This article examines two public controversies that arose in quick succession in 2018 around the ... more This article examines two public controversies that arose in quick succession in 2018 around the routines of two female comics: Michelle Wolf’s monologue at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner and Samantha Bee’s segment on the policy of separating children from their immigrant parents at the border, which contained a crude insult about Ivanka Trump. Both incidents attracted attention and commentary far beyond the reaches of the performers’ usual audiences. In the wider conversation that myriad voices participated in, a much broader discursive struggle took place over ideals and norms. I argue that it was fundamentally a battle over conceptions of femininity and motherhood and, ultimately, over how to be a respectable woman in the public sphere. Not incidentally, defense of the jokes’ victims revolved around their status as “wives and mothers,” while disavowals of the joke tellers focused on the vulgarity of their use of profanity and sexual innuendo. Overall, these in...
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee is a rare example of unabashed feminist conviction on television. ... more Full Frontal with Samantha Bee is a rare example of unabashed feminist conviction on television. Amber Day describes how the program invites audience members into a community wherein a feminist perspective is common sense, striking back at the trolls who would shout down outspoken women, and reclaiming feminist anger as both empowering and fun. In the teaser introduction for the first episode of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, we see the title comedian at a faux press conference. The crowd of reporters in front of her shout questions, all of which revolve around her femaleness in increasingly absurd terms, including, “How can I watch your show as a man?” and “What is it like to be a female woman?” Over the din of overlapping questions, one reporter yells, “Do you have a problem with your ovaries falling out, or anything?
Stephen Colbert’s announcement in 2011 that he was starting his own Super PAC oneupped The Colber... more Stephen Colbert’s announcement in 2011 that he was starting his own Super PAC oneupped The Colbert Report’s already substantial commitment to boundary muddling. By raising real money, producing commercials, and exploring the nuances of campaign finance regulations, Colbert acted out his critique of current law in tangible form. The novelty of the experiment created anticipation amongst fans and commentators that the project would have a direct effect on attitudes about campaign finance, or that Colbert would veer into clear advocacy work. Indeed, expectations matched the standard assumptions about satire: that efficacy should be gauged by measurable influence on individual opinions. In reality, the PAC’s commercials likely did not influence many outside his existent fan group. However, the project as a whole did work to license journalistic attention and to impact the wider debate about campaign finance. The example demonstrates that the more grandiose expectations of political ente...
Though Saturday Night Live\u27s “Weekend Update” has become one of the most iconic of fake news p... more Though Saturday Night Live\u27s “Weekend Update” has become one of the most iconic of fake news programs, it is remarkably unfocused on either satiric critique or parody of particular news conventions. Instead, the segment has been shaped by a series of hosts who made a name for themselves by developing distinctive comic personalities. In contrast to more politically invested contemporary programs, the genre of fake news on Saturday Night Live has been largely emptied to serve the needs of the larger show, maintaining its status as just topical, hip, and unthreatening enough to attract celebrities and politicians, as well as a mass audience
Though Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" has become one of the most iconic of fake news prog... more Though Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" has become one of the most iconic of fake news programs, it is remarkably unfocused on either satiric critique or parody of particular news conventions. Instead, the segment has been shaped by a series of hosts who made a name for themselves by developing distinctive comic personalities. In contrast to more politically invested contemporary programs, the genre of fake news on Saturday Night Live has been largely emptied to serve the needs of the larger show, maintaining its status as just topical, hip, and unthreatening enough to attract celebrities and politicians, as well as a mass audience.
Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 2020
for their indispensable contributions to this article. Many thanks also to our anonymous reviewer... more for their indispensable contributions to this article. Many thanks also to our anonymous reviewers for their thought-provoking and productive feedback, and to Miranda Outman for her thorough and gracious edits.
