Fresh Politics, New Media

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...

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, watch...

Jason Zinoman offered an interesting critique of presidential caricatures on SNL in yesterday's NYTimes. According to Zinoman, Armisen has less to offer in his portrayal of Obama than Carvey did with Bush I or even Will Ferrell with Bush II. One reason for the critique of Armisen's portrayal -- Obama gives comedians less to "work with" than his predecessors. He just doesn't say that many funny things or have that many compelling gestures. Despite Armisen's less than hilarious version of Obama, Saturday Night Live still presents some very important political satire and is poised to play a pivotal role in the 2012 election. In 2008, Tina Fey's version of Sarah Palin grabbed more attention (especially virally) than the actual Vice Presidential debate. Interestingly, Zinoman mentions the importance of Saturday Night Live as a venue for politicians -- making appearances in an attempt to charm voters with some self-ridicule or self-directed humor. My own r...

The weekend began with Herman Cain's appearance on Friday's broadcast of the Late Show with David Letterman . Poor Herman Cain doesn't have any friends in Washington DC, but the voters are still interested in hearing more from Cain despite allegations of sexual harassment and his level of expertise on Libya. The full twenty-four minute appearance is embedded below: Saturday Night Live started this weekend's broadcast with a cold open from  Jason Sudeikis (in the form of Mitt Romney).   Unfortunately, even SNL 's version of fake Mitt Romney is dry and boring. Not even a leather jacket can help: Lastly, the real Governor Jon Hunstman made an appearance on SNL  during Weekend Update . There might be one too many New Hampshire jokes in this clip, but Huntsman's attempt at humor is admirable and certainly funnier than Perry's appearance on the  Late Show with David Letterman from earlier this month . This just under 3 minute clip offers some good free exp...

Michele Bachmann, Congresswoman from Minnesota, has been getting a fair amount of attention as the race for the GOP nomination for President kicks into "higher" gear. A favorite of Tea Party voters, Bachmann is doing better in the polls ( in Iowa at least ) and pundits have taken note of her recent performance in the GOP candidates' debate. There are others, including Chris Wallace of Fox News, who aren't ready to take Bachmann so seriously. On Sunday's broadcast, Wallace called Bachmann a "flake." Here's a video of the now viral clip: Bachmann found the comment offensive (with good reason) and Wallace later apologized for his actions. Steve Kornacki over at Salon offers a good summary of the incident and the potential boost in popularity it may actually give Bachmann amongst her most dedicated supporters. Flake or not, Bachmann's past public performances will be an important factor to address as her campaign moves forward. Remember her...