How are the presidential candidates being
presented on comedy programs? What impact do you think these satirical shows
are having on this year’s election? And how does it compare to previous campaigns? Finally, if you were a campaign consultant, would
you recommend that your candidate appear on one of these shows?
Comedy programs either highlight the best, or the worst in presidential candidates. However, this is all dependent on the popular view of their audience; the comedian has to satirize in a way that is agreeable to the audience, and increase ratings. In order “to achieve this, the talk show host must create a special relationship to his audience, binding them together in agreement and shared feelings, garnering their trust by flattering and seducing them, and then joining together to attack their common enemies or perceived opposition,” ass according to Jeffery Jones, author of Entertaining Politics. In particular, comedians of “fake” news platforms tend to have the largest followings, as they “offer discussions of news events that are informative and critical, factual and interpretive, thorough yet succinct. Does that make it biased, unfair, or unbalanced? Not when the program aims its sites on the powerful.” (Jones, Entertaining Politics)
ReplyDeleteOne comedian and host of a “fake” news show, John Oliver, aims his sights directly at Donald Trump, as highlighted in the article “John Oliver on Trump Tape – GOP Nominee Is a ‘P—y-Grabbing Warthog in a Red Power Tie’” on The Hollywood Reporter. Trump was caught on hot-mic in 2005 saying degrading and misogynistic statements about women, which has caused a stirrup amongst the GOP and a general disgust and fury among Americans and the media. Oliver, who is generally very liberal, states that we have always been heading towards this historic moment…the first female presidential nominee versus the human embodiment of every backwards-condescending-Mad Men-esque-boys-club attitude that has ever existed, rolled into one giant, salivating, dick-size-referencing, pussy-grabbing warthog in a red power tie." Although what Oliver has to say is somewhat overly descriptive and meant to be entertaining, it does have value and political charge; he is describing everything that is wrong about this presidential candidate. He is highlighting the gravity of what Trump said in 2005, while also highlighting in an extreme manner just how these statements make him wrong for America. He is also describing how Trump is very privileged, while also insulting his appearance, presenting Trump in an extremely negative, distasteful light. (The Hollywood Reporter, “John Oliver on Trump Tape – GOP Nominee Is a ‘P—y-Grabbing Warthog in a Red Power Tie’”) Fake news shows have extreme amounts of power; in 2010, when Barack Obama was halfway through his first term and beginning to run campaign for re-election, he appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, who is very democratic and an Obama fan. Of course, it was a light hearted and fun interview, with some talk about political policy and such. (Jon Stewart, The Daily Show.)
For Clinton, comedy hosts and satire haven’t been so harsh on her. In fact, it appears they are doing the best they can to help Clinton. In the article “Will ‘Saturday Night Live’ take down Trump” by Shane Goldmacher of Politico discusses Clinton’s appearance on Between Two Ferns, a comedy sketch hosted by Zach Galifianakis. Goldmacher highlights that “Clinton’s team certainly understands the power of satire. As her numbers dipped with millennial voters in recent weeks, they sat her for a comedic interview with Zach Galifianakis on “Between Two Ferns” as she smiled her way through a 5-minute session that’s been watched 11 million times on YouTube alone.” (Goldmacher, “Will ‘Saturday Night Live’ take down Trump”) Although Galifianakis did not come out in support for Clinton by doing this comedy sketch, they knew that having Clinton on the show would draw in views; people are interested in seeing how Clinton would react, as she has a history of being stiff and cold, on a satirical, goofy comedy sketch such as Between Two Ferns. She ended up having a great interview, cracking jokes and turning it into comedic and political gold. Whether there was an agenda behind the interview on the part of Between Two Ferns isn’t certain, but it was extremely helpful to the Clinton campaign, as it helped her break her cold tendencies and show more candid qualities.
DeleteIf I were a campaign consultant to Donald Trump, I would tell him to stay away from comedy or satire shows. It is clear at this point that the comedy world finds him to be the fuel of their jokes; they would only continue to make a mockery of him in an attempt to continue to show that his candidacy is one of the most laughable but saddening parts of American history. If I were Clinton’s adviser, however, I would encourage her to continue to appear on comedy shows such as John Oliver or Jimmy Kimmel; they are clearly supporting the Democratic candidate, and so does their audience, and the candid setting will continue to break down her aloof reputation.
Sources:
DeleteStewart, Jon. "Barack Obama Pt. 1." Comedy Central, 27 Oct. 2010, www.cc.com/video-clips/l6msc7/
the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-barack-obama-pt--1. Accessed 17 Oct. 2016.
Jones, Jeffrey. Entertaining Politics: New Political Television and Civic Culture., 2nd ed Lamham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.
Goldmacher, Shane. "Will 'Saturday Night Live' take down Trump?" Politico 29 Sept. 2016. Web.
"John Oliver on Trump Tape - GOP Nominee Is a ‘P—y-Grabbing Warthog in a Red Power Tie.’" The Hollywood Reporter 10 Oct. 2016. Web.
For about a year now the topic of political candidates has dominated the late night comedy programs, starting with the primary races. Following the primaries, the scope narrowed to Trump and Clinton. Both candidates give these comedy programs more than enough material to work with, Trump more than Clinton but both have been portrayed night after night.
ReplyDeleteIn this election cycle especially I think that the satirical shows are helping to draw attention towards the candidates when it comes to groups like millennials who usually don’t produce high voter turn out. Entertaining Politics: New Political Television and Civic Culture, discusses just how these shows can draw in viewership while taking on political context. “A recurrent claim about young Americans is that they increasingly get more of their news about politics and current events from late-night television comedians than they do from the news media (Jones 167).” Social media alone can prove this theory, SNL’s latest reenactment of last week’s debate is making its’ rounds on Facebook, while John Oliver’s comparison of Jill Stein and Gary Johnson is also gaining traction. This shows the impact that these segments that put humor into a pretty serious situation are having on the election. You can’t scroll through Facebook without coming across yet another reposted video.
When it comes to the presidential candidates there have been notable differences in the coverage. When it comes to Clinton, in skits like on SNL she comes off as the favorable candidate, she even appeared as a bartender in a skit. Donald Trump is portrayed as a more exaggerated version of himself. His quotes, mannerisms and features are enlarged. It’s also interesting to note the actors portraying the candidates, Kate McKinnon and Alec Baldwin. Alec Baldwin although an SNL veteran and actor has had his fair share of “scandals,” just like Trump.
Following his first appearance as Trump, The New Yorker likened Baldwin to a “democratic version of Trump himself.” While Kate McKinnon is a rising star whose public opinion ratings are favorable. She also happens to be a Clinton supporter.
With the introduction of satire programming political campaigns have had to deal with added pressure. “Television Satire and the Presidency,” mentions the role that media took on.
“The media, acting as the fourth branch of government, had pursued President Nixon, and the judicial and legislative branches had followed (Matviko 333).” Amongst Watergate, the media had the change to satirize Nixon. Even more notably during Bill Clinton’s Presidency there was a shift from satire around political happenings to presidential scandals. That’s when the focus shifted to the personal lives and family of political figures. A topic that has been at the forefront of satirical shows this election cycle, for instance SNL did a parody of Beyoncé’s lemonade from the point of view of Melania Trump.
If I was a campaign consultant for Hillary, I would recommend that she appeared on shows. For instance, “The Daily Show,” Trevor Noah has spoken against Trump previously. When she appeared on SNL she showed a good sense of humor and it gives her another way to reach millennial voters. When it comes to Trump, I would advise against it. Mostly because of the attack that he has waged on the media lately. His aggressive nature towards the satire takes the comedy out of the content. For example, his tweet after this week’s broadcast of SNL read
“Watched Saturday Night Live hit job on me. Time to retire the boring and unfunny show. Alec Baldwin portrayal stinks. Media rigging election!” For the next twenty or so days except for campaigning I’d advise him to lay low.
Works Cited
Jones, Jeffrey. Entertaining Politics: New Political Television and Civic Culture., 2nd ed Lamham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.
Matviko, John. "Television Satire and the Presidency," in Hollywood's White House, Peter C. Rollins and John O'Connor, eds. Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Press, 2003: 333 - 348.
Hillary Clinton, on comedy programs, is being portrayed as the lesser of the two evils in this current presidential election. Donald Trump has been the victim of countless digs by the cast of different comedy shows, often as a result of his own actions. It’s not a shock that these comedy programs are choosing to highlight often the worst parts of the debates or other election events, as “Late-night comedians ‘have a moral obligation’ to highlight the darker elements of Trump’s candidacy.” (Goldmacher) I’m quite sure that the producers of these shows are well aware of their obligations and well aware of the fact that, in the first debate, “Eighty million people watched (the debate), 130 million people will vote, 50 million others are still looking for places to get their news, and comedy can fill that gap.” (Goldmacher)
ReplyDeleteI’m not quite convinced that involvement in comedy programs is what is best for a candidate, however. In the Jones chapter highlighting the parody of punditry in The Colbert Report, Jones notes what Colbert says in regards to being a host of one of these programs. “To achieve this, the talk show host must create a special relationship to his audience, binding them together in an agreement and shared feelings, garnering their trust by flattering and seducing them, and then joining together to attack their common enemies or perceived opposition.” (Jones). In simple terms, this says to me that the host must play mind games with the viewers and once they do, they have control over how the content is interpreted by them. If the host has a bias, it might be harder to see when covered by comedy. As Jones mentioned in his opening paragraphs, truth is not always what the prime time shows are looking to show.
In previous campaigns, comedy has of course taken a stance on the political happenings. Sometimes, the reenactments of the political figures was the more memorable than the political figure themselves. For example, when Tina Fey played Sarah Palin on SNL, she coined the phrase “I can see Russia from my house,” a quote that is often mentioned as something Palin herself said. I am forced to continue my opinion of comedy shows being a negative with the inclusion of this fact by Shane Goldmacher in his article on Politico. The possibility that a quote from a comedy show could be misattributed to the political figure themselves is scary.
With all these negatives said, I think that I would still encourage my candidate to appear on one of those shows, considering if they didn’t, I think there would be an even worse reaction from the public. Going through this type of comedic scrutiny is a convocation in to the election world. Who knows, maybe Tina Fey will love their SNL reenactment as much as she loved Will Ferrell’s Bush impersonation. Her remarks on that performance included “As much as we were making fun of Bush’s stupidity, Will also managed to make him seem almost charming and sweet.” (Goldmacher)
Goldmacher, Shane. "Will 'Saturday Night Live' take down Trump?" Politico. 29 Sept. 2016. Web.
DeleteJones, Jeffrey. Entertaining Politics: New Political Television and Civic Culture. 2nd ed Lamham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.
As if this presidential election hasn’t already provided the public with enough laughs, late-night comedy programs are having a field day with the constant influx of material gathered from the candidates. Every day there’s a new story and some way the media can spin it to gather laughs. Both Trump and Clinton have had fun poked at them; however, it is clear that Trump more than Clinton is being presented as the bud of every late-night comedians monologue jokes and segments. There has been so much comedic material surrounding Trump that it has prompted him to speak out against the media. Yahoo News reports of his outrage in recent tweets, “Watched Saturday Night Live hit job on me,” Trump tweeted. “Time to retire the boring and unfunny show. Alec Baldwin portrayal stinks. Media rigging election!,” (Stableford 2016). More often than not, the jokes often pick at each candidate’ personality traits, like Clinton’s rehearsed and wonky attitude and Trump’s poor temperament and lack of a filter. We have seen this in previous campaigns, where actors harp on the candidates most distinguishable characteristics like Tina Fey perfecting Sarah Palin’s mannerisms and Will Ferrell channeling George W. Bush’s lack of intelligence. The late night comedy circuit’s relentless attacks on Trump focus on more than just his personality, but his actions and statements as well. For instance, on Saturday Night Live, Alec Baldwin over exaggerates Trump’s mannerisms to portray him in a comical, yet negative light.