Are They For Real? Activism and Ironic Identities Political activists have not historically been ... more Are They For Real? Activism and Ironic Identities Political activists have not historically been known for their fun-loving sense of humor and playfulness. Nor do they have a reputation for communicating in riddles, deliberately speaking the opposite of what they mean. However, as the realities of mass media communication have evolved, so too have the tactics employed by activists for capturing the media spotlight. More and more groups are now building their actions around a playfully ironic sensibility, creating attention-getting stunts, graphics, and slogans, along with prepackaged media sound-bites. Within this larger trend, one particular tactic involves a form of masquerade, as groups very deliberately assume the identities of their opponents. Rather than straightforward political debate, they communicate via indirection, mimicry, and spectacle. Though their stunts may appear the very antithesis of persuasive political discourse, they are aimed precisely at influencing the direction of public discussion. I argue that the irony is deployed as a means of engendering community, actively calling upon their audiences' shared assumptions and predilections in an attempt to create the feeling of community in opposition, making members of existing discursive communities present to one another, and, ideally turning those communities into actively politicized ones. Though it is remarkably easy to dismiss political critique aimed at those who may already appreciate the critique as merely "preaching to the converted," it is important to remember that the so-called converted may still be apathetic, or unconnected to a larger movement, or simply in need of some validation. It is my contention that affirmation and reinforcement fulfill an integral
The political satirists Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are largely celebrated for their nightly ... more The political satirists Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are largely celebrated for their nightly television programs, which use humor to offer useful political information, provide important forums for deliberation and debate, and serve as sites for alternative interpretations of political reality. Yet, when the two satirists more directly intervene in the field of politics—which they increasingly do—they are often met by a chorus of criticism that suggests they have improperly crossed normative boundaries. This article explores Stewart and Colbert's "out of the box" political performances, which include, among others, the 2010 Rally to Restore Sanity, Colbert's testimony before Congress in the same year, and his on-going efforts to run an actual Super PAC that raises and spends money to influence (and critique) the political process. Examining these and other examples of non-traditional, and clearly border-crossing political satire, we consider the ways in which s...
This article examines two public controversies that arose in quick succession in 2018 around the ... more This article examines two public controversies that arose in quick succession in 2018 around the routines of two female comics: Michelle Wolf’s monologue at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner and Samantha Bee’s segment on the policy of separating children from their immigrant parents at the border, which contained a crude insult about Ivanka Trump. Both incidents attracted attention and commentary far beyond the reaches of the performers’ usual audiences. In the wider conversation that myriad voices participated in, a much broader discursive struggle took place over ideals and norms. I argue that it was fundamentally a battle over conceptions of femininity and motherhood and, ultimately, over how to be a respectable woman in the public sphere. Not incidentally, defense of the jokes’ victims revolved around their status as “wives and mothers,” while disavowals of the joke tellers focused on the vulgarity of their use of profanity and sexual innuendo. Overall, these in...
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee is a rare example of unabashed feminist conviction on television. ... more Full Frontal with Samantha Bee is a rare example of unabashed feminist conviction on television. Amber Day describes how the program invites audience members into a community wherein a feminist perspective is common sense, striking back at the trolls who would shout down outspoken women, and reclaiming feminist anger as both empowering and fun. In the teaser introduction for the first episode of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, we see the title comedian at a faux press conference. The crowd of reporters in front of her shout questions, all of which revolve around her femaleness in increasingly absurd terms, including, “How can I watch your show as a man?” and “What is it like to be a female woman?” Over the din of overlapping questions, one reporter yells, “Do you have a problem with your ovaries falling out, or anything?
Stephen Colbert’s announcement in 2011 that he was starting his own Super PAC oneupped The Colber... more Stephen Colbert’s announcement in 2011 that he was starting his own Super PAC oneupped The Colbert Report’s already substantial commitment to boundary muddling. By raising real money, producing commercials, and exploring the nuances of campaign finance regulations, Colbert acted out his critique of current law in tangible form. The novelty of the experiment created anticipation amongst fans and commentators that the project would have a direct effect on attitudes about campaign finance, or that Colbert would veer into clear advocacy work. Indeed, expectations matched the standard assumptions about satire: that efficacy should be gauged by measurable influence on individual opinions. In reality, the PAC’s commercials likely did not influence many outside his existent fan group. However, the project as a whole did work to license journalistic attention and to impact the wider debate about campaign finance. The example demonstrates that the more grandiose expectations of political ente...
