaking with, we are ill about this!” (61). SNL does not stop there the show keeps on by coping more of the original interview by also stating, “Um, helping the, oh, [her speech accelerates) it’s gotta be about job creation to shoring up our economy, and putting it back on the right track” (61). In the SNL skit Tina used some of Sarah Palin words by stating, “To help, umS -- it’s gotta be about job creation (raises finger up in the air with left hand)S too” (61). The same words that were used were the “um and it’s gotta be about job creation”. Also the SNL used the words “healthcare reform” from the interview. This shows how SNL is using real words that came from the real Sarah Palin’s mouth causing viewers to think that what is all said on the show is real and that Sarah Palin is not smart and does not know what she is talking about. This is another way SNL’s satire is becoming reality. SNL and Tina Fey defined Sarah Palin before Palin could define herself during the 2008 presidential campaign. One author argues, “The confluence of visual, verbal, and contextual elements suggest that Fey’s interpretation of Palin provided the public with a negative image of the governor, while the real Palin was grappling with her image on the national stage during the last three crucial months of the presidential campaign” (Flowers 62). During the presidential campaign people were watching SNL’s Sarah Palin than the real Sarah Palin who was running for Vice President. Author revealed when the fist skit was aired the skit was based on two major televised events, “1) Palin’s nomination acceptance speech at the Republican Convention on September 3, reaching 39.1 percent of U.S. households (Nielsen, 2008a); and 2) ABC News’ exclusive interview on 20/20 with Palin, conducted September 11 by anchor Charles Gibson, drawing 6.09 million viewers (Nielsen, 2008b)” (52). Then the author states that, “An audience of 10.2 million tuned into the televised comedy sketch, which evolved into ‘Saturday Night Streamed,’ when it was viewed 14.3 million times on Hulu.com and NBC.com (Stelter, 2008)” (52). With over 4.11 million viewers watching on television and over 8.21 million who watched on the web, viewers that only watched the SNL skit may have just based their opinion off of fake Sarah Palin. The second skit that aired was based off the interview of Palin by CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric that reached audiences of 6.15 million. Flowers stated, “Exceeding the audience of the network news program, the SNL skit was watched by 7.9 million viewers on television and viewed 11.1 million times on Hulu.com and NBC.com (Stelter, 2008)” (53). With more than 1.75 million viewed by television and 4.95 viewed by web the acting of Tina Fey as Sarah Palin than the real Sarah Palin. As SNL kept releasing skits of Sarah Palin more people were viewing the skits than the real Alaskan Governor. This caused people to think that what the viewer sees on SNL is how a person acts in real life, causing satire to be more reality than satire. With political entertainment shows such as SNL having an impact on viewers and many people viewing these shows, political candidates and officials go on these shows. This is causing a blending of entertainment and news like one author stated, “Political communication scholars are increasingly recognizing that previous designations of entertainment and news as separate genres have become obsolete, as both maintain political relevance (Jones, 2005; Baym, 2005; Delli Carpini & Williams, 2001)” (Esralew 1). Political figures are starting to notice that these shows are having an impact on how a viewer thinks about politics and political figures so these political figures start to come on political entertainment shows. Author Jeffery Jones stated, “Other political players have increasingly come to recognize the influence that these new forms of political programming can have” (5). With political entertainment shows being viewed more than the regular news, SNL has become the news. With real political figures going on these shows, a viewer will have a hard time telling the differences between satire and reality. Also when SNL does make fun of a political figure such as Sarah Palin, a viewer who depends on SNL for their news will think that this is how that person acts in real life causing satire to be more reality than satire.
