Blog 3: Political Advertising through Comedy Shows

In chapter five of Uncivil Wars written by Tomas A. Hollihan, the many different types and effectiveness of political advertising is explained in depth. One point Hollihan makes throughout this chapter is that there is only so much political advertising a person can internalize, before a subconscious barrier forms rejecting further penetration. Another point he makes is that some already disinterested people become more and more disinterested the more advertising they see. A way to break through both of these challenges and reach these voters is through comedy shows. The Daily Show and even Saturday Night Live have a large effect on voters because these shows are promoting one candidate or another, through comical instances therefore persuading the audience without the audience’s knowledge. The most important part of the involvement of these comedy shows is that they are reaching the less-interested American citizens that don’t normally care about the current political situation, and convincing them to involve themselves politically.

Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show, depicts Bush in an episode as “talking like he is talking to someone stupid. His matter comes off as odder; he wants to stress things more. He talks very general, and speaks like an 8-year-old who has to answer a question but has never read the book” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxsXHXIErHQ). As many people watch, they may think that this depiction of the president’s speech giving abilities stops at funny, but it doesn’t. From there, viewers go on to tell their friends about the excerpt from the night before, showing them clips on YouTube, and so on and so forth. Before you know it, there are millions of people who not only think Jon Stewart is hilarious, but that our president is ill-prepared and a poor speaker. The more criticisms people hear about their leader, the more they will start to believe it. I know when I watch Jon Stewart, I may disagree with his views on politicians but I still find the show hilarious. If I were to watch it every night, I know it would eventually affect some of my political stances.

Another instance that Jon Stewart is trying to persuade viewers’ thinking is when he brought Bill O’Reilly on his show to talk about why O’Reilly said, “A lot of people are fearful, uncertainty breeds fear” – a comment he had made on his show, the O’Reilly Factor, about why people are fearful of Obama as our potential future president. He first used a condescending tone with O’Reilly when he first came onto the show, asking him if he is comfortable and feels safe in the environment of his set, alluding to the fact that his statement of fear with the Obama administration was ridiculous. O’Reilly said to Jon that he is fearful because Obama has done nothing in senate and lead nothing. He also states that Jon Stewart gets paid to cheap shot people, which Stewart admits. Stewart then says that Americans say “we want the tax rate to go from 36 percent to 39 percent, what 3 percent is socialist?” in reply to the accusations O’Reilly has made towards the seemingly socialist views of Obama. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUVuXgy3CVY) If these statements are not political advertising, than nothing is a political advertisement. He is blatantly putting down a supporter of the GOP in order to support Barack Obama in any way necessary, and all the while, viewers see it as funny and believe his points because of the paternalistic demeaning attitude in which he takes on his opponent.

Although The Daily Show is rich with political advertising and is effective in reaching its’ audience, it is nothing compared to the advertising encoded into the scripting of Saturday Night Live. It is far more effective to act out the flaws of the candidates because then when audiences are actually watching the candidates, these faults are all they notice. One scene I found was the Bush daughters talking back and forth about their father. It is obviously a parody about their relationship and how they are twins, and they are asking each other questions about if they really think their father is the man that press and society has said he is. “I keep seeing signs saying he is the worst president ever, dumbest president ever, and biggest liar ever,” is a quote from one of the actresses playing one of his daughters (http://www.hulu.com/watch/42319/saturday-night-live-presidential-bash-obamamccain--montage).This scene is very funny and I am sure generated a buzz of laughter throughout audiences, but it also discredits the president. Many viewers would take from this that his own daughters probably think that he is a poor leader and think that his daughters are as seemingly unintelligent as Bush has been portrayed. This type of political advertising lowers the confidence the United States has in our president.

Saturday Night Live has been used negatively towards many candidates to promote their own interests, but there are definitely ways in which Saturday Night Live uses their wide viewership in a positive manner. For example when Mike Huckabee, former GOP ticket seeker in the 2008 primary election, went on the show, he was there to show his character and make light of the situation which he was currently in. It was mathematically impossible for him to win the GOP ticket at the time, and he had still not pulled out of the running. People everywhere were commenting on the ridiculousness of his actions and how much money he was wasting, and he was there to address it. Although he did joke around about himself, he used Saturday Night Live to make a strong point (http://www.hulu.com/watch/42319/saturday-night-live-presidential-bash-obamamccain--montage ). He was determined, he was not a quitter, and he didn’t take himself too seriously. Yes, when it comes to issues Mike Huckabee is a strong arm, but he wanted to American people to see his lighter side, because then maybe they would relate to him, understand and like his sense of humor, and look for him in the future elections. He used Saturday Night Live as a tactic for advertising himself for future elections.

One last example of political advertising through comedy shows is the Barack Obama skit about Halloween. Many people stated during the election that Obama wavered in his positions and that he was unclear about them as well. When a child asked him in a Saturday Night Live skit what he was going to be for Halloween, he said he was going to be dressing as himself because he didn’t want to be anyone else. This addresses Hollihan’s argument that the most effective campaigns link the messages of the advertisements (or the message of his skit in this show) to the news stories in the media. Since newscasters (mostly on Fox) were continually commenting on his wavering stances, he chose to address it this way (http://www.hulu.com/watch/42319/saturday-night-live-presidential-bash-obamamccain--montage).

Comedy shows are not considered, by most, a form of political advertising. They are either considered entertainment or a newscast, but this is where I beg to differ. If candidates can be guests on these comedy shows and display their moral fiber and stances for the audience, or if a host is going to promote one political figure or put down another through ridicule, I believe it to be considered political advertising. It is also extremely effective advertising because it is reaching those that are not normally involved in politics and helping them make political decisions, and it breaks through the barrier Hollihan believes political advertising forms throughout an election.