On September 13, 2008, two female politicians were standing behind a blue curtain, and two American flags were behind them. In front of the ladies were two microphones. One woman resembled Hillary Clinton dressed in a blue dress representing the Democratic Party, and she has a bob hairstyle and a Barack Obama button on her. The other resembled the Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin who was dressed in a red dress for the Republican Party and also wearing an American Flag pin and her glasses. Both of these ladies were giving a Nonpartisan Message to the people. Throughout the message, the politicians address sexism and how it plays a part in political campaigns. Most viewers do not remember the whole address; they mostly remember …show more content…
Or did she? This Saturday Night Live (SNL) skit and the five skits of Sarah Palin after impact how the viewer thought the skits were reality, thinking that the Alaskan Governor said on SNL was true. Many scholars believe that entertainment shows like SNL blur satire and reality. Author Heather Dean agues, “More importantly, whether those working at SNL want to be influential or not, they are creating impersonations that reverberate with audiences (Coyle). As Coyle states, ‘pointing exactly to where parody and reality end, where influence and refraction separate, is, in the end impossible’” (22). SNL is a comedy showcase that often satirizes political figures, current events, television shows, news reporting, and celebrities. However, some people view the satire as reality because some skits seem more realistic than satirical, causing the viewer to think that the show is reality. This can be seen in the 2008 Presidential Election when Sarah Palin is satirized by SNL, and many viewers believed …show more content…
The comedy showcases pushed the boundaries by making fun of political figures many people were scared to do so. One writer stated, “Further, few people had sought to ridicule public figures because most were fearful of being offensive (Stebbins, 1990)” ( Dean 15). By pushing the boundaries, SNL captures the audiences. Young adults are now watching the show, and scholars believe that political entertainment shows like SNL have a positive side to them. Dean argues that SNL makes young adults participate in campaign events and join an organization. The author states, “Cao and Brewer (2008) found that those who regularly watch political comedy shows are more likely to attend a campaign event or join an organization” (17). Many scholars believed that political entertainment shows have an impact on young adults. Also, some scholars believe that these political entertainment shows have a negative side. The author states that one negative side is, “Further, many scholars argue that political comedy shows exploit stories to provide entertainment and that their political information is often lacking in substance (Baum, 2003;Kim & Vishak, 2008; Prior)” (17). This can be seen in a professors’ study on SNL and how the show impacted the way young adults felt about Governor Sarah