ReplyDeleteThese satirical shows will not have an influence on committed voters because they already have firm views on a particular candidate are going to see and hear what they want from these shows, but the comedic sketches may persuade those undecided voters. As Jeffrey Jones writes about the late-night comedy shows in Entertaining Politics, “the faux play serves the political function of leading viewers to reflect upon, think about, and analyze that which would be so easy to consume uncritically, or perhaps just as dangerously, will-fully ignore outright,” (204). Therefore, by making light of some very heavy topics, like Trump’s vulgar comments about women or Clinton’s role in Benghazi, the public can then reflect upon and create their own decisions on these topics. Jones also asserts that comedy shows, “offers discussions of news events that are informative and critical, factual and interpretive, thorough yet succinct,” (Jones 183). This is especially significant for the unenthusiastic and uninformed public who has no interest in the election. Through media comedy programs, this demographic is likely to be engaged and be able to participate in these discussions.
If I were a campaign consultant, I would highly advise for Trump to lay low and off of these shows. Based on what we’ve seen, the comedy circuit is being relentless on their Trump attacks – with Jimmy Fallon being criticized for being ‘too soft’ when Trump was on his show. It would be better for Trump to avoid the direct attacks and prevent him from getting riled up in response. For Clinton on the other hand, I think it would benefit her from appearing on these shows because not only does it make her seem likable, but also certain shows are clearly in favor of her and can help her use this to her advantage.
Works Cited
DeleteJones, Jeffrey. Entertaining Politics: New Political Television and Civic Culture. 2nd ed Lamham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.
Stableford, Dylan. "Trump Accuses ‘SNL’ of ‘Hit Job,’ Media of ‘Rigging Election.’" Yahoo News 16 Oct. 2016. Web.
Comedic personalities like John Stewart and Stephen Colbert have had a profound impact on voters and 24-hour news outlets alike. Most of the shows including Stewart’s, Colbert’s and Stewart’s replacement Trevor Noah’s follow the same basic format; talk about two things, bring on a guest, end the show in 30 minutes. With the exception of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, almost none of the politically charged comedy shows on cable television go into great depth about any issue, typically just touching on a few of the more ridiculous main points.
ReplyDeletePundits of political satire are almost always very left leaning (with the possible exception of Greg Gutfeld), appealing to young, progressive audiences who are unlikely to get their news from the traditional cable news outlets like FoxNews and CNN (Jones 167). The appeal of these late-night political comedy shows is simple yet genius; by only mentioning a few issues and giving off the impression that they are talking about the issues in great depth, political comedians can make viewers feel as though they are getting an inside scoop, gratifying the viewer and making them feel as smart as their trusted late-night host.
They often employ the aid of sometimes out-of-context sound bites from well-known political figures, sound bites that always prove the host’s point. That is not to say that traditional 24-hour news outlets do not apply the same practice to aid in their arguments, as we have seen the same clips of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton making offensive remarks or having to walk back their words over and over again.
The 2016 election, just like the 2008, 2004, and 2000 ones, features political satirists bashing the Republican nominee on a weekly or daily basis. Though Mitt Romney and John McCain had their flaws, and George W. Bush was a pretty east target, never have these comedians had an easier target than Donald Trump in 2016.
Though his, for the lack of a better word, unorthodox presidential campaign earns him every last bit of criticism he gets, and he sure gets a lot of it. His words are incredible fodder for political comedy considering he usually has some sort of public scandal once a week. T.B.S. even went ahead and created their hit new show Full Frontal with Samantha Bee in the heat of presidential primary season, and a lot of the show’s success can be attributed to the constant satirizing of Donald Trump (Steinburg).
Hillary Clinton has avoided a lot of merited satirizing thanks to being a member of the Democratic Party, but one cannot attribute her lack of criticism by late-night hosts solely to her ideology, as political comedians have not stopped short of criticizing Democrats in the midst of scandals like they did Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and Anthony Weiner. Hillary Clinton’s lack of harsh criticism by political satirists can most directly be attributed to the overwhelming amount of (and public interest in) Donald Trump scandals.
A seasoned campaign advisor would encourage Hillary Clinton to get on late-night political comedy shows as often as possible before Election Day, her favorability amongst the late-night audiences is typically high and she can depend on the liberal hosts to ask her softball questions and improve her image. Trump on the other hand should avoid appearing on late-night political comedy like the plague because just about every host would love a chance to make him look foolish in person.
Works Cited
Jones, Jeffrey. Entertaining Politics: New Political Television and Civic Culture., 2nd ed Lamham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.
Steinberg, Brian. "Samantha Bee’s ‘Full Frontal’ Breaks Late Night’s Rules and Shakes Up the Format." Variety 16 Sept. 2016. Web.
Interestingly enough this very topic was one we talked about today in my communications law and policy class in relation to the recent SNL cold open about the second debate. We were talking about it in relation to Donald Trump’s recent Tweet that stated: “Watched Saturday Night Live hit job on me. Time to retire the boring and unfunny show. Alec Baldwin portrayal stinks. Media rigging election!” this to me, if I were a Trump campaign consultant was a bad mood as it exemplifies Trumps thin skin, mistrust of media and overall narcissism.
ReplyDeleteThat being said however, there are merits to comedy programs. If a candidate can highlight their lighter side or showcase a sense of humor that would only be a boon to them. If Hillary Clinton could go on something like SNL and be able to make fun of herself that would make her look good. I even think SNL could be a good thing for Trump if he could go on the show and stick to his script, but I don’t think that’s something that will happen.
This year on comedy programs, be them more talk show-esque or more skit based have all been bashing Trump more than Clinton, this is obvious. It’s not to say that Clinton isn’t poked fun at either, but generally speaking Trump is usually the punchline out of the two of them. That being said I don’t know if this is an entirely new phenomenon. Generally with these shows they lean left. Thus when they make their sketches that critic politicians they’re going to more heavily critic any republican or right wing politician, this is how it’s always been since these shows were a thing.
I think that since these shows have been out for a while I think then if you’re a politician like Donald Trump you can’t show that this affects you because it’s expected. Also, however, it’s important to note that if the democratic nominee were to do something they deemed stupid they would still make fun of it. For instance in the recent SNL cold open they poked fun at Clintons repeating of the phrase ‘trumped up trickle down economics’.
As I mentioned earlier, I do think either candidate could benefit from an appearance on a comedy show however, it may not be the most reasonable thing for either candidate to do. With Trump, showing a side of him that can poke fun at himself would help him, however that might not be something that’s he’s capable of. For Clinton, it would be beneficial for her to go one of these shows so that she can seem a little more personable, she just has to make sure doesn’t come off as too rehearsed or robotic.
SaturdayNightLive. "Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton Town Hall Debate Cold Open - SNL."YouTube. YouTube, 16 Oct. 2016. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
Trump, Donald (realDonaldTrump). “Watched Saturday Night Live hit job on me. Time to retire the boring and unfunny show. Alec Baldwin portrayal stinks. Media rigging election!” 16 Oct 2016, 4:14am. Tweet.
One of my favorite parts of the election year is the way comedy programs such as SNL portray them. Comedy shows “offer discussions of news events that are informative and critical, factual and interpretive thorough yet succinct” (Jones 183). This campaign season is one for the book in every aspect, even comedy programs. Donald Trump has made it too easy for shows like SNL, Southpark, and The Daily Show to create content. These shows are mainly comedy driven and reach to an audience that might not follow traditional news sources. Though these shows don’t often going into detail about issues, shows like Last Week Tonight with John Oliver offers more insight on real issues. Oliver is able to talk about issues in a serious manner while still adding comedy into his show.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite programs is Triumph the Insult Comic Dog’s election specials that are feature on Hulu and YouTube. Triumph is a puppet dog that has been covering elections (and other events that are not political related) since 2004. Triumph creator Robert Smigel states perfectly why Triumph is a great program “What Triumph offers that’s different is he can actually just run around to different events and pretty much say anything he wants to anybody as opposed to just being angry to a studio show” (O’Keefe 2016). Triumph went to both the DNC and RNC and spent time talking (or insulting) supporters of each party. Smigel, who is the voice of Triumph, is very politically informed and uses his knowledge in his jokes. One of my favorite videos is “Trump Focus Group” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=77&v=6MubunsD-7g) where they got a group of Trump supporters and had them watch ridiculously fake Trump ads. Triumph’s videos are more focused on Trump and his supporter than on Clinton. A lot of his content is framed negatively towards Trump and his campaign.
If I were Trump’s campaign manager I would say stay away from doing comedy shows. Comedy shows thrive off of Trump and he would just be putting himself in a bad position by going on these shows. He doesn’t have a sense of humor especially when he feels like he’s being attacked. He was very upset about his portrayal on SNL, he tweeted “watched Saturday Night Live hit job on me. Time to retire the boring and unfunny show. Alex Baldwin portrayal stinks. Media rigging election.” In the yahoo article Trump accuses SNL of ‘hit job’, media of ‘rigging election’ they quote tweets on Trump accusing the media of rigging the election. As stated by Natalie Jarvey for Hollywood Reporter in reference to appearing on Between Two Ferns “I don’t know if Trump has the temperament to take that abuse”. For Clinton I would advise her to continue appearing on comedy y shows, her appearance on Between Two Ferns was a huge success.
Jarvey, Natalie. "Hillary Clinton's Appearance on 'Between Two Ferns' Breaks Records for Funny or Die." The Hollywood Reporter 23 Sept. 2016. Web.
DeleteJones, Jeffrey. Entertaining Politics: New Political Television and Civic Culture., 2nd ed Lamham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.
Stableford, Dylan. "Trump Accuses ‘SNL’ of ‘Hit Job,’ Media of ‘Rigging Election.’" Yahoo News 16 Oct. 2016. Web.
Comedy in politics is inevitable. As Dean Obeidallah for CNN wrote this week, “We have a rich tradition of comedy shows skewering our politicians.” This is one of the wonderful things about living in America. The peculiarities and idiosyncrasies of politicians can really shine in comedy or be outright mocked entirely on a program like Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, or Last Week Tonight. This prompt has perfect timing with SNL’s depiction last Saturday of the second presidential debate. Trump, as expected, had several infamous moments. The stalking of Hillary around stage, the repeated breathing into the microphone, and his response to the Access Hollywood video leak. SNL mocked all these moments, and serves as a conversation piece on the internet until the next week’s cold opening skit.
ReplyDeleteTrump’s toddler-like reaction to the SNL skit came early Sunday morning where he said the show should be taken off the air and lashed out about the media rigging the election. This kind of talk from Trump is unsurprising, but dangerous to the freedoms of press, expression, and speech that the constitution is supposed to guarantee us. Trump has little respect (if any working knowledge) for the constitution. Mr. Obeidallah from CNN put it well, “In fact, Egypt's Jon Stewart, Bassem Youssef, was arrested for mocking the then leader of Egypt and his TV show was ultimately canceled. But is that really a model we want to emulate in the United States?” Not in many other countries would mocking a politician get you very far. It’s my hope that comedians continue to mock politicians and not be intimidated by the ridiculous antics of the Trump campaign. It’s amazing how Trump complains that comedians and the broader media treat him unfairly. Maybe if he didn’t provide them with so much material, there would be less to make fun of. Truly remarkable how Donald hasn’t picked up on that notion yet.
One of my favorite lesser-known comedy bits is the Trump-Bernie debates that were on Comedy Central’s @midnight over the summer. The parts were played by actors Anthony Atamanuik and James Adomian respectively. There were many great lines from this program, and I wish it was something more people saw. Trump when asked about alternative energy, quipped “white power” has been powering the party since the 1950’s by an energy company called “triple K.” The Bernie character did the characteristic double finger wagging while Trump was giving answers. Bernie kicked off the program by saying “this might not be the debate you get, but it’s the debate you deserve,” to much applause.
I would certainly encourage the candidates to embrace the way comedians and writers portray them. I would also encourage them to appear on as many comedy shows as possible, and to not throw a hissy-fit about how you may be criticized by one (*cough* Donald). People connect with comedy, and comedy shows during political years are often places where non-politically savoy people get their news. Indeed, Bill Maher has acknowledged this fact frequently on his program. I think comedy has a big impact on voters’ feelings of candidates. After all, who took Sarah Palin seriously after seeing her being portrayed on SNL in 2008?