Finally, I want leave you with this during the 2008 presidential campaign Sarah Palin was John McCain’s running mate. During the late months of the race SNL’s political satire skits were broadcasted to the American viewers and many took these skits as how Sarah Palin really acted in real life. These moments showed how satire can be become a viewers’ reality. Aristophanes’ and SNL are political satire because of the four points that Matthew Hodgart illustrated in his book. Also, the visual and verbal impression that SNL does can cause a positive or negative effect on a political figure such as when SNL used the visual impression by giving Tina Fey the same glasses and hairstyle as Sarah Palin. Also, when SNL did the verbal impression of Sarah Palin, SNL used Sarah Palin’s distinct dialogue. This caused viewers to take the satire as reality creating a negative image for Sarah Palin. The mixing of real politics and entertainment cause SNL to be believable because of the real politicians that are coming on the show. This causes a dangerous mixture of satire and reality causing viewers’ thoughts to be blurred between what is satire and what is reality on this show. With SNL’s skits becoming more and more like reality, is this where political satire is going?
Works Cited
Baumgartner, Jody Jonathan Morris and Natasha Walth. “The Fey Effect Young Adults, Political Humor, and Perception of Sarah Palin in the 2008 Presidential Election Campaign.” Public Opinion Quarter 76. 1(2012): 95-104. Google Scholar. 27 Mar. 2013.
Dean, Heather. “‘I Can See Russia from My House’: Tina Fey’s Impersonation of Sarah Plain as a Template for Media Coverage in the 2008 Presidential Election.” Diss. San Diego State University, 2010. Print.
Denton, Robert. The 2008 Presidential Campaign: A Communication Perspective. Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2009. Digital file.
Esralew, Sarah. “The Influence of Parodies on Political Schemas Exploring the Tina Fey-Sarah Palin Phenomenom.” Diss. University of Delaware, 2009 Print.
Flower, Arhlene and Cory Young. “Parodying Palin: How Tina Fey’s Visual and Verbal Impersonations Revived a Comedy Show and Impacted the 2008 Election”. Journal of Visual Literacy 29.1 (2010): 47-67. Google Scholar. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.
Hodgart, Matthew. Satre Origins and Principles. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 2010. Print.
Jones, Jeffrey. Entertaining Politics: new political television and civic culture. Maryland: Roman and Littlefield Publishers, 2005. Digital file. Kingkade, Tyler. ‘“Saturday Night Live’ Political Skits May Sway the Presidential Election, Academics Argue.” The Huff Post. ThehuffingPost.com. 9 Nov.2012. Web. 27 Mar. 2013.
On September 13, 2008, two female politicians were standing behind a blue curtain, and two American flags were behind them. In front of the ladies were two microphones. One woman resembled Hillary Clinton dressed in a blue dress representing the Democratic Party, and she has a bob hairstyle and a Barack Obama button on her. The other resembled the Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin who was dressed in a red dress for the Republican Party and also wearing an American Flag pin and her glasses. Both of these ladies were giving a Nonpartisan Message to the people. Throughout the message, the politicians address sexism and how it plays a part in political campaigns. Most viewers do not remember the whole address; they mostly remember …show more content…
the seven words that Sarah Palin said, “I can see Russia from my house”.
Or did she? This Saturday Night Live (SNL) skit and the five skits of Sarah Palin after impact how the viewer thought the skits were reality, thinking that the Alaskan Governor said on SNL was true. Many scholars believe that entertainment shows like SNL blur satire and reality. Author Heather Dean agues, “More importantly, whether those working at SNL want to be influential or not, they are creating impersonations that reverberate with audiences (Coyle). As Coyle states, ‘pointing exactly to where parody and reality end, where influence and refraction separate, is, in the end impossible’” (22). SNL is a comedy showcase that often satirizes political figures, current events, television shows, news reporting, and celebrities. However, some people view the satire as reality because some skits seem more realistic than satirical, causing the viewer to think that the show is reality. This can be seen in the 2008 Presidential Election when Sarah Palin is satirized by SNL, and many viewers believed …show more content…
what presented on the show.
