Fresh Politics, New Media by amy bree becker, ph.d.

Well the semester is FINALLY over and I'm happy to report that we had A LOT of fun in my new seminar, Popular Culture & Politics. While the 2012 election didn't provide quite as much entertainment as the 2008 Sarah Palin fest, we spent some quality time talking about SNL's new Barack Obama (Jay Pharoah), Mitt Romney style, and Stephen Colbert's Super PAC - Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow.

We tried to keep up with the various viral videos and comedy appearances that popped up during the election cycle. Here are some highlights:

Lena Dunham's First Time:



This one's not political but it did help us talk about Saturday Night Live:



Barack Obama's appearance on The Daily Show:

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Barack Obama Pt. 1
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

And last but not least, here's some more Lena Dunham:

"You Don't Own Me" PSA from You Don't Own Me on Vimeo.

We concluded class with the reading of Stephen Colbert's I Am A Pole and So Can You, his childrens' book endorsed by the late, great Maurice Sendak.



As someone who follows political polls, I enjoyed the page about becoming a Gallup poll but I'll admit that my students found the option of a stripper poll a bit more amusing.

We also took a look at Stephen Colbert's interviews with Maurice Sendak that originally aired on the program back in January of 2012. Here's our favorite clip:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Grim Colberty Tales with Maurice Sendak Pt. 2
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

I'll be back in the classroom in late January after a much deserved break. Stay tuned for more from Popular Culture & Politics ....

Last night, in a historic move, voters in Maryland and Maine approved the extension of marriage benefits to same-sex couples via ballot initiatives. After 32 failed attempts, same-sex marriage was finally approved by voters at the ballot box. At present, it looks like Washington voters will be supporting same-sex marriage as well, and in Minnesota, voters said no to an effort to amend the state constitution to solely define marriage as the union between one man and one woman.

It was a great night for marriage equality supporters, with concrete evidence that public opinion has truly shifted in their direction -- at least in some states.

What's responsible for the shift? As my own research has suggested, increasing rates of social contact with gay and lesbian friends, family members, and even co-workers and acquaintances has had a profound effect on the opinions of voters -- both young and old. Endorsements by Barack Obama and the NAACP made a difference on Question 6 in Maryland and high turnout among younger voters certainly helps the equality cause.

At the same time, it's important to note that the issue is still particularly divisive -- the current vote count in Maryland suggests 51.2% supported the measure compared to 48.8% who were opposed. Looking at the vote at the county level, you see support for Question 6 in Montgomery, Howard, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, and Frederick counties, but strong opposition on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Voters in PG county still opposed the bill as did those in more rural and western parts of Maryland.

Watch for more analysis of these ballot initiatives to unfold in the coming days.

I wrote a piece for the October 2012 Faculty Voice (The University System of Maryland's faculty newspaper) entitled, "No Laughing Matter: Researching and Teaching about Comedy, Popular Culture, and Politics"



Here's the intro: I watch The Daily Show and The Colbert Report for “homework.” At least that’s what I tell my students. In truth, as an academic researcher who studies the impact of popular culture and entertainment on political behavior and attitudes, I do consume more than my fair share of comedy content — the thing is, I’m not the only one tuning in.

You can access the full piece here

Towson University has been posting "TU in 2 videos" for a couple of semesters now. In these short videos, Towson faculty give a mini-lecture on their area of research expertise.

In my video I talk about why academics study political comedy and the finding that not all comedy forms are created equal. Hostile humor, or traditional satire in which a comedian like Stephen Colbert or Jon Stewart pokes fun of a politician, results in viewers exhibiting more negative attitudes toward the comic target. Viewing self-directed humor, on the other hand, encourages viewers evaluate the politician more favorably.

The lesson for politicians -- be able to both make and take a good joke.

The full video is here:



For more TU in 2 videos, check out some greats from Spring 2012 and Fall 2011

Ready for tonight's final presidential debate? Having trouble with the fact that Election Day is just two weeks away? Wondering whether this final debate will make a difference in the poll results?

Last week I spoke with WBAL-TV about the second debate and the social media response to Mitt Romney's #bindersfullofwomen comment. The full video of the interview is available here.



In the interview, I discussed the democratizing potential of social media -- with sites like Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook anyone can get involved in the political discussion. You can share your thoughts in 140 characters, create your own picture and caption on Tumblr, or share your views on who won the debate with members of your Facebook social network. We also talked about one of America's favorite Sesame Street characters -- Big Bird.

While all eyes are on the third debate, new binders full of women photos still keep appearing on Tumblr.

Some old and new favorites are included below. Enjoy!

There was another debate this week, "The Rumble in the Air-Conditioned Auditorium" between Bill O'Reilly of FOX News and Jon Stewart of Comedy Central fame.



For those who had trouble streaming the event live after paying their $4.95, The Washington Post offers a synopsis and five key take-aways. They also made a pretty comprehensive list of the best one-liners from the rumble.

For those who watched the event the next day (like me), #rumble2012 was more deliberative than combative and serious than funny. Both O'Reilly and Stewart offered their perspectives on the current state of the economy, foreign policy, and their own personal views on the role of entitlements and government involvement in everyday life.

For those who weren't able to get that streaming working, Slate offers a good summary here.

And you can still purchase and now download a copy of the event on the now less-trafficked Rumble 2012 web site.

There's a great article in today's New York Times about the influence of SNL during a competitive election season. As we've been learning in my TSEM class(Popular Culture and Politics: Comedy, Entertainment, Celebrity, and Democracy) this semester, journalists and the public alike look to the cast of SNL to offer their parody version of each general election debate.

Parody is a reinterpretation of an original text -- a mockery that is easier to understand if you're familiar with the original event or script.

According to the SNL writing team, this past Wednesday's debate failed to offer genuine comic inspiration. From the NYT article:

"But the debate itself turned out to be a challenge. There were no big gaffes or obvious springboards for comedy. Instead, the first debate of this election offered up a blizzard of policy details and a lackluster performance from President Obama.

At home Wednesday night, Seth Meyers, one of the show’s head writers, watched with increasing concern."

“It’s boring enough when they’re talking about all this and how it will affect Americans, but when you’re sitting there trying to pull comedy out of it, it’s really bad,” Mr. Meyers said. “There were people on Twitter saying: ‘You must be really happy, there’s so much in this debate. This is writing itself.’ I was like: what debate are you watching?”

Despite the lack of comic material, the SNL cast presented three debate related skits this past Saturday night.

First, there was the debate cold open featuring Jay Pharoah as Obama and Jason Sudekis as Romney.



Not the best debate skit ever, but certainly some funny lines.

Then there was the parody of MSNBC's reaction to Obama's debate performance:



and finally, Big Bird made an appearance on Weekend Update:



Is it bad to suggest that Big Bird (played by Caroll Spinney since 1969) as funnier than any other SNL cast member?

Election Day is only a few weeks away and there's the VP debate Thursday night. I wonder what SNL will open with next Saturday night?