Satirical Satire

On August 16th, 2015, John Oliver’s news show on HBO, Last Week Tonight, shed a cutting light on religious ministers who devote the majority of the ministry through television broadcasting. Mainly Christian, these ministers, known as “Televangelists”, and can be either official or self-proclaimed ministers that enlist their followers into “seed faith”. Defining this term, Televangelist Rick Warren explains the principal of “seed faith”, or “sowing and reaping” as sending money to his church -“planting the seed”- whenever you might have or ask for a need from God. Given time you will “harvest” the benefits and gain what you originally asked for with blessings (Warren). Oliver, however, has a different view about such prosperity gospels and made
The first form of parody is when Oliver involved himself in a mailing correspondence with minster Robert Tilton, a famed Televangelist. Tilton’s mailing exchange included suggestions of quantified seed in dollar amounts for Oliver to send as a member on the mailing list, which Oliver complied to, totaling up to $50 dollars out of pocket, “we’re just two letters in, and already its like having a penpal who is in deep with some loan sharks,” Oliver satirically commented, gaining yet another laughing response at the poke. This is evidence that parody works in cooperation with satire, though parody hardly can exist outside of satirical context. The mailing correspondence engages in a normal practice of those who are exploited by the Televangelist Tilton, but the latter joke comparing him to an “in deep penpal” is the scornful remark of
In the simplest sense, Oliver himself becomes a minister, proclaiming himself, “Megarevernd and CEO” of registered church, “Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption”. Here, the regular set of the show switches to the set of a nicely decorated living room with Oliver and his “wife” - who is Saturday Night Live’s Rachel Dratch -Wanda-Jo Oliver. Together, the pair enter into the parody, taking up conventionalized phrases that Televangelists say such as, “praise be”, “hallelujah!”, “it’s a miracle!”, and “be gone demons!” in distinctive southern accents to further perpetuate the characteristics. They go on to specify the kind of “seed” that the audience should send, “we want your actual money, do not send seed,” Dratch as Wanda-Jo comments with a drawl, and asks for them to call 1-800-THIS-IS-LEGAL to plant seed. The parody finishes off with the typical use of choir music with an ensemble of clapping, vocalizing, and repeating “give us money!”. This implemented imitation of how the televised christian convention is designed in a public context, Oliver managed to break and tear its functioning down, laying bare the core of Televangelists intentions; money. Repeating church like norms incited consideration of the true