Throughout history political satire has been a way to talk about the problems that were going on during that time. One example is in fifth century were Aristophanes was widely known for his political satire plays. Aristophanes’ satires attacked different people in Athens and also the wars that were taking place. One of Aristophanes most famous works was the Lysistrata the satire was women of Athens trying to gain control in government by not sleeping with their husbands to stop the war. On author states, “…Aristophanes is also implying what other satirists from Chaucer to Henry Fielding have implied: that natural sexuality is better than violence, oppression and chicanery” (Hodgart 37). One other political satirist who was known as one of the Tory satirists this is Jonathan Swift. One of Swift’s famous satirical works was “A Modest Proposal” this satirical piece was about how to fix the dreadful economy and overpopulated country of Ireland, by fatting up the babies of Ireland and making babies as food for the rich people. What makes SNL and the satirists’ work political satire is the four conditions for its appearance in strength. Author Matthew Hodgart argues, “To conclude, political satire requires special conditions for its appearance in strength: first, a degree of free speech…secondly, there must be a general readiness of the educated classes to take part in political affairs… thirdly, they must be some confidence on the part of the writers…fourthly, there must be a wide audience that enjoys wit…” (77). SNL is political satire because of Hodgart’s statement. SNL does have a degree of freedom of speech. The show also has the educated classes to take part in political affairs, SNL has confidence on the part of writers that they can influence the conduct of affairs, and finally the show has a wide audience. SNL has changed the way that political satire is presented to people today.
The comedy showcases pushed the boundaries by making fun of political figures many people were scared to do so. One writer stated, “Further, few people had sought to ridicule public figures because most were fearful of being offensive (Stebbins, 1990)” ( Dean 15). By pushing the boundaries, SNL captures the audiences. Young adults are now watching the show, and scholars believe that political entertainment shows like SNL have a positive side to them. Dean argues that SNL makes young adults participate in campaign events and join an organization. The author states, “Cao and Brewer (2008) found that those who regularly watch political comedy shows are more likely to attend a campaign event or join an organization” (17). Many scholars believed that political entertainment shows have an impact on young adults. Also, some scholars believe that these political entertainment shows have a negative side. The author states that one negative side is, “Further, many scholars argue that political comedy shows exploit stories to provide entertainment and that their political information is often lacking in substance (Baum, 2003;Kim & Vishak, 2008; Prior)” (17). This can be seen in a professors’ study on SNL and how the show impacted the way young adults felt about Governor Sarah
Palin.
There are some professors of political science who notice that when the Presidential Election is taking place, SNL ratings go up during this time. The professors did a study on young adults and the impact SNL had on how the young adults viewed Sarah Palin during the Presidential election. The scholars show how they conducted the professors’ research by taking data from an online survey panel from the ages of 18-to-24-year-olds.The study started in 2007 and was conducted throughout 2008. The professors collected their samples from undergraduate student e-mail addresses from 10 public universities in each state. The professors received directories from 114 institutions in 36 different states. After conducting six surveys the professors mainly used the fourth and fifth survey to show their research. The professors asked many different question such as, ‘“Do you approve or disapprove of John McCain_s pick of Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate?”’ (1 ¼ disapprove, 2¼not sure, and 3¼approve)”( Baumgartner 97). These questions were asked before SNL had shown its first skit and after each skit that showed Sarah Palin. After the pre-survey and the air of some of SNL skits, results had made a change already. The authors stated, “In the weeks following her appearance in the vice-presidential debate, overall approval for John McCain_s pick of Sarah Palin dropped from 40 to 31 percent in our sample (from wave one to wave two), while disapproval increased from 39 to 55 percent.” The professors gave a probability that SNL had because the professors state, “Based on this model, and holding all other variables at their mean, an individual who saw the spoof had an 8.5-percent probability of approving, and a 75.7-percent probability of disapproving of the Palin choice” (Baumgartner 98). When the data is shown on the probability that a Republican will vote for their party, the professors claims, “When all other variables in the model are held at their mean, those who watched the SNL clip had a 45.4-percent probability of saying that Palin_s nomination made them less likely to vote for McCain”( Baumgartner100). This shows that young adults first approved of Sarah Palin until SNL skits were shown causing young adults to think that that’s how the real Sarah Palin acted. This caused a 16 percent increase in disapproval and a decrease of 9 percent. The probability of a person that watched the SNL skits had an 8.5 percent chance of approval with a 75.7 percent chance of disapproving Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate. This shows that people take what they see on SNL and use it as a way to judge how people really act in real life and causes satire to become reality to people. With young adults watching SNL, young adults do not search to see if what they viewed on SNL was real, and this shows how SNL has a negative side such as lack of information.
