Reflection+Product+2

Scott Vierick Graduation Project Outline Research Product #2 Political Satire and its impact on the way Americans view their government 1. Topic: Political Satire on Television 2. Essential Question: To what effect (if any) does political satire on television have on the way Americans view politics?  3. Thesis: Dissatisfied with the mainstream media, Americans are increasingly turning to political satire as a way to keep themselves informed on developments in politics.  Paragraph #1 Nixon on Laugh-In I. Transition Topic Sentence #1: The 1968 was marked with a general dissatisfaction with politics. The Camelot era of Kennedy had long ago faded into myth, presidential candidate Bobby Kennedy lay dead in a hotel kitchen, and the Vietnam continued to rage across Southeast Asia. A. Reason #1: American’s were dissatisfied with regular politicians, Herbert Humphreys was considered to be just another Lyndon Johnson. 1. Example #1: Assassination of front-runner Bobby Kennedy hurt the democratic party. Poll numbers for Jonson and Humphreys were at an all time low. 2. Example #2: Protests against the government were mounting over the unpopular war in Vietnam; some predicted the end of American society. B. Reason #2: Nixon was frequently portrayed as the uncool candidate, who was lame and out of touch. Appearing on Laugh-In allowed him to reverse that image. 1. Example #1: Image in the public’s mind was him visibly uncomfortable on camera during the Kennedy debates. 2. Example #2: Many saw him as a relic of the McCarthy Era. Seen ax paranoid and suspicious. C. Reason #3: While it will never be known for sure if it helped Nixon win the election. A group of people involved in the election maintain that it did. 1. Example #1: Won by a narrow margin. Humphrey later claimed he should have appeared on the show. 2. Example #2: Show’s creator and Nixon both said it won him the election. The Show’s creator (a liberal) said he never forgave himself for that. Paragraph #2 Clinton in the 2008 election II. Transition Topic Sentence #2: The wife of a former president, Hillary Clinton was presumed to be the democratic front runner in the 2008 primaries. However, it seemed to many that the media seemed to favor candidate Barack Obama. When Clinton brought this up in a speech, SNL responded with a parody in which the Obama is pampered by the media. A. Reason #1: Put SNL in the spotlight and helped improve Clinton’s numbers. 1. Example #1: Clinton referred to the sketch in a speech 2. Example #2: Polls showed an increase in Clinton’s numbers following the sketch Paragraph #3 Sarah Palin and Tina Fey III. Transition Topic Sentence #3: While Clinton ultimately lost the 2008 democrat primary, SNL was not quite done with her just yet. Upon the arrival of upstart Republican VP candidate, Sarah Palin, into the race a caricature of Clinton with Tina Fey as Palin was run, and a pop culture icon was born. A. Reason #1: The line between Palin and Fey was blurred 1. Example #1: “I can see Russia from my house” line- attributed to Palin, actually said by Fey 2. Example #2: Palin appeared on SNL and it was difficult for people to tell the difference B. Reason #2: Palin’s popularity went down as a result 1. Example #1: Popularity in polls declined after Fey began her portrayals 2. Example #2: Image of Palin as a ditzy, out-of-touch governor caused many people to perceive the real Palin as such C. Reason #3: The success of Palin’s portrayal lay in part to Fey being easy to skewer 1. Example #1: VP Debate: Opening lines came directly from quotes that Palin said 2. Example #2: Katie Couric interview spoof had most of the lines quoted from the actual sketch, except now with a laugh track Paragraph #4 Faking the news: Daily Show and the Colbert Report II. Transition Topic Sentence #2: Arguably the most growing market for political satire is the recent growth of fake news shows A. Reason #1: Many news shows (Fox, MSNBC) are considered by many to be increasingly biased, and many comedians are taking advantage of it     1. Example #1: Glen Beck/ Bill O’Reilly= Stephan Colbert 2. Example #2: Jon Stewart mocks the news in general. Has recently been taking shots at Beck B. Reason #2: People are seeing the Daily Show as a better source for news 1. Example #1: Pew Report: More people see Daily Show as credible then Fox News 2. Example #2: Not limited in the same way that other news sources are_ C. Reason #3: Rally to Restore Sanity 1. Example #1: Higher turnout then the rally to restore honor 2. Example #2: Caused Oberman to change the format of his show ** PARAGRAPH 5 ** II. Transition Topic Sentence #2: Animated programs A. Reason #1: The Simpsons has provided a chronicle of American politics for the past 50 years. 1. Example #1: Info from Simpsons video clip 2. Example #2: Mayor Quimby as the archetypal corrupt career politician B. Reason #2: Family Guy attracting prominent politicians 1. Example #1: Rush Limbaugh appearing on the show ** PARAGRAPH #6 ** II. Transition Topic Sentence #2: Many politicians are now joining the satire bandwagon in order to show that they can take a joke and appeal to a wider audience A. Reason #1: John McCain was using SNL to appeal to a wider audience. 1. Example #1: Appeared on the show several times before the 2008 election. He was willing to poke fun at himself and was very popular. 2. Example #2: Returned during the 2008 election in order to boast his poll numbers. He did see some increase in his ratings (but not much). Sarah Palin also appeared on the show. B. Reason #2: Appearances on SNL, Colbert Report, Daily Show, Late-Night Talk shows is now essential to run a campaign. 1. Example #1: Assert pop culture credibility and show that they can laugh at themselves. (Like Nixon with Laugh-In) 2. Example #2: Candidates now announcing their candidacies in talk shows- Barack Obama was one example. C. Reason #3: Candidates can boast ratings by appearing on shows. 1. Example #1: Research has shown that candidates can influence the opinions of people with less strongly formed opinions by appearing on political satire shows (Nisbet). 2. Example #2: People are more likely to talk about shows such as SNL, Colbert Report etc. Therefore a politician can improve his chances of getting his name out there by appearing on such a show (Nisbet). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">