Works Cited
ReplyDelete"Donald Trump Loves White Power? • Trump VS Bernie." YouTube. Ed. Fusion Media. YouTube, 27 Apr. 2016. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
Obeidallah, Dean. "Trump's Beef with SNL Is No Laughing Matter." CNN. Cable News Network, 17 Oct. 2016. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
SNL, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report have been the industry standard in terms of political satire. They have created some of the best dialogue all time in terms of political banter. SNL was the first to do this in the 1976 election between Ford and Carter. Matviko proposes the question “did SNL’s endless satire of Ford’s clumsiness cost him the election” (337). It could have shaken Ford’s integrity in the public’s eye, which is why political satire is a very dangerous area for candidates. The use of the political satire for the candidate is similar to that of the talk show. You want your candidates in the public sphere, and out there reaching out to niche groups. However it is also dangerous to put a candidate on television with a chance of them being too venerable. Such is the case when Trump went on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Colbert interviews Trump about his plans for his wall, while throwing out crazy ideas for Trump like buildings two walls. Though this shows that Trump can be around comedy, the interview turns into Colbert giving Trump back handed compliments. This creates a general humor about Trump’s insane idea and takes some of the integrity away from his political stances. Overall I saw this appearance by Trump to backfire, as many of his television appearances did this election. Colbert historically undermines the right wing views with his role on the “Colbert Report”, where he channels his inner Bill O’Reilly. This makes his shows dangerous for right wing politicians. However politicians have used his show to their advantage. Jones talks about when Bernie appeared on the show in 2008, as he was getting his name out for future elections. Bernie and Colbert go back in forth about tax breaks for the rich. Colbert’s satire of the right wing American “serves as the opportunity for liberals to make their case while Colbert simultaneously ridicules the real life Republican” (Jones 200). This is a smart appearance for Bernie, due to the design of the show. This example shows that satire can play to the strengths of the politician, as long as the message of the satire align with those of the candidate. People also subscribe to the theory that satire shows, cause a conflict in politics. Many say that these shows create political apathy or the public perceives the satire as the “real” news. However Jones dismisses this theory in saying that “the fate of the republic doesn’t seem to be in jeopardy by show like the Daily Show, even if this show is their main source of public affairs” (Jones 184). Jones explains that people who view these shows usually go in with the knowledge that they are watching a satire and the claims made in the show are for comedy. With this theory by Jones, satires are a generally safe place for candidates. However I believe the age of the Internet has changed this notion, because now things from these satires can go viral. Someone watching a clip from the Daily Show, not knowing it’s a satire, may register it as real news. The Internet creates a larger level of exposure, far beyond that of the shows regular audience. For this reason I would not suggest these candidates to appear on any satire show this election. These are two of the most hated candidates of all time, and if a satirical stunt backfires it will just fuel the fire.
ReplyDeleteWork Cited
"Donald Trump Has Nothing To Apologize For." YouTube. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, 23 Sept. 2015. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
Jones, Jeffrey. Entertaining Politics: New Political Television and Civic Culture., 2nd ed Lamham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.
Matviko, John. "Television Satire and the Presidency," in Hollywood's White House, Peter C. Rollins and John O'Connor, eds. Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Press, 2003: 333 - 348.
As if Donald trump and Hillary Clinton don’t do enough mockery of themselves, they have opened up the door of opportunity for late night shows to do it as well and boy are they feasting on it. SNL is easily the best of them all, I personally have never watched SNL, but I cant seem to get enough of it this year. The way the portray these figures can either be in a positive or negative manner. As we see in this Debate it could be the way they portray Donald Trump or the way they portray Hillary Clinton. “In an era rich with edgy comedy, watching the tame offerings of "Saturday Night Live" often feels more like an obligation than a pleasure” ( Hemmer- USNEWS). The reason late night shows are important, especially SNL, is because viewers now feel like they have to watch it.
ReplyDeleteIll start with the much better portrayed candidate Hillary Clinton, she has obviously been made fun of and has taken it in a much better way then Trump has. Clinton actually got on SNL herself and pretended to be a bar tender, which to me shows a sense of humor that a good leader should have. The SNL skits have been rather generous toward Clinton given that Trump has put such a larger target on his back. To me personally I think Hillary is doing an excellent job of getting on late night shows and allowing the viewers to see her sense of humor. If I were her campaign consultant I would recommend more, to show she has a great personality and can go along with the jokes that are being made.
As for Donald Trump, well lets just say he’s not so great with late night talk shows, John Oliver and SNL have blasted him with a negative remarks and jokes. On John Oliver he brought up the recent tape that was leaked about Trump and “grabbing the P****y.” On SNL Alec Baldwin plays Trump and let me just start by saying he does an amazing job. Perhaps Baldwin’s great impersonation is the reason Donald Trump gets so angry about the Saturday night comedy show. He reacts in a way that he shouldn’t and makes it seem as though he’s the only one this has happened to. We saw in the past when Will Ferrell portrayed George W. Bush as an angry man. Bush didn’t act out in a manner of such disgust, but accepted it for what it was. Trump seems to bury himself deeper and deeper as the days go on. If I were his campaign consultant I would have him avoid late night shows and public speaking as a whole. Let his surrogates go on and try and talk him up or even his running mate Mike Pence who is clearly more liked by the American people than Trump is.
Works cited
DeleteHemmer, Nicole. "The Power Of Laughter." Usnews, 20 Oct. 2015. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.
I find this week’s blog topic very entertaining as comedy shows have always been a huge part of campaigns. This year has been no exception. We have watched comedy shows like “Saturday Night Live,” “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” and “Late Night with Seth Meyers.” All of these shows have thrown punches at both of the candidates. This election year has had one scandal after another therefore the content was never a rumor in the wind but true facts from a video or photo leakage. I feel as if with all the scandals this election has had to offer this year votes have not really swayed either way. I would say that most people have stayed loyal to who they always have been. We have seen Hillary get torn apart for the email scandal and Trump get ripped apart for every sexist, obnoxious, condescending thing he says. One comedy show that can attest to that is “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.” There isn’t any way that a comedy show could be more comical or horrifically rude it can be to a public figure. Samantha Bee has been known to crossing the line sometimes and other times coming very close. After the second debate, “’Bee called Trump and then Access Hollywood host Billy Bush, "two leering dildos" having a disgusting conversation on "an adolescent boner bus’” (The Hollywood Reporter). With these satirical rude comments, I still don’t believe that votes were ever really swayed. The only time I can believe these shows could change views would have to be when the lude comments made by Trump were leaked. I imagine that could definitely have changed many women voters’ views. Even back in the day when Gerald Ford was running for presidency he was ridiculed and attacked by comedy shows. Decades later and the attacks still happen and people still get a kick out of it. Decades ago, “Chevy Chase’s Gerald Ford imitation was a regular feature in the program’s first two seasons, and it often opened the show” (Matviko 335). Nothing has changed much in the way of comedy shows and campaign elections. If I were to be a campaign consultant, I would tell my candidate to definitely appear on a comedy show. Even though they might get ridiculed publicly they have a way of controlling the conversation. This would also be a chance for the candidate to be able to speak on what they have been called out for and so that they can show the world they can play along an have joking around without taking the skit too sensitively. I feel speaking up instead of hiding behind rumors and half-truths is the best option.
ReplyDeleteWorks Cited
Matviko, John. TV Satire and The Presidency. Print.
@THR. "Samantha Bee Eviscerates "Leering Dildos" Donald Trump and Billy Bush, Talks Debate." The Hollywood Reporter. The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Oct. 2016. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
Comedy programs can really make or break a candidate. This election season has been a free-for-all for comedy programs as these two candidates effortlessly and unknowingly provides writers with the best material. Donald Trump’s run for president has basically been made a joke all on its own, and the comedy shows hone in on that, like South Park’s portrayal of the debates with Mr. Garrison playing Donald Trump, he realizes he has no business being president. “I don’t know what the f- I’m doing.” “I had no idea I would get this far, but the fact of the matter is, I should not be president, ok? I will f- this country up beyond repair.” (Parker).
ReplyDeleteNo matter what show is being aired, whether it’s Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show or any late night talk show, Donald Trump has been the bud of everyone’s joke. His appearance, his “tiny hands”, his “creepiness”, his family, his wife, his beliefs and his policies have been made into a joke, to the point where people stop taking him seriously as the person running for president of our country. Not the same could be said about Hillary Clinton. Comedy shows have definitely been more lax towards Clinton, even sometimes showing a bias towards her. Comedy shows have not put an emphasis on Clinton’s scandals as much as much as they do with Trump. The most memorable time Clinton has been made fun of this election has been after the debates on SNL, however her portrayal has not been as harsh as Trumps. They portray Trump as an idiot who is basically handing this election to Clinton. She’s popping bottles of Champaign and telling him to keep talking while she sits back and watches the train wreck unfold as he solidifies her spot in the oval office.
After this week’s SNL, Trump has came out to say how SNL and the media are rigging this election,” Watched Saturday Night Live hit job on me. Time to retire the boring and unfunny show. Alec Baldwin portrayal stinks. Media rigging election” (Stableford). Trump tweeting that SNL is the force behind an election rig, is a little far fetched. And his actions after the SNL debate, made his look like a baby. Instead he could’ve easily said nothing or he could’ve sent out a tweet saying how funny it was, it would have made him look like someone who doesn’t take himself too seriously and someone who is not affected by SNL’s silly jokes.
These shows have a huge impact on this election. Voters watch comedy shows to see what the shows have to say about the candidates, if a candidate is constantly being made fun of, they start to look like a joke and it resonates with voters especially voters who are not exactly as politically inclined and depend on these shows to gain knowledge of the election.
DeleteIn past year’s election, comedy shows seem to go after the easier target of the two, and it seems that they go after the republican candidate more than the democrats. SNL has been the main place for candidates to be made fun of with impersonations that are eerily spot on, such as Will Ferrell as George W. Bush, Tina Fey as Sarah Palin and Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton. I think in previous years comedy shows such as SNL has not been as harsh as they’ve been recently with this election and that has entirely to do with the 2 candidates running. Comedy shows are playing more dirty with more use of personal attacks rather than focusing on the election itself.
If I were a campaign consultant I would recommend Trump stay away from comedy shows, I think it is too late in the election and I think if he put himself in that position it would backfire. If he went on a show where they make fun of him to his face, I think he would get mad and it would have an opposite affect that he was trying to go for. As for Clinton, I would definitely recommend going on every comedy show she is given the opportunity to go on, they love her and it would absolutely have a positive affect on the election.
Parker, Ryan. "'South Park' Donald Trump Character Tries to Throw Presidential Debate." The Hollywood Reporter 29 Sept. 2016. Web.
Stableford, Dylan. "Trump Accuses ‘SNL’ of ‘Hit Job,’ Media of ‘Rigging Election.’" Yahoo News 16 Oct. 2016. Web.
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ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteSatirical programs such as Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show and various late-night shows always have a field day when it comes around election time and this year’s election has been no exception. We’ve seen SNL cast member’s poking fun at Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton for over a year now and now that it’s crunch time for the election, they’re being given more material than they probably know what to do with. Alec Baldwin’s recent portrayal of Trump features an exaggeration on his appearance and his mannerisms as well as mocking his views and controversies at the same time. Clinton as well as seen her fair share of mockery but there has been a definite aim at Trump for sure. Clinton features a more light-hearted portrayal on SNL, with humor being found more from her reactions to what Baldwin’s Trump is saying.
As Shane Goldmacher states on SNL’s debate skit, “Will they mock his sniffles? His hair? His orange hue? His gesticulations? His supposed microphone malfunction? Or do they cast him in more ominous terms: as a racist hate-monger?” It’s clear that Trump doesn’t necessarily help himself and so that’s why he’s been the bigger target by shows such as this.
Shows such as SNL and The Daily Show seem to reach more millennials and those of a younger generation than any other demographic because they offer a non-traditional way of getting news that gives them the important information, all while putting the story in a more comical and relatable view. In a survey conducted by Pew Research Center for People and the Press, “47 percent of people under the age of thirty were “informed at least occasionally” about the presidential campaign by late-night talk shows.” (Jones 167) Note, this survey was also conducted in 2000 before the popularization of such things social media and YouTube. Now, more and more people can easily see clips from The Daily Show or SNL on YouTube or shared on Facebook and more and more people are dependent on getting news through these sources. I think these shows are having a large impact on this year’s election because they’re reaching specifically this certain demographic of younger undecided voters. Some may not be hugely political themselves and so going off of what Noah Trevor says every night may be enough to sway them. As Jones states, “By actually showing the high levels of spin and rhetoric produced by the candidates and their campaigns, then offering humorous retorts that cut to the heart of the matter, The Daily Show offers its views particular (and perhaps more useful) information about the campaign that is often missing from “real” journalist reports on the news networks and hence, informs its viewers in ways that mainstream journalism rarely does.” (168) That’s the same with many of these late-night satirical shows and so with the overall appeal of these shows, the access of them through the development of social media and YouTube, I believe they’ve had a larger impact on voters, specifically this younger generation, than what we’ve seen from previous elections.