When running for a political office, a person’s image plays a big part on if the individual is elected or not. The way the ones appearances, how well a person speaks, and what they do can portray a positive or negative image. SNL’s skits have an impact on how a political figures’ image shown on the show during election time. The image may be shown as positive or negative image to their viewers. This can be seen when President Ford was running to be reelected President Ford fell walking down the stairs of Air force One. This incident hurt Ford’s image but not as much as SNL did. The comedy showcase exposed Ford in a negative image portraying Ford as a clumsy person. This image that was used in the SNL skits was visual image. This image caused viewers to think that Gerald Ford was really a clumsy person. Author Arhlene Flowers uses texts from other authors to show how visual image becomes a person’s reality. Flowers stated, “These authors approach the analysis of visual images in very similar ways. Images are ‘produced to serve as records of reality, as documentary evidence of the people, places, things, actions, and events they depict. Their analysis is a matter of extracting just that kind of information from them’ (van Leeuwen & Jewitt, 2001, p. 4)” (51). This is one of the two that was used to impersonate Sarah Palin and the other method is verbal. Author Robert Denton argues that SNL portrayed a negative image of Sarah Palin. Robert’s claims, “While the McCain-Palin campaign and the news media were simultaneously attempting to ‘define’ Sarah Palin for the voting public, SNL took this nationally unknown politician and, through its satirical commentary on news footage, cemented a largely negative and damning public perception of the candidate” (171). When SNL had Tina Fey act as Sarah Palin, the visual image makeover took place with the famous glasses that the Alaskan Governor worn. The author stated, “Fey wore a pair of Kawasaki 704 eyeglasses, which were donned by Palin and had become widely popular” (Flowers 54). When SNL were try to create Sarah Palin’s hairstyles author Arhlene Flowers claims, “Fey also sported a wig to mimic Palin’s ‘French twist with a ‘60s bouffant kind of thing’ that was created by SNL’s makeup department from a plastic head mold used for fitting wigs, which was made for the comedienne when she was a staff member of the TV program” (54). Another visual transformation that took place on Fey was when the makeup department had to change the look of Fey’s lips. The wardrobe that Tina Fey wore on the SNL skits mimic the wardrobes that were worn by Sarah Palin. The visual impression that SNL created with Tina Fey was based off videos and pictures of the Alaskan Governor. When one would look at Tina Fey acting as Sarah Palin a viewer would have a hard time telling the difference between SNL Sarah Palin and the real Sarah Palin. This causes a viewer to think that they are watching the real Sarah Palin but the viewer isn’t.
Author Arhlene Flowers writes about how Tina Fey went on the Late Show with David Letterman, and explain the verbal impression of Sarah Palin. Flowers states, “… in which the actress stated that the Alaskan Governor’s speaking style is an ‘Alaskan wind song’ with a blend of ‘Fargo,’ Reese Witherspoon in ‘Election,’ and a Midwestern accent borrowed from a friend’s grandmother” (54). Tina Fey was showing how she thought of the speaking style of Sarah Palin. The author goes on and states how Fey also captured the way Palin speaks by, “Fey also captured Palin’s voice by dropping g’s at the end of words and amplifying r’s to the extreme, such as when Palin talks about terrorists: ‘I think she thinks there’s oil in those r’s—she is digging deep!’” (54). By noticing the way that Sarah Palin spoke, Tina Fey and the SNL writers watched video clips on McCain’s running mate. The author claims, “Both Fey and the SNL writers had ample video clips to observe Palin’s verbal style and use and misuse of grammar in public forums that were widely viewed by the television program’s audience” (54). Even though Tina Fey mimic the way Sarah Palin talked, SNL’s writers also used the same words of the Alaskan Governor. This could be seen in one of SNL’s skits where SNL does an interpretation of the CBS interview with Katie Couric. The writers for SNL took Sarah Palin’s words from the original interview and put the words in the skit. The SNL skit copied the original interview question but changed a few details. Both the original interview and the SNL skit start off by asking Sarah Palin about how she felt about the $700 billion bailout. The original interview Sarah Palin answers the question by stating:
That’s why I say, I, like every American I’m speaking with, we’re ill about this position that we have been put in shore up our economy. Um, helping the, oh, [her speech accelerates) it’s gotta be about job creation to shoring up our economy, and putting it back on the right track. So, health care reform, and reducing taxes, and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions, and tax relief for Americans and gotta be about job creation to shoring up our economy, and putting it back on the right track. So, health care reform, and reducing taxes, and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions, and tax relief for Americans and trade –we have, we’ve got to see trade as (Flowers 61).
