Much to the chagrin of the well-seasoned SNL writer, James Downey, America pays heed to his satiric comedy he churns out as a political barometer for those who are not prone to be politically savy.
Downey has been responsible for creating alot of the idiosyncrasies we have well come to know. He is credited with defining the candidates before they define themselves. His send-up of the 2000 debate between Al Gore and Bush is best known for the coining of the Bushian malapropism "stategery" (which many people give Bush himself credit for.)
Downey, apparently, is at it again; this time with a nod from Hillary Rodham Clinton. In one of the recent SNL skits, Clinton and Obama were being pitted against each other in a debate. As Clinton was being attacked by all those surrounding her, Obama was asked if he was comfortable or needed another pillow.
Clinton jumped at the opportunity to use this as a way to say, "See, even SNL thinks it isn't a fair playing ground." Even though Downey does agree with that fact, he didn't mean the skit as an endorsement for the Clinton campaign.
He writes comedy that makes fun of the hottest political topics. Some things make people laugh because they are funny. With other things, Downey says, the effect is: "Hey that's right. That makes sense."
Downey does not now, nor ever has, set out to make his skits influence political views and opinions of the public. Sometimes he might articulate ideas that are vaguely out there that have not yet been stated in a comedy form.
Whether Downey wants to admit it, a great majority of America is influenced by what they see on television. Comedy or not, it holds something of value to individuals who might be riding the fence (in a political sense.) Points are made about character and policies, even if these things aren't in the best of light.
For those couch potatoes who don't want to research the platforms of candidates, shows like SNL give them a vague enough idea (or so they think) of what they think the candidates stand for. It's kind of like a T.V. version of "Politics for Dummies."
1 comment:
It is as if the people involved in media are beginning to forget just how much influence they have on America. What they say and do does matter. Especially on television shows like SNL. Because as a whole America doesn't like to do too much research on issues, so whatever little bitt they get on TV, that is what they belive and stand for. I mean, it's awful that we are that lazy of a nation, but it is true. Entertainers should start taking things a little more seriously and understand just how much influence they have toward important topics.
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