If I was a campaign consultant, I would encourage my candidate to appear on one of these shows because I think not only do they reach out to this younger audience of voters, but it also shows them as more light-hearted and comical. I think if a candidate can have a good sense of humour about themselves, such as we saw about Hillary Clinton appearing on Between Two Ferns, then they’ll create a more well-rounded image of themselves.
Works Cited
DeleteJones, Jeffrey. Entertaining Politics: New Political Television and Civic Culture., 2nd ed Lamham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.
Goldmacher, Shane. "Will 'Saturday Night Live' take down Trump?" Politico. 29 Sept. 2016. Web.
Comedy shows tend to have a massive impact on the mindset of American people. With top shows like Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and plenty more, comedy television has wide impact on the American public. On many occasions, the two candidates have been portrayed as ridiculous and unfiltered in most cases. For example, SNL has been impersonating the two on their show in previous seasons even before their announcements of running for president. Clinton being a political figure, and Trump as a public celebrity made them easy to poke fun at for the show.
ReplyDeleteFast-forward to the election and they have become two of the top public figures to be impersonated on the show. Hillary is often perceived as the candidate who is easy to relate to and tries too hard to seem down-to-earth. In a 2015 SNL skit of the Democratic Forum, “[Kate] McKinnon’s Clinton was asked whether she was an introvert or an extrovert. ‘I would say I’m a little bit of both. I’m an extrovert because I love meeting people and connecting with them and smiling with them. But I’m an introvert because no I don’t.’ ” (Goldmacher). This joke is playing on the general consensus of how people in America view Hillary Clinton. She tries really hard to connect with people on a personal, understanding level, but then distances herself from the public when she can. As for Trump, he is portrayed as an impulsive buffoon without a filter. His “accent” is heavily exaggerated with a predominant lower lip puffing out and the actor who plays him is most often spray tanned to a burnt orange color.
In another late night show, Comedy Central’s South Park recently did a skit emulating the first presidential debate. It opens with Hillary Clinton’s advisors instructing her to be prepared for her opponent’s worst attacks in simply answering with My opponent is a liar, and he cannot be trusted. What he is saying is simply not true. Do not believe it. However when the cartoon signifying Donald Trump, known as Mr. Garrison, gives up and tells everyone to just vote for Hillary Clinton, throwing away the election completely, the Clinton character repeats exactly what her advisors told her, making her look equally as stupid. South Park’s representation of both candidates played on the extremes of each candidate’s behaviors and personalities through these cartoon characters. Towards the end of the episode Mr. Garrison says at one of his rallies, “ ‘I am not a good person for the White House. I am not a good person, period,’ Garrison, filled with contempt, tells the crowd. ‘If you vote me in as president, I'll seriously throw up and have lost all faith in humanity.’ ” (Parker). The show is definitely making a statement in saying that even Garrison (representing as Trump) himself does not see himself fit as the president, making it the most exaggerated idea of one candidate during this election.
Political figures are easy targets for comedy shows because the shows themselves have no responsibility to really censor what they say about these targets. They make fun of these people openly based on what the public really thinks about them. However, because comedy shows are so open about the presidential candidates, most people take the show’s portrayal of these candidates as fact. Particularly younger viewers will be more apt to watching a late night comedy show over the nightly news. Therefore, these viewers may base their opinion about a candidate solely on the comedic act representing them. In the Politico article written by Shane Goldmacher, he quotes Senator Claire McCaskill when she talks about her children’s views of the election when she says, “ ‘I think SNL — frankly, a lot of the comedy in the country — matters because my kids are in their 20s and they don’t get traditional news,’ said Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat and top Clinton surrogate. ‘They consume news in lots of different places and lots of different ways, and I think one of the persuasive places is a show like SNL.’ ” (Goldmacher). It is obvious how much of an impact this kind of television is having on voters in this 2016 election.
DeleteIn fact, Donald Trump took notice of this and wrote on his Twitter feed, “Watched Saturday Night Live hit job on me. Time to retire the boring and unfunny show. Alec Baldwin portrayal stinks. Media rigging election!” From this tweet on Trump has somehow tried to make the phrase “media rigging election” part of his future tweets. In his defense, it could very well be said that the media is “rigging” this year’s election, however he can’t stop the media from doing their job; that being giving the American people news coverage after important events that occur, such as everything that happens to presidential candidates. It’s not like this is the first election in which the news and satirical comedy shows have “attacked” political nominees. SNL in particular is famous for doing such, and that’s what people expect from them. It has become a part of the American culture to do so. Their skits have included other political figures before such as George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Sarah Palin, and plenty more, all during presidential election years, and sometimes at random. Donald Trump is allowed to feel like the show made him look bad, but the argument to that is the show also made fun of Hillary Clinton as well, and they have the right to.
Theoretically if I were these candidates’ advisors, I would tell both of them different advice. For Trump, I would say stay far away from these comedy shows because that gives them an easy gateway for roasting him on their own television platform. Especially after all of his tweets criticizing this kind of media, he’s better off not to interact with them. As for Clinton, I’d say it would be fine to be featured on this kind of television, just as long as she’s careful with how much the show can crack jokes about her. She’s appeared on Saturday Night Live before with Kate McKinnon imitating her and people seemed to really enjoy that kind of comedy. Still, I’d tell her to limit the level of jokes written for the show.
Works Cited
DeleteGoldmacher, Shane. "Will 'Saturday Night Live' take down Trump?" Politico 29 Sept. 2016. Web.
Parker, Ryan. "'South Park' Donald Trump Character Tries to Throw Presidential Debate." The Hollywood Reporter 29 Sept. 2016. Web.
Trump, Donald J. (@realDonaldTrump). “Watched Saturday Night Live hit job on me. Time to retire the boring and unfunny show. Alec Baldwin portrayal stinks. Media rigging election!” October 16, 2016, 7:14 A.M. Tweet.
Between the presidential debates and Trump’s lewd comments about women, comedy programs have a lot of content to work with lately. By constantly saying absurd things and doing “unpresidential” things, Donald Trump makes it very easy for comedians to make fun of him. Particularly after the leaked Access Hollywood tape, Trump is being presented as creepy and sleazy. For example, Samantha Bee fired back at Trump’s “locker room talk” by saying, “"You weren't in a locker room, you sleazy pair of sweatsocks, you were at work" (The Hollywood Reporter Staff). Seth Meyers referred to Trump as the “pervert on the bus” (The Hollywood Reporter Staff). Hillary Clinton is of course presented in a much different way. In the most recent presidential debate skit, Saturday Night Live mocked Clinton for the way she walked over to the first person who asked a question in the town hall debate and how she attempted to bond with that woman. They also presented her as a woman “made of steel” who was not phased by Trump holding a press conference with the Bill Clinton accusers prior to the debate. Comedy programs are presenting her as a more serious and traditional presidential candidate.
ReplyDeleteA Pew study found that “For Americans under 30, these comedy shows are now mentioned almost as frequently as newspapers and evening network news programs as regular sources for election news” (Jones 169). This shows that satirical shows have a large impact on audiences and voters. Satirical shows have had a profound impact on this year’s election, as we continuously see comedy programs getting coverage by journalists. On Sunday, Trump tweeted “Watched Saturday Night Live hit job on me. Time to retire the boring and unfunny show. Alec Baldwin portrayal stinks. Media rigging election” (Stableford). I think this shows that comedians are doing a great job and Trump is a little bitter and offended. I think both Alec Baldwin and Kate McKinnon have done an excellent job impersonating Trump and Clinton. People know that this election is unlike anything we have ever seen before and so people look forward to the satirical shows because not only do they make people laugh, but they also highlight how ridiculous this year’s election is.
Compared to previous elections, I definitely think satirical shows have much more material to work with in the 2016 election. I think one of the most memorable moments from political satire history was when Tina Fey, who was impersonating Sarah Palin, claimed, “I can see Russia from my house” (Goldmacher). I also find it interesting that Al Gore’s advisers made him which political satirists impersonating his stiffness and sighing so that he could understand how poorly he was coming off to others (Goldmacher). I highly doubt Trump’s advisers would ever do that and regardless, he seems to not like political comedy programs.
If I were a campaign consultant, I would definitely recommend Hillary Clinton appear on more comedy shows. “A recurrent claim about young Americans is that they increasingly get more of their news about politics and current events from late-night television comedians than they do from the news media” (Jones 167). By appearing on these comedy shows, Clinton can appeal to younger voters who are more likely to watch late night comedy shows as opposed to nightly newscasts. Within just 24 hours of her appearance on Between Two Ferns With Zach Galifianakis, the video had more than 30 million views (Jarvey). These shows help Clinton present her funnier, lighter and more relatable character to people. However, I would not recommend Donald Trump appear on these shows because he does not deal well with people making fun of him. As we saw with his appearance on Jimmy Fallon’s show, Trump appears stiff, awkward and uncomfortable.
Works Cited:
DeleteGoldmacher, Shane. "Will 'Saturday Night Live' Take down Trump?" POLITICO. N.p., 29 Sept. 2016. Web. 18 Oct. 2016. .
The Hollywood Reporter Staff. "Samantha Bee Eviscerates "Leering Dildos" Donald Trump and Billy Bush, Talks Debate." The Hollywood Reporter. N.p., 11 Oct. 2016. Web. 18 Oct. 2016. .
Jarvey, Natalie. "Hillary Clinton's Appearance on 'Between Two Ferns' Breaks Records for Funny or Die (Exclusive)." The Hollywood Reporter. N.p., 23 Sept. 2016. Web. 18 Oct. 2016. .
Jones, Jeffrey. Entertaining Politics: New Political Television and Civic Culture., 2nd ed Lamham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.
Stableford, Dylan. "Trump Accuses 'SNL' of 'hit Job,' Media of 'rigging Election'" Trump Accuses 'SNL' of 'hit Job,' Media of 'rigging Election' N.p., 16 Oct. 2016. Web. 18 Oct. 2016. .
Donald Trump commenting on how unfunny his portrayal by Alec Baldwin was on SNL makes this the perfect week to talk about comedy and politics. SNL handles presidential parody better than most of the other comedy shows on television. According to John Matviko, SNL was the forefront of presidential satire and comedy, “With the exceptions of monologues by Johnny Carson and Bob Hope, jokes and other types of humor about the president were rarely found on television in the 1970s,” (336). SNL making fun of the elections and the presidency, helped influence a ton of shows to come out in the future that focused directly on politics.
ReplyDeleteI feel like in this year’s election coverage by SNL Trump and Clinton are both catching some heat, but its always in good fun. Trump is portrayed as his orange-faced demagogue; and Clinton is an out of touch robot that the public sees them. The scary part though, is Trump not finding it funny. Every President since Gerald Ford has been the butt of jokes on SNL and they always took it on the chin. In private they may not have liked it, but they never publicly condemned it like Trump did this past week. The most interesting part is that Trump hosted SNL earlier this year! He liked SNL enough to host, but now he doesn’t like it? Add this to the list of inconsistencies by Trump.
If I were advising Trump and Clinton I would get them to do more of these shows. Trump is constantly being talked about as someone who cannot take a joke. There is the rumor that the reason he is running for President is because of how badly he was made fun of at the 2011 White House Correspondents Dinner. Both Seth Meyers and President Obama ridiculed him from saying he might run for President and questioning President Obama’s birth certificate. There is video of Trump not laughing at any of the jokes made at him while the entire room is laughing.
Clinton also needs to do more of these comedy shows. Her biggest critique of her detractors is that she seems nonhuman. The shows where she can be funny like Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis or the late night shows help her seem relatable. She also seems naturally funny on these shows, and shows a side of her that we normally don’t see.
I can remember every day I would get home from school and watch the replay of the previous nights The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. When I watched them I wasn’t choosing a side, I was just watching to laugh at the mistakes both sides of the political ideology made. What I liked about the shows is actually mentioned by Jeffrey Jones, “The Daily Show, therefore, has constructed a narrative, weaving together campaign events to give the viewer insight into the candidates and who they might really be,” (179). I got to hear an opinion on what was going on in the news, election, or whatever was going on and also get a laugh from it. Today with Trevor Noah as host, I still watch the YouTube clips when I’m interested, but I’m not watching religiously as I use to.