When one would listen to the SNL’s skit one could tell that the show took some of the CBS interview the SNL’s Sarah Palin sated:
Like every American I’m speaking with, we are ill about this! We’re saying, “Hey! Why bail out Fannie and Freddie, and not me?I (tosses hands around for emphasis) But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those that are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to help shore up our economy. To help, umS -- it’s gotta be about job creation (raises finger up in the air with left hand)S too. Also, to shoring up our economy, and putting Fannie and Freddie back (moves hands to her right) on the right track. And, so, health care reformS and reducing Couric: But, again -- and, not to belabor the point -- one specific thing?L Fey: (after an extended silence, makes motion with lips as if going to speak) L Katie, I’d like to use one of my lifelines! I H C (pushes out chin and puts upper lip over her bottom lip) (61).
When reading these two statements one can tell right way that the SNL skit took words from the CBS interview. In the original interview Sarah Plain states, “That’s why I say, I, like every American I’m speaking with, we’re ill about this position that we have been put in shore up our economy” (61). The SNL skit almost says the same exactly the same the Tina Fey stated in the skit, “Like every American I’m speaking with, we are ill about this!” (61). SNL does not stop there the show keeps on by coping more of the original interview by also stating, “Um, helping the, oh, [her speech accelerates) it’s gotta be about job creation to shoring up our economy, and putting it back on the right track” (61). In the SNL skit Tina used some of Sarah Palin words by stating, “To help, umS -- it’s gotta be about job creation (raises finger up in the air with left hand)S too” (61). The same words that were used were the “um and it’s gotta be about job creation”. Also the SNL used the words “healthcare reform” from the interview. This shows how SNL is using real words that came from the real Sarah Palin’s mouth causing viewers to think that what is all said on the show is real and that Sarah Palin is not smart and does not know what she is talking about. This is another way SNL’s satire is becoming reality. SNL and Tina Fey defined Sarah Palin before Palin could define herself during the 2008 presidential campaign. One author argues, “The confluence of visual, verbal, and contextual elements suggest that Fey’s interpretation of Palin provided the public with a negative image of the governor, while the real Palin was grappling with her image on the national stage during the last three crucial months of the presidential campaign” (Flowers 62). During the presidential campaign people were watching SNL’s Sarah Palin than the real Sarah Palin who was running for Vice President. Author revealed when the fist skit was aired the skit was based on two major televised events, “1) Palin’s nomination acceptance speech at the Republican Convention on September 3, reaching 39.1 percent of U.S. households (Nielsen, 2008a); and 2) ABC News’ exclusive interview on 20/20 with Palin, conducted September 11 by anchor Charles Gibson, drawing 6.09 million viewers (Nielsen, 2008b)” (52). Then the author states that, “An audience of 10.2 million tuned into the televised comedy sketch, which evolved into ‘Saturday Night Streamed,’ when it was viewed 14.3 million times on Hulu.com and NBC.com (Stelter, 2008)” (52). With over 4.11 million viewers watching on television and over 8.21 million who watched on the web, viewers that only watched the SNL skit may have just based their opinion off of fake Sarah Palin. The second skit that aired was based off the interview of Palin by CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric that reached audiences of 6.15 million. Flowers stated, “Exceeding the audience of the network news program, the SNL skit was watched by 7.9 million viewers on television and viewed 11.1 million times on Hulu.com and NBC.com (Stelter, 2008)” (53). With more than 1.75 million viewed by television and 4.95 viewed by web the acting of Tina Fey as Sarah Palin than the real Sarah Palin. As SNL kept releasing skits of Sarah Palin more people were viewing the