Though Saturday Night Live\u27s “Weekend Update” has become one of the most iconic of fake news p... more Though Saturday Night Live\u27s “Weekend Update” has become one of the most iconic of fake news programs, it is remarkably unfocused on either satiric critique or parody of particular news conventions. Instead, the segment has been shaped by a series of hosts who made a name for themselves by developing distinctive comic personalities. In contrast to more politically invested contemporary programs, the genre of fake news on Saturday Night Live has been largely emptied to serve the needs of the larger show, maintaining its status as just topical, hip, and unthreatening enough to attract celebrities and politicians, as well as a mass audience
Though Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" has become one of the most iconic of fake news prog... more Though Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" has become one of the most iconic of fake news programs, it is remarkably unfocused on either satiric critique or parody of particular news conventions. Instead, the segment has been shaped by a series of hosts who made a name for themselves by developing distinctive comic personalities. In contrast to more politically invested contemporary programs, the genre of fake news on Saturday Night Live has been largely emptied to serve the needs of the larger show, maintaining its status as just topical, hip, and unthreatening enough to attract celebrities and politicians, as well as a mass audience.
Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 2020
for their indispensable contributions to this article. Many thanks also to our anonymous reviewer... more for their indispensable contributions to this article. Many thanks also to our anonymous reviewers for their thought-provoking and productive feedback, and to Miranda Outman for her thorough and gracious edits.
Are They For Real? Activism and Ironic Identities Political activists have not historically been ... more Are They For Real? Activism and Ironic Identities Political activists have not historically been known for their fun-loving sense of humor and playfulness. Nor do they have a reputation for communicating in riddles, deliberately speaking the opposite of what they mean. However, as the realities of mass media communication have evolved, so too have the tactics employed by activists for capturing the media spotlight. More and more groups are now building their actions around a playfully ironic sensibility, creating attention-getting stunts, graphics, and slogans, along with prepackaged media sound-bites. Within this larger trend, one particular tactic involves a form of masquerade, as groups very deliberately assume the identities of their opponents. Rather than straightforward political debate, they communicate via indirection, mimicry, and spectacle. Though their stunts may appear the very antithesis of persuasive political discourse, they are aimed precisely at influencing the direction of public discussion. I argue that the irony is deployed as a means of engendering community, actively calling upon their audiences' shared assumptions and predilections in an attempt to create the feeling of community in opposition, making members of existing discursive communities present to one another, and, ideally turning those communities into actively politicized ones. Though it is remarkably easy to dismiss political critique aimed at those who may already appreciate the critique as merely "preaching to the converted," it is important to remember that the so-called converted may still be apathetic, or unconnected to a larger movement, or simply in need of some validation. It is my contention that affirmation and reinforcement fulfill an integral
The political satirists Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are largely celebrated for their nightly ... more The political satirists Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are largely celebrated for their nightly television programs, which use humor to offer useful political information, provide important forums for deliberation and debate, and serve as sites for alternative interpretations of political reality. Yet, when the two satirists more directly intervene in the field of politics—which they increasingly do—they are often met by a chorus of criticism that suggests they have improperly crossed normative boundaries. This article explores Stewart and Colbert's "out of the box" political performances, which include, among others, the 2010 Rally to Restore Sanity, Colbert's testimony before Congress in the same year, and his on-going efforts to run an actual Super PAC that raises and spends money to influence (and critique) the political process. Examining these and other examples of non-traditional, and clearly border-crossing political satire, we consider the ways in which s...
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