Jones, Jeffrey. Entertaining Politics: New Political Television and Civic Culture., 2nd ed Lamham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.
DeleteMatviko, John. "Television Satire and the Presidency," in Hollywood's White House, Peter C. Rollins and John O'Connor, eds. Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Press, 2003: 333 - 348.
Comedy shows could either be hit or miss for candidates; these satirical shows could either help or greatly harm each candidate’s image. Depending on what the show is and what it is making fun of the candidate for, comedy shows could make the candidate appear more dynamic and comical or just simply be a mockery of the candidate.
ReplyDeleteIf I were a campaign consultant, I would recommend for Hillary to make appearances on satirical and comedy shows. I believe that they suit her well and she could use an improvement on the humor aspect. Comedy shows work well for Hillary because she needs a lighthearted show to prove to America that has more of a personality. For instance, her appearance on Between Two Ferns With Zach Galifianakis generated an enormous amount of buzz and caused a myriad of people to talk about how funny Hillary was on his show. It was a bold but very smart move, because it showed that she had a dry sense of humor and was able to handle herself being made fun of.
When Trump appears on satirical shows or is mentioned, it helps Hillary because it highlights his negative characteristics and she appears more qualified. Additionally, when she appears as a guest on a comedy show and they are making fun of Trump, it makes her look stellar; she looks funny and it gives her an opportunity to laugh at Trump and have her audience laugh with her. On the contrary, when Trump makes fun of Hillary, he is typically laughed at and receives eye rolls at his “crooked Hillary” comments. Many people view Trump as a joke as it is, so when he goes on comedy shows, it makes it worse. People laugh at him, not with him.
I would suggest for Trump to take a backseat and avoid comedy or satirical shows. He gets made fun of more and an easy target because of some of what he says and how he says it. After Alec Baldwin’s performance of Trump on Saturday Night Live, which mocked the second Town Hall debate, Trump tweeted, “watched Saturday Night Live hit job on me… Time to retire the boring and unfunny show. Alex Baldwin portrayal stinks. Media rigging election!” (Stableford). It is evident that Trump was displeased with the way Baldwin portrayed him because it was making fun of him and showed people how much of an easy target he is. It could also show the American people that everything Trump says is difficult to take seriously. Throughout the episode, the depiction of Trump’s pacing, tone of voice and hand gestures were made fun of. Additionally, Baldwin’s representation of Trump was extremely accurate; his tone of voice, facial expression and even appearance was on point.
Before the emergence of the famous, Saturday Night Live, presidential satire was rarely prevalent (Matviko 334). Saturday Night Live has become one of the most famous and well-known satirical shows and is viewed by a myriad of people each week. In the past, many presidents have made appearances on SNL and have all had different experiences, both positive and negative for their image. This election is unlike the others, but it has been positive and negative for both candidates. The article, “Will Saturday Night Live take down Trump?” predicted the ways that the cast could critique and slam Trump. The article explained that, “eighty million people watched the debate, 130 million people will vote, 50 million others are still looking for places to get their news, and comedy can fill that gap… maybe it’s going to take comedians to do the job that cable news has relinquished for so much of the campaign” (Goldmacher).
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteWorks Cited
DeleteGoldmacher, Shane. “Will 'Saturday Night Live' take down Trump?” Politico 29 Sept. 2016. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
Jones, Jeffrey. Entertaining Politics: New Political Television and Civic Culture, 2nd ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.
Matviko, John. “Television Satire and the Presidency: The Case of Saturday Night Live,” Peter C. Rollins and John O'Connor, Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Press, 2003: 333-348.
Stableford, Dylan. “Trump Accuses ‘SNL’ of ‘Hit Job,’ Media of ‘Rigging Election’” Yahoo News 16 Oct. 2016. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
Based on the past two debates and constant influx of ridiculous comments from both candidates, comedy programs have a lot of material to work with. SNL seems to be the giant that everyone flocks to, mainly to see Alec Baldwin and Kate McKinnon impersonate Trump and Clinton. It almost seems too easy to make fun of these two. Every week there is a new scandal or disgusting comment that perhaps the writers have to really pick and choice what they want, because there is just so much to mimic and mock. I believe that especially for this election cycle, shows like SNL are there to lighten the serious tone of this period. Although this cycle has been comical at times, like past elections, there have also been really nasty moments that are softened through comedic release. John Matviko’s article “Television Satire and the Presidency: The Case of Saturday Night Live” even mentions that “before SNL, satire, let alone presidential satire, was hard to find on prime-time television” (Matviko 334). Chevy Chase’s portrayal of a “bumbling [Gerald] Ford was more slapstick than satire,” however this form of presidential mockery “would [become] acceptable for late-night television” (Matviko 334). Personally, I’ve always really like it when the president can play along with their portrayal, I think it shows that they have thick enough skin to know that its more for entertainment than anything else. Ford and his press secretary played along with the Chase-Ford bits to show that he could laugh at himself (I think a good quality that the American people look for). However, this can also become a bit much as with the example of the Tiny Fey-Sarah Palin skit, while it was hilarious and spot on at times, it did become a lot, which calls into question if a line is ever crossed.
ReplyDeleteIn Chapter 8, “Fake News vs. Real News: The Case of The Daily Show and CNN” Jones calls The Daily Show fake only in the fact that it “refuses to make claims to authenticity” (Jones 182). However, “its humor offers a means of reestablishing common sense truths to counter the spectacle, ritual, pageantry, artifice, and verbosity that often cloak the powerful” (Jones 183). In the case of our current election there has been a great deal of buzz surrounding Trump’s portrayal on SNL. Dylan Stableford’s article delves into the various skits involving Trump, Clinton and Trump’s wife and children, but also mentions his tweet. Trump said, “Watched Saturday Night Live hit job on me…time to retire the boring and unfunny show. Alec Baldwin portrayal stinks. Media rigging election!” (Stableford). Although these are not uncommon tweets to be said by Trump, they still portray him as being slightly inflexible to the comedic portrayals. His team seems to have embraced this exposure less than Clinton’s. Her appearance on Between Two Ferns, although very dry was good exposure as she thought Obama’s was “funny and effective” and wanted a similar outcome (Jarvey). As for appearance on one of these shows I would suggest that both candidates stick to the softer late night shows rather than SNL at this point. I think it was smart to go on those shows earlier on in the campaign, but now image is important to maintain, as we get closer to Election Day.
Works Cited:
Jarvey, Natalie. "Hillary Clinton's Appearance on 'Between Two Ferns' Breaks Records for Funny or Die." The Hollywood Reporter 23 Sept. 2016. Web.
Jones, Jeffrey. Entertaining Politics: New Political Television and Civic Culture., 2nd ed Lamham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.
Matviko, John. "Television Satire and the Presidency," in Hollywood's White House, Peter C. Rollins and John O'Connor, eds. Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Press, 2003: 333 - 348.
Stableford, Dylan. "Trump Accuses ‘SNL’ of ‘Hit Job,’ Media of ‘Rigging Election.’" Yahoo News 16 Oct. 2016. Web.
As many have said, this election is unlike any other which has created a lot of room for political comedy this election season. Political satire has been going on since the early elections through newspaper ads and continued to grow with the growth of new media, especially late night television. PBS describes late night TV as, “…a field filled with big personalities, larger-than-life late night television comedians and conversationalists who put America to bed each night.” Late night television, being the funny, relaxing ‘goodnight’ to America that it is, has created the perfect space for comedic political discussion.
ReplyDeleteWith more and more people turning to late night TV for political news, it has become a norm for political pundits to appear on shows like Colbert, Fallon and SNL and for these shows to have recurring skits related to the election. This election season has been no different seeing countless banter and skits about the candidates. The majority, if not all, has been bashing Trump. This may be because late night TV and its host have all tended to lean more toward the left, or because Trump’s outlandish personality has left a lot of room for comedic attack. Clinton, on the other hand, has been talked about and seen being portrayed, but not necessarily in a bad way.
Compared to past years, I feel that this election has seen a lot more political satire mainly because the clashing personalities of these candidates has created a lot of discussion and grounds for satire. It also may be due to the fact that the era of Leno, Letterman, and Colbert, has been a trailblazer of political comedy causing it to grow with each election. “In their years on the air, Stewart and his peers David Letterman, Jay Leno and Stephen Colbert have mined the campaign trail for countless punchlines and transformed late-night comedy into a critical arbiter in the political conversation,” (Blake, latimes.com).
The large presence of politics in late night TV (and the continuing influence of social media) has made a huge impact on this election. Maybe its because this is the first election my generation can vote in, but I feel that the use of late night television has gotten so many more young people talking about this election. “A recurrent claim about young Americans is that they increasingly get more of their news about politics and current events from late-night television comedians than they do from the news media,” (Jones 167). It could also have a lot to do with the bizarre candidate dynamic. Basically, I’m trying to say that Trump has created a large impact on late night television, which, in turn, has allowed late night TV to create more of an impact.
If I were a campaign consultant for Clinton, I would tell her to continue to appear on late night television. It has become a normal thing for candidates to do and it has only helped her in the past. Appearing on late night will continue to help her show voters her relaxed, fun side since she has been accused of being dry and boring. Trump, on the other hand, I have mixed feelings about. I feel like him appearing on late night TV could be beneficial, but only if he can be calm, relaxed and learn how to take a joke. However, recent events have shown that he can’t. His comment on the recent SNL skit was unnecessary. If would have just said something along the lines of, “Good one Alec,” it would have showed voters he can be lighthearted. If he can’t learn to go with it, which I don’t think he can, then I would suggest staying away from late night TV.
Blake, Meredith. "How the New Generation of Late-night Hosts Could Affect the Presidential Election." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 22 July 2015. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
DeleteJones, Jeffrey. Entertaining Politics: New Political Television and Civic Culture., 2nd ed Lamham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.
"Late Night TV." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteComedy shows never really highlight the best qualities in a candidate. They mock their character and personality even if they are a nice person they’ll make fun of how nice they are. With this election, however, the criticism of the candidates has definitely been disproportionate. That’s not to say that the media’s bias though. Donald Trump has just given way more ammunition to comedians and comedic journalists. On almost all late night shows they’re making parodies of Trump or criticizing his behavior through comedy. This can definitely affect the campaign because of the young voters. There is a concern that the young voters only get their news from this type of media although, it is proving to be a myth. Even though most of these comedy news shows are fake and exaggerated the doesn’t mean what their saying isn’t untrue. As Jones states, “If the myth of young citizens turning to comedians for news information about politics ends up proving true, then […] the fate of the republic doesn’t seem in jeopardy if a comedy program like The Daily Show is a source for their knowledge of public affairs” (Jones 184). A show that also would be okay to watch is John Oliver because of his journalistic style and his examples of actual facts.
ReplyDeleteThe 2016 election is considered by most to be the scariest and most hateful. This could be why most people are going to comedy news outlets to ease the pain of this election. It wasn’t always this way. Late night shows were not as popular for political news as they are this year. There is so much content generated from each candidate that it is impossible not to cover it. Donald Trump recently criticized Saturday Night Live for rigging the election but, it’s just a comedy show how much power could they have. The truth is they are brutally attacking Trump and Alec Baldwin is flawlessly representing him as a terrible person. This was definitely not expected by his campaign team they believed they would portray him well since he was even a host once. They were very wrong. Basically Trump and Comedy don’t go well together.
If I were advising Trump I would avoid any type of comedic interview or late night talk show. He clearly can’t handle any type of criticism well and if he appears grumpy on a show that’s supposed to be funny it will make him look very bad. As for Hillary she definitely should appear more on these satire shows. She needs to reach those young Bernie voters and maybe coming across as light hearted and humorous will help her case. She handled the Between Two Ferns rather well and that was the most viewed out of any of their previous segments. Overall the satirical shows are playing a big part in this election because they tend to be the most shared and viewed segments. However, it is very difficult to be portrayed in a good light on these shows. They are definitely making what seems to be the worst election ever very comical.
