AND APPEARANCES OF PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ON …

LIVE FROM NEW YORK AND STRAIGHT TO WASHINGTON: AN EXPLORATIVE STUDY OF INTERNET AUDIENCE PERCEPTIONS OF THE PORTRAYALS AND APPEARANCES OF PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ON SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Paige Thomason Miller, BA

Thesis Prepared for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS May 2012

APPROVED: R. Steve Craig, Major Professor Harry Benshoff, Committee Member Matthew Eshbaugh-Soha, Committee

Member Sam Sauls, Director of Graduate Studies in

the Department of Radio, Television and Film Alan Albarran, Chair of the Department of Radio, Television and Film James D. Meernik, Acting Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School

Miller, Paige Thomason. Live from New York and straight to Washington: An explorative study of Internet audience perceptions of the portrayals and appearances of presidential candidates on Saturday Night Live. Master of Arts (Radio, Television and Film), May 2012, 110 pp., references, 122 titles.

This thesis examines if and how the Internet viewers of Saturday Night Live skits were influenced by the video skits. The viewers' online comments were read, categorized and analyzed for content to explore and discuss how the viewers "read" the text of the online video skits. Each video in which candidates John McCain, Sarah Palin, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama appeared is summarized and analyzed through viewers' comments. A sample of skits including actors' portrayals of McCain, Palin, Clinton, Obama and Joe Biden is also summarized and analyzed to find and discuss how the viewers' perceptions were influenced by the portrayals.

Copyright 2012 by

Paige Thomason Miller

ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

Chapters 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................1 Purpose of the Study 2. BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................6 Humor and Politics Television and Politics Television Receptions Studies Pre-1975 Political Comedy on Radio and Television Saturday Night Live and Politics 3. METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................31 4. ANALYSIS OF ONLINE COMMENTS REGARDING CANDIDATES' APPEARANCES ...................................................................................................35 John McCain- 5/17/08, 11/1/08, 11/3/08 Sarah Palin- 10/18/08, 11/3/08 Hillary Clinton- 3/1/08 Barack Obama- 11/3/07 5. ANALYSIS OF ONLINE COMMENTS REGARDING PORTRAYALS OF CANDIDATES IN SKITS.....................................................................................58 John McCain- Darrell Hammond Sarah Palin- Tina Fey Hillary Clinton- Amy Poehler Barack Obama- Fred Armisen Joe Biden- Jason Sudekis 6. DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................98

REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................................

iii

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The 2008 election broke records and crossed boundaries in the political sphere. A woman became a major presidential contender for the first time in history, a woman became a vice presidential candidate for only the second time, a white man ran to be the oldest president to take office, and a black man was elected to the highest office in America. These candidates achieved these feats in many different ways, but one method they employed was to appear on the comedy show Saturday Night Live (hereafter SNL). Senators Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John McCain, and Governor Sarah Palin appeared on the show at least once to take part in the fun. There were also countless sketches, or skits, on SNL for the two years preceding Election Day on November 4, 2008. These sketches made fun of each candidate and many other political frontrunners. Campaigns' use of the Internet also reached a new level with an estimated 83% of all age groups using the Internet on a regular basis as a source for campaign news, up 40% from 2004 (Kohut, January 11, 2008). Some of the political primary debates even featured videos posted on YouTube of citizens asking questions. The new way Americans access election campaign information requires a new method in which to analyze and study the way Americans perceive the candidates. SNL has a long history of political comedy and has featured many impersonations of politicians, including presidential and vice presidential candidates. From Chevy Chase's notoriously bumbling Gerald Ford to Dan Aykroyd's take on Jimmy Carter to Dana Carvey's "read my lips" George H. W. Bush to Phil Hartman's Bill Clinton to Will Ferrell's George W. Bush and Darrell Hammond's Bill Clinton, Al Gore and Dick Cheney, the elected officials were represented for most of the show's 35 year history. David Spade's Ross Perot and Norm

1

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download