Since today is Sunday, I bet everyone has already watched, and is now laughing at Tina Fey’s latest impression of Sarah Palin. Discussions have been had over Sunday dinners as to who is better, the person impersonating Obama, or McCain. Comments will be had as to how Jon Stewart did in his comedic recap of the vice presidential debates last week, and Conan will have made one ( or one hundred) jokes at some candidates expense. But has anyone stopped to question, when did politics become a laughing matter?
At least Palin can take a joke. Recently, she reacted positively to Tina Fey’s portrayl of her in Saturday Night Live. http://omg.yahoo.com/news/sarah-palin-responds-to-tina-feys-snl-spoof/13137 So if she can laugh it off, why does political comedy have so many critics? While it isn’t news that any public figure can become comedic fodder, what is it about politicians that get the country so wrapped up, and in a sense brings us all together with laughter? And how potentially dangerous is it that mass media consumers could base their votes on jokes?
According to Chapter 2, Rethinking Civic Engagement in the Age of Popular Culture, political scientist Norman Nie is quoted saying, “ If citizens are home watching television or its future counterpart, they can not be out participating in politics.” How true is this statement? With the flooding of political information found in television these days ( and popularly in a comedic manner) does it go to say that those who engage in political humor are not engaging in politics? How can one divide a media category, from a genre.
While the integral part television plays in most peoples everyday lives is apparent, is it a horrible notion that politics is being incorporated into peoples daily doses of entertainment? I like to think that if comedy is an aid into getting people to think politically – then more power to it!
Pundit television should also be given attention in terms of “irresponsible” political media. Defined in Chapter 3 as, “having grown from the roots of journalism, in particular the practices of interviewing and op-ed writing” ( 28 ) pundit tv is not comedic television, it is still also essential to following the latest news in politics/campaigns. It also should be scrutinized equally to comedic broadcasts, as a lot presented in pundit tv is opinion, or bias.
Chapter 3 states that, “ The local and national broadcast and cable news is also decifient, offering “news” that is manipulative, trivial, and fatuous, so much that reporters have turned reporting into entertainment.” ( 52) I disagree.
What is wrong with that? It is my belief that people are not stupid my nature. One can know very well the difference between comedy, exaggeration, and fact. With these three distinctive definitions in mind, one is then enabled to make educated decisions.
Anyone that will base their vote upon something Jon Stweart made fun of needs to do a lot more than just watch the news. In a still semi-politically apathetic environment – If it takes a few laughs and jokes ( in good faith) to get people interested or involved, I see nothing wrong. In fact, I can not wait until the next SNL episode.
The conclusion in chapter 9 states that “ Reliable information in this era of hyper reality is hard to establish and new political television programs ( through both humor and serious discussions) are just as involved in trying to establish knowledge from what is true and accurate as any other televisual construction of reality.” ( 192) That is all it really comes down to, breaking down fact from fiction, humor from reality, and taking it all from there.
It is true that we live in an age where politics is entertaining. But it is still strange when, all things considered, politics are entertainment. Either way, I cant keep my eyes off of it.
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3 comments:
I'm not laughing.
Politics have been treated as a laughing matter for a long time. Political cartooning goes back centuries.
I would have to agree with Erin. I think that comedy in politics is a very criticized thing because it seems to make a laughing matter out of something so serious and important to our country. I believe that in order to find comedy in politics useful, one has to look at the audiences that it is trying to reach. It is not necessarily just for entertainment, at least in my mind. Rather than voting based on jokes, I think that the public takes this comedy and uses it for information. You can only watch so many newscasts, stump speeches and debates. For me, the comedies are an information source. If I listen to something Jon Stewart says that sounds interesting, I then turn and find more serious news sources to back up what he is saying. For me, it’s a matter of the language and the way that the news is presented. I like the layman’s terms that comedy puts politics in, it makes sense to me, and I feel like I am more informed than if I was to skim through a news article flooded with political terminology that I don’t understand.
I disagree with the statement that Erin brought up from Chapter 2. I think that the sheer amount of politics that we are faced with through the television and the computer make it almost impossible to NOT participate in politics. Just because people are not out on the picket lines, does not mean that they aren’t involved and/or interested in politics. I think that people who participate in and enjoy political comedy are just as involved in the political process than those who stand at your town hall on Saturdays with picket signs.
I’m certainly not a stupid person, which is why I again disagree with what Chapter 3 states. “The local and national broadcast and cable news is also deficient, offering “news” that is manipulative, trivial and fatuous, so much that reporters have turned reporting into entertainment” (52). Like Erin says, we know the difference between exaggeration and fact. Do I really think that John McCain played a video of Barack Obama singing and dancing at the GOP convention? No, absolutely not. I highly doubt that other educated people would either. The information that I get from political comedy helps me to make informed decisions just as well as network news. Frankly, many of the same issues are presented; the broadcast just holds my attention a lot more, and I think that this will help me make a much more informed decision in November.
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