Goldmacher, Shane. “Will 'Saturday Night Live' take down Trump?” Politico 29 Sept. 2016. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
DeleteJarvey, Natalie. "Hillary Clinton's Appearance on 'Between Two Ferns' Breaks Records for Funny or Die." The Hollywood Reporter 23 Sept. 2016. Web.
Jones, Jeffrey. Entertaining Politics: New Political Television and Civic Culture., 2nd ed Lamham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.
Stableford, Dylan. "Trump Accuses ‘SNL’ of ‘Hit Job,’ Media of ‘Rigging Election.’" Yahoo News 16 Oct. 2016. Web.
Every presidential election season there are comedy programs that take the opportunity to make fun of the interesting candidates behind the podiums. Comedy programs have not been any different during this election, in fact, they’ve been given quite the perfect combination of candidates. Each one of them had some kind of weird quirk that made it so easy for comedy programs to think of material. But we can all argue that they were given the greatest gift of all this year… Donald Trump.
ReplyDeleteTrump is a candidate for the books. Between his appearance and his loose lips there’s always something to say about him. Saturday Night Live has made fun of both candidates but something about Alec Baldwin’s Trump impression just gets you. It’s perfect. The impression isn’t just limited to mannerisms and common phrases but it pushes the envelope. The Hollywood Reporter published an article about Baldwin using the controversial tapes as material on the show. The article said, “’Baldwin reprised his impression of Trump, saying that those lewd remarks were because he was ‘trying to look cool.’ Saturday Night Live did not shy away from the recently surfaced audio recordings in which Donald Trump makes rude remarks about women, resulting in a controversy that led several Republican leaders to pull their support” (Konerman). Baldwin, as Trump “added that he'd like to apologize to those offended by his remarks, but ‘more importantly, to the people who were turned on by them, I hear it's really 50/50’” (Konerman). The Trump jokes are all fun and games, or so it seems. These impressions and jokes have more of an affect than just laughs. An article by Politico said, “Historically, SNL’s political satire has penetrated the national consciousness. It was Will Ferrell as George W. Bush who coined ‘strategery,’ not Bush himself. And it was Tina Fey as Sarah Palin who claimed, ‘I can see Russia from my house,’ not Palin” (Goldmacher). The jokes on the comedy shows take hold in the minds of Americans.
The impact these shows are having is probably more than we realize. The constant joking about Trump can truly change the opinion of some people. This is mainly because a lot of people don’t consume traditional news but they watch shows like SNL. The same Politico article said, “’I think SNL — frankly, a lot of the comedy in the country — matters because my kids are in their 20s and they don’t get traditional news,’ said Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat and top Clinton surrogate. ‘They consume news in lots of different places and lots of different ways, and I think one of the persuasive places is a show like SNL’” (Goldmacher). With shows like SNL being so persuasive it’s muddy waters for campaign teams. Having Trump on comedy shows, at this point in the race with its current development, is just not a good idea. I would recommend against it. He has loose lips and not many people think he’s presidential enough so making him more comedic will deter voters from thinking positively about him. He won’t gain any voters from comedy shows, he’ll gain them by talking about the real plans and details of issues. Comedy shows won’t do that.
Works Cited:
Goldmacher, Shane. "Will 'Saturday Night Live' take down Trump?" Politico 29 Sept. 2016. Web.
Konerman, Jennifer. "Alec Baldwin's Trump Addresses Tape Controversy on 'SNL.'" The Hollywood Reporter 9 Oct. 2016. Web.
This presidential campaign has been one for the books. The candidates have been portrayed on all sorts of platforms within comedy series. Both candidates have sought out comedy television series and late night shows to reach audiences and voters. Appearing on comedy and satire shows gives the candidates an opportunity to soften their image, and appeal to younger voters. Portrayal wise, I believe some channels like NBC are pretty biased. My political views completely coincide with theirs, but for instance, Saturday Night Live, although very funny, portrays Trump in a much more negative tone than Clinton is portrayed. Since the past couple episodes of Saturday Night Live, Trump has publically claimed he does not appreciate how he is being portrayed on the show, and wants the show to be canceled. But then again they (SNL) really are just using Trump’s exact words and actions. Politicians have been using these platforms to appeal to younger audiences. Now-a-days, young Americans consume their news and political news from social media, television, and late night comedy series. Jeffrey Jones states: “A recurrent claim about young Americans is that they increasingly get more of their news about politics and current events from late-night television comedians than they do from the news media (Jones,167). The impact that these comedy shows have on this year’s election I believe is pretty crucial to voters. These series allows voters like myself to see the candidates in a different perspective
ReplyDelete(continued) Trump appeared on SNL dancing to Drake’s “Hotline Bling” which was hysterical. It lightened his image, and appealed to his target audience. On the other hand, just last week SNL portrayed Trump as being a creep on the second debate. Clinton has been portrayed I think most commonly on SNL. At first, not in the best light, when a skit was created that she basically adapted to all of Bernie Sander’s views so the skit portrayed her as literally becoming Bernie. Although it was funny, I think it negatively impacted her campaign, because she was trying everything she could to attract his supporters. But recently, SNL has been portraying Clinton pretty much as the more “sane” candidate. Her portrayal on “Between Two Fern’s” allowed her to humanize her image to audiences who think she is too robotic. Compared to previous campaigns, I believe this year’s campaign makes fun of the candidates more than allowing them to portray themselves. Previous campaigns and television appearences like Nixon, who appeared on “Laugh-In” in 1968, had a funnier and more genuine appeal to it, instead of just making fun of the candidate. If I were a campaign consultant, I would highly encourage my candidate to appear on these shows, in order to help with their image. Appearing on these shows will allow the candidate to appeal to more voters than they normally would, by seeking out younger audiences
ReplyDeleteWork Cited:
ReplyDeleteJones, Jeffrey. Entertaining Politics: New Political Television and Civic Culture., 2nd ed Lamham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteJones, Jeffrey. Entertaining Politics: New Political Television and Civic Culture., 2nd ed Lamham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.
DeleteTucker, Ken. "Colbert Uses a Pussycat to Hit Trump." [Video]. N.p., 10 Oct. 2016. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
Stableford, Dylan. "Trump Accuses ‘SNL’ of ‘Hit Job,’ Media of ‘Rigging Election.’" Yahoo News 16 Oct. 2016. Web.
DeleteLate- night satirical shows like The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Saturday Night Live, and Late Night with Seth Meyers have been having a field day creating sketches and talking points surrounding the presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. But, the fairness of coverage is obviously skewed. Hillary Clinton has definitely been getting the better half of coverage and Donald Trump has been getting ripped to shreds by different casts and hosts. Yet again there is no rulebook on how these shows or hosts should conduct their coverage as the candidates give them plenty to work with and the producers on their show want to cover the best and worst of the election.
I feel these shows do have a large impact with voters. Besides making citizens laugh, the shows candidate portrayal can influence undecided voters like millennials who rely heavily on news that isn’t hard news like Fox or ABC. Entertaining Politics says that “47 percent of people under thirty years old were, “informed at least occasionally” about the campaign through late-night talk shows” (Jones 167). By these shows having a large following and many eyes tune in each week to see what crazy shenanigans the writers have come up with, this draws more attention to the candidate making them even more popular in ways we haven’t seen before in past election cycles. When the candidates are on the shows they can get attention, re-introduce themselves to voters, or show they can have some fun. While we have seen Trump and Clinton let loose, the biggest success story from letting loose was when Bill Clinton went on the Arsenio Hall show in 1992. He played the sax on the show, which set him apart from his opponents. We haven’t seen the candidates have fun in this capacity. Maybe Hillary Clinton a little bit when she shimmied in her seat showing us her debate moves on Ellen. Overall, this election has the most satire we have seen.
Yesterday in my Communications Law and Policy class we watched the Town Hall Debate SNL cold open. This skit was hilariously spoofed and poked fun at both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, yet when you watch it Trump received more for the brunt. Trump who is very upset tweeted, “Watched Saturday Night Live hit job on me. Time to retire the boring and unfunny show. Alec Baldwin portrayal stinks. Media rigging election”(Stableford). While I don’t think this was the best move on Trump’s part, I do see where he is coming from. Trump messed up big time with his “locker room talk,” but Clinton has some skeletons in her closet and you don’t see the late-night hosts making light and cracking jokes about that. So I think the coverage is biased. When Trump was on Colbert, he threw a pussycat doll at Trump. This was in relation to his lewd comments on woman (Tucker). We don’t see Colbert doing this with Clinton.
If I were a campaign manager for Clinton or Trump, I would recommend that Clinton continue to appear on daytime and nighttime talk shows. She seems to be getting more comfortable the more times she is on these shows especially with Ellen. For Trump, with everything going on, I would advise him to stay off the circuit. The last thing Trump needs is to say something stupid, people take what he said the wrong way, and now they have more content and drive to make fun of him.
This years debate has definitely been one for the books. The candidates behavior gives comedy shows like SNL an abundance of rich material to work with. I think the the way comedy shows have been portraying the candidates are by feeding into the stereotypes of each candidate. On SNL they've portrayed Trump to seem even more incompetent than he already is. For example, after the second debate, SNL did another skit with Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump, "In a cold open sketch about those tapes, talking to Cecily Strong, who appeared as a news anchor covering the controversy. 'Are you not entertained?' said Baldwin. 'I would like to take this time to formally ap—ologize,' he said, mispronouncing the word 'apologize' and constantly trying to change the subject" (Konerman). Not only does this take a dig at Trump for the tapes, the way Baldwin says the word "apologize" alludes to the fact that Trump said he doesn't apologize. SNL is one of the biggest comedy shows that pry's on each candidates stereotypes but still holding true to what actually happened.
ReplyDeleteThese days, most millennial voters get their info from late night television, "A recurrent claim about young Americas is that they increasingly get more of their news about politics and current events from late-night television comedians than they do from the news media" (Jones 167). This is both good and bad. Good because at least they're sort of involved in the political discussion. However, it's also bad because these comedy shows paint the candidates in almost their worst state you could say. Shows like SNL and South Park make fun of the candidates and their behaviors. In South Park, they referred to the candidates as "Hillary Clinton (referred to as 'Turd Sandwich') and the show's Donald Trump character represented by Mr. Garrison (referred to as 'Giant Douche')" (Parker). While these names are obviously meant to be funny, if young people only get their information about the election from these shows, then the information they're getting is only negative about the candidates which will make it hard for them to cast a vote based on fact.
Compared to other elections, I think SNL in particular has done a good job at keeping true to themselves. In November of 1975, SNL did a skit that had Chevy Chase as president Gerald Ford, "Chase's imitation of a bumbling Ford was more slapstick than satire; the audience's laughter and the later success of the show ensure, however, that making fun of presidents-weather by slapstick, parody, or satire- would be acceptable for late-night television" (Matviko 334). I think it's important that we can humanize these candidates. It makes them seem more personable.
If I were a campaign consultant, I would 100% tell my candidate, especially if it's Hillary Clinton to go on these shows. It shows the public that they can be down to earth and make fun of themselves too. Being able to make fun of yourself is such an important skill to have in life because you have to be able to take a joke here and there. Having candidates on these shows I think makes them more human rather than a presidential candidate. Also, it will allow the young voters who watch these shows to get a better sense of who each candidate is. Hillary Clinton has this reputation of being a stick in the mud and a strict rule follower. By having her on let's say, SNL, it shows she can be fun, carefree, and outgoing which I think is just as important as being presidential.
DiModugno Cont'd
DeleteWorks Cited:
Jones, Jeffrey. Entertaining Politics: New Political Television and Civic Culture., 2nd ed Lamham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.
Matviko, John. "Television Satire and the Presidency," in Hollywood's White House, Peter C. Rollins and John O'Connor, eds. Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Press, 2003: 333 - 348.
Parker, Ryan. "'South Park' Donald Trump Character Tries to Throw Presidential Debate." The Hollywood Reporter 29 Sept. 2016. Web.
Konerman, Jennifer. "Donald Trump's Performance Compared to Alec Baldwin's 'SNL' Impression." The Hollywood Reporter 9 Oct. 2016. Web.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteComedy shows have proven to be a major part of presidential elections not only in the 2016 elections but also throughout the history. Just like all other components to presidential elections, comedy shows bring a different tone to the elections: one that might look trivial but should never be taken lightly. While they add a comical sense to the candidates, they also play a part in raising awareness among voters and having an impact on election results. “Historically, [comedy shows like] SNL’s political satire has penetrated the national consciousness.” The importance of comedy programs in elections is best understood when we see their influence in swaying votes through their portrayal of candidates.
