Satire TV : politics and comedy in the post-network era / edited by Jonathan Gray, Jeffrey P. Jones, and Ethan Thompson.
Publisher: New York : Chesham : New York University Press ; Combined Academic [distributor], 2009Description: 288 p. : ill001: 43575ISBN: 9780814731994 (pbk.) :; 9780814731987 (hbk.) :Subject(s): Television in politics -- United States | Television and politics -- United States | Television talk shows -- United States | Political satire, American | Performing ArtsDDC classification: 791.456 GRA LOC classification: HE8700.76.U6 | S37 2009Summary: This work examines what happens when comedy becomes political, and politics become funny. A series of original essays focus on a range of programmes, from 'The Daily Show' to 'South Park'.| Item type | Current library | Collection | Call number | Copy number | Status | Date due | Barcode | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book | MAIN LIBRARY Book | 791.456 GRA (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 1 | Available | 113101 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
A fascinating look into what happens when comedy becomes political and politics becomes comedy
Satirical TV has become mandatory viewing for citizens wishing to make sense of the bizarre contemporary state of political life. Shifts in industry economics and audience tastes have re-made television comedy, once considered a wasteland of escapist humor, into what is arguably the most popular source of political critique. From fake news and pundit shows to animated sitcoms and mash-up videos, satire has become an important avenue for processing politics in informative and entertaining ways, and satire TV is now its own thriving, viable television genre.
Satire TV examines what happens when comedy becomes political, and politics become funny. A series of original essays focus on a range of programs, from The Daily Show to South Park , Da Ali G Show to The Colbert Report , The Boondocks to Saturday Night Live , Lil' Bush to Chappelle's Show , along with Internet D.I.Y. satire and essays on British and Canadian satire. They all offer insights into what today's class of satire tells us about the current state of politics, of television, of citizenship, all the while suggesting what satire adds to the political realm that news and documentaries cannot.
Includes index.
This work examines what happens when comedy becomes political, and politics become funny. A series of original essays focus on a range of programmes, from 'The Daily Show' to 'South Park'.
Table of contents provided by Syndetics
- Foreword (p. ix)
- Part I Post 9/11, Post Modern, of Just Post Network?
- 1 The State of Satire, the Satire of State (p. 3)
- 2 With All Due Respect: Satirizing Presidents from Saturday Night Live to Lil' Bush (p. 37)
- 3 Tracing the "Fake" Candidate in American Television Comedy (p. 64)
- Part II Fake News, Real Funny
- 4 And Now... the News? Mimesis and the Real in The Daily Show (p. 85)
- 5 Jon Stewart and The Daily Show: I Thought You Were Going to Be Funny! (p. 104)
- 6 Stephen Colbert's Parody of the Postmodern (p. 124)
- Part III Building in the Critical Rubble: Between Deconstruction and Reconstruction
- 7 Throwing Out the Welcome Mat: Public Figures as Guests and Victims in TV Satire (p. 147)
- 8 Speaking "Truth" to Power? Television Satire, Rick Mercer Report, and the Politics of Place and Space (p. 167)
- 9 Why Mitt Romney Won't Debate a Snowman (p. 187)
- Part IV Shock and Guffaw: The Limits of Satire
- 10 Good Demo, Bad Taste: South Park as Carnivalesque Satire (p. 213)
- 11 In the Wake of "The Nigger Pixie": Dave Chappelle and the Politics of Crossover Comedy (p. 233)
- 12 Of Niggas and Citizens: The Boondocks Fans and Differentiated Black American Politics (p. 252)
- About the Contributors (p. 275)
- Index (p. 277)
Reviews provided by Syndetics
CHOICE Review
Near the end of the 2008 presidential campaign, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin appeared on Saturday Night Live, where she had been brilliantly and ruthlessly parodied by comedian Tina Fey. She did so to advance her career--because American politicians who wish to be taken seriously must appear on a comedy program. These sharp, compelling essays respond to the current state of American politics, which is characterized by politicians abandoning shame, news media trivializing political news, and commentators screaming at one another. As indicated in Jon Stewart's now-famous interview on Crossfire, satirists often take politics more seriously than either journalists or politicians. Taking seriously such satirists as Stewart and Stephen Colbert, Gray (Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison), Jones (Old Dominion Univ.), and Thompson (Texas A&M Univ.) gathered essays on Stewart, Colbert, and their respective programs and on South Park, The Boondocks, and Saturday Night Live. As one essay nicely chronicles, in announcing his candidacy for the presidency, Colbert was following the tradition of such comedians as Pat Paulsen. Many young Americans consider satirical television news their primary source of news, and this volume helps one understand why. Stewart, Colbert, et al. take news seriously. They may be the only ones left on television who do. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers. C. J. Lamb College of CharlestonThere are no comments on this title.