skits than the real Alaskan Governor. This caused people to think that what the viewer sees on SNL is how a person acts in real life, causing satire to be more reality than satire. With political entertainment shows such as SNL having an impact on viewers and many people viewing these shows, political candidates and officials go on these shows. This is causing a blending of entertainment and news like one author stated, “Political communication scholars are increasingly recognizing that previous designations of entertainment and news as separate genres have become obsolete, as both maintain political relevance (Jones, 2005; Baym, 2005; Delli Carpini & Williams, 2001)” (Esralew 1). Political figures are starting to notice that these shows are having an impact on how a viewer thinks about politics and political figures so these political figures start to come on political entertainment shows. Author Jeffery Jones stated, “Other political players have increasingly come to recognize the influence that these new forms of political programming can have” (5). With political entertainment shows being viewed more than the regular news, SNL has become the news. With real political figures going on these shows, a viewer will have a hard time telling the differences between satire and reality. Also when SNL does make fun of a political figure such as Sarah Palin, a viewer who depends on SNL for their news will think that this is how that person acts in real life causing satire to be more reality than satire.
Finally, I want leave you with this during the 2008 presidential campaign Sarah Palin was John McCain’s running mate. During the late months of the race SNL’s political satire skits were broadcasted to the American viewers and many took these skits as how Sarah Palin really acted in real life. These moments showed how satire can be become a viewers’ reality. Aristophanes’ and SNL are political satire because of the four points that Matthew Hodgart illustrated in his book. Also, the visual and verbal impression that SNL does can cause a positive or negative effect on a political figure such as when SNL used the visual impression by giving Tina Fey the same glasses and hairstyle as Sarah Palin. Also, when SNL did the verbal impression of Sarah Palin, SNL used Sarah Palin’s distinct dialogue. This caused viewers to take the satire as reality creating a negative image for Sarah Palin. The mixing of real politics and entertainment cause SNL to be believable because of the real politicians that are coming on the show. This causes a dangerous mixture of satire and reality causing viewers’ thoughts to be blurred between what is satire and what is reality on this show. With SNL’s skits becoming more and more like reality, is this where political satire is going?
Works Cited
Baumgartner, Jody Jonathan Morris and Natasha Walth. “The Fey Effect Young Adults, Political Humor, and Perception of Sarah Palin in the 2008 Presidential Election Campaign.” Public Opinion Quarter 76. 1(2012): 95-104. Google Scholar. 27 Mar. 2013.
Dean, Heather. “‘I Can See Russia from My House’: Tina Fey’s Impersonation of Sarah Plain as a Template for Media Coverage in the 2008 Presidential Election.” Diss. San Diego State University, 2010. Print.
Denton, Robert. The 2008 Presidential Campaign: A Communication Perspective. Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2009. Digital file.
Esralew, Sarah. “The Influence of Parodies on Political Schemas Exploring the Tina Fey-Sarah Palin Phenomenom.” Diss. University of Delaware, 2009 Print.
Flower, Arhlene and Cory Young. “Parodying Palin: How Tina Fey’s Visual and Verbal Impersonations Revived a Comedy Show and Impacted the 2008 Election”. Journal of Visual Literacy 29.1 (2010): 47-67. Google Scholar. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.
Hodgart, Matthew. Satre Origins and Principles. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 2010. Print.
Jones, Jeffrey. Entertaining Politics: new political television and civic culture. Maryland: Roman and Littlefield Publishers, 2005. Digital file. Kingkade, Tyler. ‘“Saturday Night Live’ Political Skits May Sway the Presidential Election, Academics Argue.” The Huff Post. ThehuffingPost.com. 9 Nov.2012. Web. 27 Mar. 2013.