Topic #2 – SNL as a cultural
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When I was little way back in the
70’s I was not exposed to a lot of television. I grew up outside of Corvallis Oregon
in the country. I knew of cable TV because my step brothers lived in town and
when I would visit them I got to watch something besides Little House on the Prairie
or Sesame Street. We had the antenna so we got 3 network stations and PBS until
the cable lines were finally put up in our area around 1982. This was back when
the networks signed off at midnight. I remember it fondly because I use to stay
up late every Saturday night for one reason and one reason only. To hear those
words that would set in motion the most glorious hour of television in my day.
That baritone voice that yells out “Live from New York, its Saturday Night!” I
don’t know quite when it started but I have never given up on Lauren Michael’s
vision.
Now there are all kinds of
choices, some of them are good, most of them are a complete waste of time. It’s
not like the glory days of Adam Sandler and Mike Myers or the days of Gilda Radner,
Eddie Murphy and Steve Martin but SNL are still doing live sketch comedy and I
still love it.
I chose the October 10, 2014 episode
of SNL with Bill Hader hosting. Saturday night live is of course a sketch
comedy show with various skits depicting a myriad of topics over the years. I
think it’s an excellent example of the how television mirrors culture. This is
a program that absolutely must keep up with the cultural attitude of the modern
society some way at all times in order to remain relevant. The actors cycle
through and the times change but no matter what the formula stays the same.
Many short skits performed live that make fun of current events and social
topics. In this episode they did a skit that speculates on the disappearance of
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. There is also a commercial that mirrors the
Christian Children’s Fund making fun of the small amount that the guy is asking
for on the commercials.
Saturday night live feeds on
stereotypes. A stereotype is the applied symbolism to people. Stereotypes have positive
or negative connotations linked to them and satire wouldn’t be much fun if it
didn’t exploit with the utmost sarcasm. One of my favorites is a recurring character
played by Vanesa Bayer who is a little Jewish boy preparing for his bamitsfa.
In this episode however the Christian fund skit has the white host coming off
as being cheap and having an unrealistic grasp on the situation and the real cost. They also poke fun by linking common stereotypes of African Americans to starving people in Africa by having Africans, first asking for more donations and then getting angry and demanding more money even threatening bodily harm at the end.
Judging from the commercials the
target demographics are a wide range of adults. With commercials for Subway Sandwiches
and Denny’s restaurant up to high end cars like Lexus and Mercedes it seems to
appeal to all types. I counted about 40 commercials advertising over 30
different products and services in one and a half hours. Other products advertised were a
Google app, Oil Can Henry’s, Toyota and Aveeno skin care. The only political advertisement
was the Yes on 91 ad.
I think the strengths of this
show is that they can apply humor to social issues without coming across as
bias in any way. SNL has been making lite of the political realm for many years
and they have never made it seem as if they have an opinion. Unlike other
comedy shows like The Daily Show, SNL makes fun of everybody, not taking sides,
instead emphasizing a character trait of a politician or the absurdity of a
proposed law. Or in the case of the weekend update they give an actual recent
headline followed by a swift shtick punchline.
In this critique of SNL on Splitsiders.com
by Erik Voss, he writes about the many new cast members that have been added
recently. His critiques are usually very fair as he is a fan of this seemingly
dying art like me. His take on them is decent but he does bring up the fact
that other shows are far more appealing to the modern audience. He quotes “Those
low-hanging fruit gags, punchlines overwhelming the premise, the tendency for
characters to randomly walk out of a scene without the sketch actually ending,
etc. Also, the show has yet to reclaim its satirical edge, and with John Oliver
so thoroughly setting us straight on Sunday nights, it's doubtful progressive
America will look to SNL for its comedy any time soon.” I think he is right and
with these other comedy outlets people do not have to rely solely on SNL as I
once did but I am a cult follower and SNL is my Jones Town. Til death, baby
SNL is on Facebook and Twitter and
trying to stay up with new mediums like everyone else but I don’t know how well
that is actually working for them. First I don’t understand Twitter and I am
not really sure how it would or would not work for them. Unless it can bring in
younger viewers because as I pointed out, it seems to cater to an older crowd.
In conclusion I’d have to say
there is more underlying stereotypical portrayal than I thought. I also have to
be thankful for the DVR because I forgot how nauseating it can be to have to
sit through all those commercials. As far as surprises go, I have watch SNL and
shows like it since Carol Bernet, In Living Color and Mad TV. I have always
sort of analyzed and critiqued the programs I watch in all kinds of ways from their Mise-en-scène to their deeper meanings, nothing
really surprises me anymore.
The blog post I found most interesting was the post from Dennis. His post was on "Saturday Night Live", it was about how "SNL" feeds on stereotypes from American pop culture. He mentions how "SNL" is an equal opportunity offender on current issues within our media. I agree with his views on this show because as a child "SNL" made a major impact on my views towards pop culture. I found this show more entertaining in the 1970's-1990's because of the comedians who later found major stardom. Some of my favorite actors started out on "SNL", like Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, Chris Rock, and Tina Fay. While watching the "Weekend Update" segment of this show I was kept informed on national news from a comedic perspective at an early age.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part of this show was the commercial sketches because that poked fun at real issues. My all time favorite sketch was the "Oops I crapped my pants" segment, which was a parody of a Depends diaper commercial
I found Dennis’s blog about SNL very true to my own opinions about pop culture. His description of how it feeds on the stereotypes of America at the certain time and makes parodies of what is going along on everyday life.If you go back to the skits of Will Ferrell being former President George. W. Bush you might have to go back and do research of what was currently going on to truly understand the joke. I have noticed myself doing that to understand what was fulling going on in a Saturday Night Live skit. I had to google one of the musical guest when Garth Brooks was hosting the show. I later found out that Chris Gaines was not just the musical guest that week, but the alter ego of Garth Brooks.
ReplyDeleteThe is why I personally find shows like shows like SNL and South Park the best because it shows the sitare of American culture at that certain time. At some point, someone my might have to look up the Matthew Mcconaughey lincoln commercial to understand this skit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3eN9u5N2Q4