ReplyDeleteHillary Clinton and Donald Trump’s appearance on comedy programs have been majorly different from their portrayal at rallies and conventions, and this has added to their persona, which is an undeniably fundamental component that a qualified presidential candidate will embody.
Shows like Saturday Night Live have done a tremendous job throughout the elections in adding a comical and satirical tone to America’s most important democratic choice. Through their portrayal of candidates in a comical sense, they’ve brought a lighter approach that more people can relate to than usual. In these elections, Donald Trump was undoubtedly the candidate that gave the comedy shows the most substance. His presentation in these shows hasn’t necessarily been “presidential” or even in a positive light. Considering how stern Trump has been as a candidate, these portrayals bring a new perspective on his campaign. And it seems to be the same case with Hillary Clinton’s portrayals on comedy programs. Her candidacy has generally been perceived as “too official” often being called boring and scripted. Kate McKinnon’s portrayal of her has brought a lighter approach to how she is viewed. These programs have certainly changed the way that voters look at the candidates, but not always in a good way. I think that Clinton’s presentation generally attracted a new demographic towards her campaign, one that she was struggling to win over. Her appearance in Between Two Ferns with Galifianakis created enormous appeal among young voters and went viral – viewed 30 million times in its first 24 hours. This undoubtedly swayed some of the young voters, people that previously found Clinton too stiff and not as relatable as Bernie to at least start considering casting a vote for her. As Jeffrey Jones points out, the reach that comedy shows have on young voters is one that no other media channel can attain. “For Americans under 30 these comedy shows are now mentioned almost as frequently as newspapers and evening network news programs as regular sources for election news.” (Jones, 169) As Clinton’s adviser, I would make sure that she pushes forward with her appearances in comedy programs and takes full advantage of other programs’ portrayals of her, as these shows help her appear more relatable and down to earth – something her campaign definitely needs to achieve.
Considering Trump’s portrayal in comedy programs, I don’t believe that it has helped his campaign in terms of creating a positive image in voters minds. He as a candidate and as a person portrays a campaign that fails to be positively comical when made fun of, mostly because of the fact that he has probably said the same things –and worse – in real context. This makes it very hard for voters to sway voters towards Trump when they see Alec Baldwin’s impression of him and it is too real to be funny anymore. When asked about Trump on Between Two Ferns, Mike Farah, the CEO of Funny or Die responds, “I don't know if Trump has the temperament to take that abuse” which sums up Trump’s overall success with comedy programs.
If I were an advisor to Trump, I would limit his appearances in comedy programs, because while these shows end up being hilarious, which works out for the host and the producers; they fail to bring the campaign closer to its goals which is getting more votes.
Works Cited
DeleteGoldmacher, Shane. "Will 'Saturday Night Live' Take down Trump?" POLITICO. N.p., 29 Sept. 2016. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
Jarvey, Natalie. "Hillary Clinton's Appearance on 'Between Two Ferns' Breaks Records for Funny or Die (Exclusive)." The Hollywood Reporter. N.p., 23 Sept. 2016. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
Jones, Jeffrey. Entertaining Politics: New Political Television and Civic Culture., 2nd ed Lamham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.
Comedy programs during election season gives voters and viewers a sense of comic relief during a turbulent time that can shape the course of the country’s history. Comedians and Late-Night shows have, especially, taken advantage of Donald Trump because of his character, demeanor and the fact that he is not a career politician. Hillary Clinton does not receive a free pass, however. She has portrayed for many years on comedy television that she even participated in an SNL skit about herself with Kate McKinnon. Comedy satire news shows like The Daily Show, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee and (formerly) The Colbert Show have all served to impact younger voters and voters who aren’t as politically involved. Candidates that have the chance to be apart of a comedy skit or a satire news show can greatly help the younger demographic and help soften their tough, political character.
ReplyDeleteThis year’s election has given comedians a lot of content to work with because of the unique nature of this campaign. There’s a lot of negativity surrounding the skits and monologues of comedians in regards to Donald Trump, granted he did set himself up for that. While comedians poking fun at Hillary Clinton has played the narrative of her having won the election, since last year on SNL. With SNL having started its season again two weekends ago, they’ve successfully created skits that have collectively poked fun at, not only, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton but their families, Bernie Sanders, and KellyAnne Conway. It will be interesting to see how SNL will continue to create skits as the election starts to heat up with the last debate. As for satirical news shows like The Daily Show and Full Frontal, if Donald Trump can take a liking to be on one of those shows for just 5-10 minutes, it may soften him just a little bit. He may not want to, as he hasn’t taken a liking to Alec Baldwin’s spot-on impersonation of him, and has appeared on SNL last season (Stableford).
Compared to other elections, what makes this year different is the new set of shows we have this year. We no longer have The Colbert Report and The Daily Show with John Stewart, which greatly impacted younger voters perspectives on the election and the candidates. This year with have The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, a South African comedian with a different interpretation of American politics, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, a British man who is not afraid to criticize American politics, and Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, a sharp-witted female comedian in a genre dominated by men. It’s too early to tell whether or not they are having an impact on the election, but it’s safe to say Samantha Bee and John Oliver has been doing well while Trevor Noah has not (viewership is down 37%) (Cuccinello). It will be interesting to see if any of the new satirical shows will get as heavy of a following as John Steward or Stephen Colbert received with their Faux News tactics and the special relationship they had with their audiences as described by Jeffry Jones in Entertaining Politics: New Political Television and Civic Culture.
As the election comes around, both candidates should take the opportunity to be on these comedy shows to soften themselves. It would be very beneficial to see comedic relief among the candidates and it may reflect in their polling results in some states. Once again, Donald Trump should definitely try to take part in this as he has not been having good weeks in the polls and in popularity.
Cuccinello, Haylkey. "Trevor Noah's 'Daily Show' Reaches 100th Episode, But Noah
DeleteIs Still Struggling." Forbes.com. Forbes, 28 Apr. 2016. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
Jones, Jeffrey. Entertaining Politics: New Political Television and Civic Culture., 2nd
ed Lamham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.
Stableford, Dylan. "Trump Accuses ‘SNL’ of ‘Hit Job,’ Media of ‘Rigging Election’."
Yahoo. Yahoo News, 16 Oct. 2016. Web.
ReplyDeleteComedy programs have been very reflective of a large base of voters this election cycle as they depict both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as undesirable leaders of the United States who are more a reflection of the issues with our electoral process in the US than a reflection of the values and beliefs of the American people. By the very nature of comedy these satirical shows point out flaws in candidates and provide a little bit of healthy skepticism, but this election has been making the job of staff writers everywhere a little bit easier. For instance, the show South Park which has become an institution in comedy as a result of its striking social commentary and quick production time for episodes has had to take some different approaches to social commentary than what the show has done prior. South Park typically goes the absurdist route when mocking public figures; creating heightened, caricature-esque versions of the most notable celebrities. This season the show took the character of Mr. Garrison, the boy’s former third grade teacher, and put him in the role of Trump running against Hillary Clinton. The two candidates are referred to as Giant Douche (Garrison) and Turd Sandwich (Clinton) as a reference to an episode mocking the 2004 election between George Bush and John Kerry. (Parker) The episode pokes fun at the American voters as it shows them being overly enthusiastic about two unlikeable candidates in a manner that resembles the shows coverage of the 2008 election. In that episode the people of America were shown believing that the world had permanently changed for the better after Barack Obama’s “Hope” campaign carried him to the Whitehouse. South Park’s take on this election seems to be pretty consistent with what other comedy shows have been doing with this election. This is particularly the case with SNL, which has been painting Trump to be just as incompetent as Hillary is willing to say anything to seem likeable enough to get elected. These sorts of depictions do have truth behind them and they provide context for all the campaign spin in an election. Comedy programs have the ability to, in the words of J. Jones, “[show] the high levels of spin and rhetoric produced by the candidates and their campaigns, then offering humorous retorts that cut to the heart of the matter.” (Jones 168) It is for that very reason that I do not think that either candidate should appear on more satirical comedy shows. There is just too potentially harmful news that could come out at any time for either candidate, and a satirical show could potentially tear either candidate apart, and at this stage in the election something like that could lead to a snowball effect of bad press that either candidate cannot afford.
Work Cited:
Jones, Jeffrey. Entertaining Politics: New Political Television and Civic Culture., 2nd ed Lamham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.
Parker, Ryan. "'South Park' Donald Trump Character Tries to Throw Presidential Debate." The Hollywood Reporter 29 Sept. 2016. Web.
Works Cited
ReplyDeleteJones, Jeffrey. Entertaining Politics: New Political Television and Civic Culture. 2nd ed Lamham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.
James Conway
ReplyDelete10/17/2016
Political Communication Blog
For months now, people all across the nation have been using the word “joke” when referring to this year’s Presidential election. Part of the reason why is because for nearly the entire election season, every major candidate has been portrayed on a comedy show in one way or another. With two of the most hated candidates of all-time leading the ticket, these comedy shows have only ramped up their attacks as election day approaches. One of my favorite comedy shows is South Park because week in and week out, the writers use current issues or scandals in their episodes with under a week of preparation. As one can imagine, this year has been no different. This season, the character playing Donald Trump is seen time and time again trying to give the election to Clinton. He continuously reminds his supporters how unqualified he is or how much of a jerk he is, but they only cheer louder and louder. Even when he says “I seriously hate all of you so much”, the crowd goes crazy. Clinton, like in many other comedic shows, has been portrayed as the candidate that is the lesser of two evils. South Park really only attacks the fact that her responses are so robotic. When the character playing Trump is discrediting his own campaign, the Clinton character says the same thing over and over and over again: “My opponent is a liar and cannot be trusted.” This, of course, is much to the dismay of the character playing Trump.
Another form of comedy that is very involved in the election season is the night shows hosted by young, recognizable celebrities, who often times, lean very democratic in politics. These show are important because they attract a whole separate audience. As Jones mentions on page 167, the young, progressive students watching these programs are extremely unlikely to get their news from traditional news outlets such as Fox News or MSNBC (Jones, 167). A big topic of conversation for these comedic talk shows recently has been the ongoing scandal with Donald Trump after the release of heinous audio tapes from 2005. To absolutely no one’s surprise, Seth Myers, Trevor Noah and Jordan Klepper all went right for Donald Trump’s throat. “Who would’ve thought the guy who said he forces himself on women, actually forces himself on women?”, Noah said. (Trevor Noah, The Hollywood Reporter, 1)
In terms of comparing this election season to previous campaigns, I believe that this election is just the exaggerated version of the last three elections we have had. Bush, Romney and McCain all had qualities that were easily attackable. Bush came off as a little stupid sometimes, McCain had poor public speaking skills and health questions, and Romney has the eyes of Satan, but NONE of these candidates have ever provided the media and comedians with as much material as Donald Trump. Sure, a lot of this has to do with him being pretty damn hated prior to even running for President but not all of it. In terms of the democrats, it’s the same thing. Obama was a newcomer, Al Gore was egotistical and Bill Clinton had a dark history of sexual assault allegations, but when people hear the name Hillary Clinton, often times they connect that with the death of Americans. It is so overblown and ridiculous to single handedly blame Clinton for Benghazi but that is how right wing media has portrayed the situation for years. The last three candidates for both major parties, not including this year’s, have all been depicted in South Park and judged by nightly talk show hosts, yet none as consistently as the two candidates we have today. It is literally the only thing they have to talk about since the nation is so enthralled by this campaign season.
DeleteIf I am Trump’s campaign advisor, I am keeping him so far from the comedic shows to the point where I would make sure he wouldn’t even watch them. The last thing he needs at this point is to start attacking fan favorites Seth Myers or John Oliver. Not only that, but they would press him far harder than any other host that had interviewed him to date. If Trump can’t even go on Bill O’Reilly without hurting himself, I seriously can’t imagine him surviving an interview with anyone along the lines of Noah, Oliver or Colbert. They would all LOVE for him to go on as they would go viral for absolutely tearing him to shreds. If I am Clinton’s campaign advisor, I am telling her the exact opposite. Her team has done a fantastic job at only putting her in situations that could help her and set her up with softball questions. This has probably been because nearly everyone wants to feed her these questions so she can beat Trump! Trump can talk about the media rigging the election all he wants but it’s a battle he doesn’t want. The media is important, especially in this day and age, and it would be very hard to win an election without them on one’s side regardless of the candidate. With all that Clinton has been accused of, being known as the lesser of two evils is actually extremely helpful. In another election with a more traditional opponent, Clinton could have been in real trouble had her opponent’s track record made her the worse of two evils.
