Skip to main content

Political Satire on US Television


Political satire is the most 'serious' form of expression in cultures across the world. Political satire is basically a form of expression which uses, ridicule, irony, sarcasm etc. to expose the folly or vice, or to lampoon an individual or a system related to politics to try, and bring about a political change. From print to cinema, political satire has been present in all media and has left a long-lasting impact on societies.

In US, many satirists have commented upon the state of political affairs since the days of American war of Independence. However, the stand out political satire has been the shows on US television. The two stand-out genres of satirical shows, which originated from US are- late night talk shows and animated series.

Over the years, many late night talk shows have been aired on US television and each one of them has been tremendously popular. The first show in this genre, which continues to run till date, is "Saturday Night Live". First aired on NBC in October 1975, this show has now entered its 37th season. The show has had legendary hosts including John Belushi, Eddie Murphy and Will Ferrell among others. The show was the pioneer in the field of political satire on television. Impersonations of famous politicians like Bill Clinton and mock ad campaigns for elections were few of the show's highlights. Following this show were, Tonight Show with Jay Leno, An Evening with David Letterman, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report, being the famous examples.

The show by Jay Leno was aired for the first time in May, 1992. After, a brief sabbatical in 2009, it resumed in March 2010. Its popularity can be gauged by the fact that even Barack Obama made an appearance on the show in March 2009. He is the first US President to do so, after assuming office. All these shows and their anchors gained tremendous popularity amongst the youth audiences. Not only did they entertain audiences, they were even credited as the shows giving the average US teenager, his/her share of knowledge about politics.

Another massive contribution of US television in the field of satire, are, two other legendary shows, namely, The Simpsons (since 1989) and South Park (since 2004). The audiences could identify with the characters of these two series; and this made the satirical comments even more hard-hitting. While Stan and Kyle from South Park struck a chord with all audiences for their right and left inclined ideologies respectively, Homer Simpson and his family can be termed as the most beloved set of television characters. Both these series take up political issues like corruption and incompetent government. At the same time they talk about more day-to-day issues like racial discrimination, religion and caste-based issues.

The popularity of political satire in US can be significantly attributed to the shows discussed above. Today, these shows have attained dizzying heights and unprecedented popularity across the world, which proves its originality and likeability by the audiences.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Too Much Of Politics Over Policy: 5 Considerations

Is the American system of governing, and political system, wounded, destroyed, weakened, or, merely, undergoing a period, of extreme distress? Those, who have followed politics, and the national news, for decades, realize and recognize, there is widespread apathy, within our electorate, which probably, largely explains, our relatively, low, voter turnout! In addition, many, who vote, do so, based on the empty promises, and rhetoric of political candidates, as well as their perceptions, personal biases, and prejudice, and, rather than hopes and aspirations, focus on self - interest! Unfortunately, we often, witness, far too much emphasis on partisan politics, over, quality policy, and the needs of the American people. With that in mind, this article will attempt to briefly review, examine, and consider, using the mnemonic approach, many of these concerns, and considerations. 1. Political/ personal agenda: Who should, versus, who do, elected officials, actually serve, and represent? T...
Post a Comment
Read more

Political Blogs - How to Write Them Effectively

For years you've probably been hearing about blogs, bloggers, the blogosphere, and all things "bloggy". When most people hear the term blog they might think of some geek in their underwear writing unimportant and pointless stuff for other geeks to read. While many blogs might be like this, political blogs are of a different class. Political blogs can be very informative, enlightening, and funny. If you like politics and think you have what it takes to write a blog on politics, you came to the right place. I'm going to share a few tips with you on how to write a great political blog. Even if you don't know how to write like a journalist it doesn't matter -all you need is passion (and a little knowledge). If you don't have strong political opinions then let me stop you right there and suggest you pick a different topic than politics. In order to write a great blog on politics you have to have politics on the brain, meaning, you have to be a politic...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Best Politically Correct Careers For Caring Citizens

Are you looking for a career path that will allow you to help people, help your country and do it in the most politically correct way. Knowing that you will be going with the flow of society where ever that flow leads, without making waves? If so there are a number of politically correct career paths you can take. And perhaps you should be thinking here. Let's explore some of these most excellent career paths for a moment, and then you can pick one and live happily ever after. Are you ready to begin? Okay here we go: An ACLU Lawyer: These are the lawyers that sue on behalf of politically correct causes and if you work as an ACLU lawyer you will be around your own ilk all the time, and you can become very popular and always be at the center of debate with your name in the news. A Reporter for Major Media: Being a reporter can be hard work, but if you have politically correct leanings, you will do well in the industry as so many others, just like you work for ma...
Post a Comment
Read more