Bibliography:
- Jones, Jeffrey. Entertaining Politics: New Political Television and Civic Culture., 2nd ed Lamham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.
- Parker, Ryan. "'South Park' Donald Trump Character Tries to Throw Presidential Debate." The Hollywood Reporter 29 Sept. 2016. Web.
- "Seth Meyers, Trevor Noah Take on Donald Trump, Supporters' Response to Sexual Assault Allegations." The Hollywood Reporter 14 Oct. 2016. Web.
The media loves this year’s election fiasco – it has provided them with countless stories, almost generating every day since prior to the primaries. Similarly, late-night comedy shows are having a ball with all the material the two candidates, their parties, and the public are providing. Hollywood and media alike are historically extremely leftist and that is very showing in their portrayal of the two. The bulk of insults and jokes have been fired in the direction of the Trump camp [while simultaneously ignoring many anti-Dem topics]. So far, almost all impersonations of Donald Trump on late-night comedy shows have been especially funny. On Saturday, when I watched the SNL introduction with Alec Baldwin impersonating Trump – I lost it. The portrayal of Trump as the shark in Jaws was very witty – albeit, maybe a little exaggerated. Of course Trump did not feel the same way, tweeting twice: “Watched Saturday Night Live hit job on me. Time to retire the boring and unfunny show. Alec Baldwin portrayal stinks. Media rigging election!” (@realDonaldTrump). Similarly, Kate McKinnon’s impersonation of Hillary was hysterical: “I’d like to begin tonight by attempting a casual lean.” Absorbing the media: it is clear Trump is the objective, not Clinton. Jimmy Fallon received much backlash for focusing on comedy, rather than blackballing, when interviewing Trump. Inversely, when Clinton was on Jimmy Kimmel – she was not pressed about any issues – rather, she simply read off statements by Trump and tried to hold her composure. Every late-night comedy is making joke after joke off comments Trump made 11 years ago and his overall “meanness,” but neglecting to ask Clinton, “Are you a truthful person, yes or no”?
ReplyDeleteThese informal skits do play a part in shaping the way the public views an issue. Colbert when referring to his own personal views in a segment about Trump, end his statement with, “Don’t worry, everyone’s nervous.” It is the broad voice that these individual’s carry that force a topic to be viewed differently [in their stance]. Ted Koppel, an anchor for ABC, claimed: "A lot of television viewers, more, quite frankly, than I'm comfortable wit, get their news from the comedy channel on a program called The Daily Show" (Jones 8.2). The mantra claims that decided voters will be unmoved; meanwhile undecided voters will be prone to having their ideas on certain topics altered. The way celebrities and popular personalities express their views is very closely related to the manner in which the public absorbs these positions on varying items. In the past, SNL has done sketches about the Obama/Romney debates and played on their mannerisms and poked fun at their characteristics. SNL has also poked fun at the Biden/Ryan debates – and no one will ever forget Will Ferrell’s hilarious display of George W. Bush. In the past, it all seemed to be an equal game where everyone made fun of everybody else. This election cycle, on the other hand, is really highlighting the deeply embedded polarity that exists among media in general.
DeleteIf I were a campaign consultant or strategist, I would give the two candidates varying pieces of advice. For Trump, I retract previous comments and now believe he is best to stay away from them. Not to whine but it is not a level playing field in comparison. For Clinton, I would definitely recommend that she continue to go on talk shows and late-night comedies. Thus far, she is still not very likeable and going on future shows will only boost her likability.
Works Cited
DeleteJones, Jeffrey. Entertaining Politics: New Political Television and Civic Culture. 2nd ed Lamham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.
In recent years, political satire shows have exploded in popularity. In fact, Jon Stewart’s “The Daily show” and “The Colbert Report” were the two most-watched talk shows among 18- to 49- year-olds in the first quarter of 2013 (Thai). This is even backed up by Jones, who claims “a recurrent claim about young Americans is that they increasingly get more of their news about politics and current events from late-night television comedians than they do from news media” (Jones 167). With this kind of exposure, political satire can play a fairly significant cultural role during elections. Well-executed comedy can help us think deeply about the world while softening the sting of self-criticism with a laugh (Hope). If one thing is clear, it’s that satire has made politics more accessible, leading to more informed viewers who have the potential to form more educated opinions and discuss those views with others (Thai).
ReplyDeleteOne comedy program in particular that stands out this election is Saturday Night Live. Throughout the election process, SNL has been doing political comedy skits and impersonations of the candidates. Kate McKinnon plays Hilary Clinton and Alec Baldwin plays as Donald Trump. The portrayal of Donald Trump on SNL has been particularly rough. Alec Baldwin and the SNL writers had portrayed Trump as self-serving and ignorant, such as in their “town hall” skit where a black man asks him a question and “Trump” responds by calling him “Denzel” and talks about the inner cities. The portrayal of Clinton is also very critical, exaggerating her unnatural mannerisms such as when “Clinton” walks over to the first questioner “just as she practiced” in the “town hall” skit.
In the 2012 debate, SNL did similar skits involving the presidential candidates. In the 2012 “town hall” skit, SNL portrayed Romney as an arrogant rich man, such as when “Romney” claimed that he pays his cats $400,000 (which is the president’s salary). In general, SNL made Obama and Romney seem like sworn enemies who are always trying to pick fights with each other. In 2004, the website JibJab created a viral cartoon in which candidates George Bush and John Kerry where immaturely traded insults to the tune of The Land Is Your Land, which was scene by millions of people (Poremba).
If I were Donald Trump’s campaign consultant, I’d be very hesitant on what shows he would appear on. Given his temperament as well as the scandals he recently has been involved with, Trump is an extremely easy target for comedians. I feel as though Trump would run the risk of seriously embarrassing himself if he were to appear on such shows. In addition, I don’t think him appearing on comedy shows would make him more appealing to voters. On the other hand, if I were Hilary Clinton’s consultant, I would have her continue to appear on comedy shows. Clinton, at first, was someone who seemed bland and stiff to the public, and her appearances on “Between Two Ferns” and SNL made her more palatable. In her circumstance, showing the ability to laugh at herself has made her more likable, so I would have her continue to make comedy show appearances.
Works Cited
Hope, Sarah. "The Best Political Satire of Election 2016 (so Far)." Syracuse New Times. Syracuse, 16 May 2016. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
Jones, Jeffrey. Entertaining Politics: New Political Television and Civic Culture., 2nd ed Lamham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.
Poremba, Sue Marquette. "Probing Question: How Old Is Political Satire? | Penn State University." Probing Question: How Old Is Political Satire? | Penn State University. N.p., 20 June 2008. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
Thai, Anthony. "Political Satire: Beyond the Humor | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson." Political Satire: Beyond the Humor | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson. Harvard, 6 Feb. 2014. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
In this election cycle, the way that the presidential candidates have been presented on comedy programs has varied depending on context of what is going on in the campaign. Almost one year ago, Donald Trump was on every late night comedy show. Including The Tonight Show, The Late Show, and even Saturday Night Live as a host. During this time, Trump got a lot of softball questions and was not exactly put on the chopping block by many of the hosts. Jimmy Fallon messed up Trump’s hair and SNL wrote him a nice light monologue. This was before the campaign really heated up the way it has and before Trump and Clinton won their respective party nominations. In the last six months or so, Trump has not made an appearance on any of these shows given the controversial nature of many of the things he has said leading up to the election. These days, Trump is ridiculed mercilessly by every comedy show on the spectrum. A few of the hosts of these shows including those of Late Night, The Late Show, and Last Week Tonight have even taken segments of their show to not make jokes and instead make genuinely serious remarks about candidates and this election cycle (Howard).
ReplyDeleteEven though these political comedy has been on the rise this election cycle in particular, I don’t think many of these satirical shows have as much of an impact on this election or past election as people might think it does. The viewing audience for most of these satirical shows are millennials and as everybody knows, young people vote less than pretty much every major demographic. So, despite however many millions of people watch these shows and are impacted by them on an ideological level, it really does not have an impact on the election unless they actually vote in it (McClennan). If I were a campaign consultant, I would recommend to a candidate that he or she go on one of these shows. Despite the fact that a pretty sizable percentage of people watching are probably not going to vote, there is nothing wrong with some free airtime and most hosts of those shows do not ask really hard hitting questions. They are going to make you look good by throwing softball questions to you. Many of which are prepared ahead of time in the pre interview behind the scenes with producers and publicists.
Work Cited:
Howard, Adam. "Trump Is No Laughing Matter to Some Late Night Comics." NBC News. N.p., 3 Aug. 2016. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
McClennen, Sophia A. "Does Satire News Influence Elections?" The Huffington Post. N.p., 31 Oct. 2014. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
Over the course of this election cycle there has been a massive amount of satirical and comedic content. With the public perceptions of both candidates being fairly negative, comedians and talk show hosts have fed off of this negativity in order to create content that the majority of viewers enjoy. While this coverage started out relatively neutral, it has gradually grown more and more negative against Donald Trump. In the past few weeks, Trump has been hammered over his sexual misconduct and overall loss of composure. Trevor Noah and Seth Meyers both recently went on the attack against Trump on their respective talk shows. With Myers comparing him to a “wounded badger at the end of a three-day coke binge", and Noah emphasizing that Trump is a “sexual predator” (THR Staff). Their extremely negative coverage of Trump reflects poorly on his campaign as a whole, and brings even more attention to issues which Trump desperately wants to draw attention away from. This is also exposing political content to an audience that otherwise may not be very invested in the election. This could either work to a candidate’s advantage or disadvantage; earlier in the election cycle both of them made appearances on talk shows and other program, enjoying the free exposure it got them. Last month Trump allowed Fallon to mess up his famous hair, in the most notable of a variety of television appearances. He seemed relatively calm and collected during all of this, however recent times have definitely challenged his temper. Following SNL’s depiction of the second debate, Trump’s twitter rant revealed just how unhappy he is with his portrayal in comedy. By accusing the media of “rigging” the election, Trump somewhat attempted to distance himself from the controversies that SNL keeps on bringing up (Stableford).
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the day, comedians care about getting views and entertaining their audience. They will hop on anything to take jabs at either candidate. While writing about talk shows, Jeffery Jones quotes Colbert in saying “the talk show host must create a special relationship to his audience, binding them together in an agreement and shared feelings, garnering their trust by flattering and seducing them, and then joining together to attack their common enemies or perceived opposition” (Jones). Recently there is no doubt that Trump has become the common enemy. This election is more polarizing than almost any election in history, and Trump’s actions and allegations are unprecedented. This makes him a much easier target for the comedians, and makes comedy as a whole much more relevant in the elections. Given the treatment he has been getting lately, there is no way a competent campaign manager would let Trump anywhere near a comedy show. He would be torn apart by the host and be at the receiving end of a variety of damaging jokes. Clinton meanwhile has been much more successful with comedy. For example, during her appearance on Between Two Ferns she was able to make light of many of the issues which Republicans have hammered her over, especially her health and her emails. This appearance was extremely popular, and broke records for its producer Funny or Die (Jarvey). As the comedians continue to have a strong anti-Trump attitude it would be smart for Clinton to appear on some of their shows. She can get exposure, damage Trump, and record some good sound bites that will circulate on social media.
Jarvey, Natalie. "Hillary Clinton's Appearance on 'Between Two Ferns' Breaks Records for Funny or Die." The Hollywood Reporter 23 Sept. 2016. Web.
DeleteJones, Jeffrey. Entertaining Politics: New Political Television and Civic Culture., 2nd ed Lamham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.
Stableford, Dylan. "Trump Accuses ‘SNL’ of ‘Hit Job,’ Media of ‘Rigging Election.’" Yahoo News 16 Oct. 2016. Web.
The Hollywood Reporter Staff. "Seth Meyers, Trevor Noah Take on Donald Trump, Supporters' Response to Sexual Assault Allegations" The Hollywood Reporter. N.p., 11 Oct. 2016. Web. 18 Oct. 2016. .